So with so many bookbinding fans out there, I thought I would do a weekly roundup of some of my favorite handmade books out there on the internet, many of which I’ve conveniently rounded up on my Handmade Books + Journals Pinterest board.
This week: French Link Stitch Bindings! (it’s that lovely “X” stitch)
French Stitch Coptic Binding by Ruth Bleakley
French Stitching on Tapes by A Yen for PaperÂ
Coptic and French stitching on tapes by Magda Ribeiro
Pequenos Sketchbooks by Zoopress Studio
 Here it is IN ACTION! – traditionally the french link stitch is used when sewing onto tapes in a traditional case binding, it gives the book a little more structure, but isn’t usually visible. Today book artists have integrated it into coptic stitch bindings to great effect. Make sure you use waxed Irish linen thread for a coptic stitch book – you can find sewing instructions for coptic stitch in this great book How to Make Books by Esther K. Smith.
French link stitch looks more complicated than it is – you simply sew underneath the previous section, crossing in an “X”. You need at least 8 signatures for the pattern to show up.
Check out this great super-detailed tutorial by Molly Brooks:
The Exposed Tape Binding in 140ish Easy Steps
French Link stitching on tapes by Simon Goode
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17 Comments
Quite beautiful indeed….how a little thread and a beautiful stitch gets me everytime….geeeezzzz
Thanks Cynthia!
These are great features Ruth, with lovely photos! I’ve used the link stitch before, but your coptic binding in the first photo has me baffled. Are you willing to share your secrets?
Hi Laura!
Hmm, I did it ages ago – I think what makes it look different is that most times you see the french stitch being used, you only see it on 4 sewing stations, but my book has 8 sewing stations with link stitch! (or is it…four…confusing – in any case, the covers have 10 holes instead of the usual 6) – so they’re simply much closer together, and I think that exaggerates the “X” and makes it look like I’m jumping from signature to signature, but I’m not! As for starting…lol I have no idea what I did there!
You have some amazing books here! Im really trying to find some websites that have free tutorials on book binding could you let me know if you know of any? or maybe online videos?
All the best
Fallon x
Hi Fallon!
You might want to check out Sea Lemon D.I.Y. on youtube – she does awesome bookbinding tutorials!
[…] along the sections in preparation for sewing and gluing them together using a technique called French Link Stitching, which produces nice X-shaped patterns along the spine of the book. The bound sheafs are then glued […]
[…] French Link Stitch / Coptic Binding Gallery by Ruth Bleakley […]
[…] the open spine of a coptic stitch journal with the detailed crossover of the french link stitch. French link is traditionally used on hand bound books with full covers, so you usually can’t see it, but […]
[…] are some nifty-looking sites and tutorials out there that deal with the French Link, so i feel confident that should i need […]
[…] for the secret Belgian binding was sewn using one of my favorite decorative bookbinding stitches, french link stitch. This stitch is also functional because it makes a tighter binding. You can also see the teflon […]
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[…] loved the French Link Stitch ever since I first learned about it in a college bookbinding course. It’s very old, and […]
[…] loved the French Link Stitch ever since I first learned about it in a college bookbinding course. It’s very old, and […]
Great site. Love the ideas.
[…] stitched the book together on tapes (the blue bands you see) using French Link Stitch, a type of binding usually found on the insides of traditional hand bound books, but that is now […]
[…] a way of “linking” one stitch to another, but it’s nothing like the fancy “French Link Stitch” or “Chain Link” binding […]