My First Coptic Binding Notebook (Mistakes Were Made)

One thing I was determined to do last weekend was attempt a Coptic-bound notebook. I’ve made one with Japanese stab binding in the past, but I haven’t tried it again since then.

So… I almost didn’t try this at all.

When I went to cut my letter-sized paper in half using a Swingline paper guillotine, I discovered the ruler isn’t exactly… accurate. I lined the paper up at 5.75″ (half), and somehow ended up with one side at about 60% and the other at 40%.

All the Amazon reviews talk about how accurate this thing is, so I have to assume they meant the cutting quality—not the measurements. I even watched a long tutorial on how to use it. There was a whole section on the ruler, and the creator never mentioned measurements—just that you can’t cut anything smaller than an inch.

Not very helpful, right?

At that point, I stopped fighting the guillotine and just folded the paper in half before cutting. Not ideal, but I also didn’t expect to need conversions just to cut paper.

I had already folded the signatures the night before and left them under a heavy book overnight. I added the freshly cut covers to the stack and briefly decided I wasn’t going to attempt the project at all.

But then I finished everything else on my list.

So I tried anyway—while watching my baseball game.

I gathered what I needed: a pencil, an actual ruler, a cutting mat, my upholstery repair kit, and my bookbinding needles. The thread in the repair kit is waxed, and I figured that would be perfect since it’s strong.

Spoiler: it was not perfect.

I couldn’t get the stitching tight enough, and when I tried to force it, one of the holes in the cover ripped. At that point, I committed to the chaos—this was officially a prototype.

Then I learned that your thread needs to be long enough for the entire notebook, not one piece per signature. So I had to add more thread partway through. It’s visible if you look for it, but honestly… not terrible.

By the time I finished and attached the cover, I had a notebook that definitely lays flat—but also has noticeable gaps between the signatures because of the loose tension.

Trade-offs.

Afterward, I made a template for poking holes in the covers and signatures, which actually turned out well. I used the awl from my upholstery kit for this.

(Important note: DO THIS ON A CUTTING MAT or your hardwood floors will reject you forever. I, for once, made the correct life choice and used the cutting mat.)

What I learned:

• Don’t use waxed thread on 92 lb cardstock and regular printer paper
• Don’t trust a guillotine ruler to measure anything accurately
• Don’t pull too hard unless you want your cover to fight back

And finally… don’t be too hard on yourself.

It’s a prototype.