Posted: April 7, 2025
The long stitch bookbinding method is a centuries-old technique originating in medieval Germany. It is a non-adhesive binding, meaning the signatures at sewn directly into the cover without the use of glue, allowing the pages to lay completely flat without risking spine damage. This one is an exposed stitch for multi-signature books. It’s my favourite bookbinding method and provides excellent opportunities for variation. Here’s what you’ll need:
Fold your paper into signatures first. A signature is a collection of papers folded in half. You’ll need multiple signatures for this book, so divide your sheets into equal stacks, then fold and sort them together. Typically, a signature is 4 to 8 sheets (depending on the thickness of the paper). Thicker long stitch books are possible, but the recommended maximum is 15 sheets of plain copy (20 lb) paper. Otherwise, it’s too thick and the spine won’t lay nicely flat. My preference is 6 to 10 sheets of 24 lb writing paper.
When folding, I like using a bone folder for a nice crisp crease, but they aren’t necessary. A butter knife will do in a pinch, or even just your thumb nail. I used to fold each page individually, but that often results in a gap between the pages of the spine. If you’re feeling confident, you can fold the entire signature at once for a more uniform fold.
The next thing you need to do is trim the signatures (if you want to trim them at all). This is because it is quite difficult to trim after stitching. Premeasure and mark in light pencil where you want to cut. Ensure it’s correct. (Measure twice, cut once!) When trimming, line your ruler up along the edge of your paper (at measurements) and use a sharp X-acto knife to cut. Repeat on all sides you wish to trim. I recommend trimming both top and bottom if you need to take off height (rather than only top or only bottom), as the X-acto blade leaves a clean edge and you’ll likely want them to match.
Alternatively, you can make a deckle edge along your paper by tearing along a straight surface. Like with trimming, line your ruler up at the measurements. Gently tear, peeling the strip of paper away to leave a soft edge. You can do this on all three edges of the paper, or just the outside edge. *Note that this technique is more difficult the less paper you have to tear off (i.e. half-inch strips are easier than quarter-inch strips and so on).
Since the signatures mostly only connect at the top and bottom, long stitch books work better if you sew it directly to the cover. (Plus, the vertical pattern it easier to see against a flat cover!) Creating a cover for your book requires a dense cardboard called book board (chipboard also works). You will need two sheets of this for the front and back cover (equal width, height plus 0.25 inches for overhang), as well as a strip for the spine (same height as covers, width of the stacked signatures plus approx. 0.25 inches). For example, a book whose signatures are 5.5 x 8.5 and spine is 0.5 will have two covers measuring 5.5 x 8.75 inches and a spine that is 0.75 x 8.75 inch. This extra room on the spine also allows you to poke the holes with a bit of space in between.
Measure out your fabric, paper, or material of choice, giving each cover about half an inch to one inch of border (depending on the thickness and stiffness of your material). You can get creative with this, either using a single piece to span the whole cover, or covering the front and back covers, then attaching them via the spine material.
Method 1: If using all one piece, add together the width of your book plus at least half an inch on each side and about an eighth to a quart inch between each of the hinges (hinge spacing depends on the thickness of your material). For example, our book mentioned above measuring 5.5 x 8.75 by 0.75 (with a quarter inch hinge) will have a single piece of material measuring 13 by 9.75 inches.
Method 2:If you want to make the cover in multiple pieces, measure the front and back cover materials with half an inch border around (i.e. 5.5 x 8.75 becomes 6.5 x 9.75). For the spine, add about 1 to 1.5 inches on either side for the hinge connection (.i.e. 0.75 x 8.75 becomes 3.75 x 9.75).
Glue your chosen fabric, paper, or other material to the book board using a PH neutral glue like PVA (regular white glue will work in a pinch). Make sure to spread an even layer, not too light but also not too thin. Make the covers in two separate pieces.
Method 1: It’s easier if you use a pencil or fabric marker to draw lines where you need to fit the pieces. I like to start with the front (lefthand) cover, then use a spacer to place the spine, and another spacer to place the back (righthand) cover. Press down, then flip over and smooth out so there aren’t any bubbles for each piece (don’t let the glue dry in between!).
Cut the corners at a 45 degree angle, then glue the two shorter sides, fold in the corners, then glue the two longer sides.
Method 2: For the individua pieces, it’s similar, but not quite the same. Once again line up and glue the covers to your fabric, making sure to centre them. Glue down each piece separately.
Like with Method 1, cut the corners of the front and back covers at a 45 degree angle (not the spine!). Glue in the sides, leaving the top and bottom flaps unglued for now. *These will be used to secure the spine to the front and back.
Glue the top and bottom flaps of the spine, using a bone folder or your fingernail to press down the potential creases. *This means that the folded flap won’t line up against the outside edge of the connecting flap; this is normal.
Laying the spine fabric side up, apply glue to one of the flaps, leaving about a quarter inch of space right next to the board for the hinge. Place your spacer crisply along the spine board, then line up and press down one of the covers. Once secure, you can flip it over to the inside and smooth down the material against the boards. Repeat with the second side. From there, glue the top and bottom flaps down.
Both:The last step is to cover the interior with a patterned cardstock or paper. Cover all the way across, as the inside of the spine will be visible. You can use a single piece of paper all the way across, or multiple overlapping pieces.
Once trimmed or torn, you will poke the holes into the spine of your signature and the cover of your book (if you’re making one). You can poke any number of holes for a long stitch as long as it’s even. You can also vary the space between the holes for any number of patterns, just ensure that the holes at the top and bottom of the signature are evenly spaced away from the edge, between half an inch and 1 inch.
Something fun you could do would be to create a pattern (such as a diamond or a heart) by making the hole pattern different for each signature. Have fun and play around with it.
Since you will be punching holes in multiple signatures, I find it preferable to make a template. You can punch the holes in a few different ways, from individually using the template, to collecting all the signatures together and marking at once, to sawing the signatures from the outside (if they’re all the same). The simplest method for those who don’t have make tools is to poke them using a template.
*To make a template, fold a spare bit of paper in half and trim it to about an inch wide (I align my ruler overtop and cut so that it’s the width of my ruler). The height should be the same as the height of your signatures. Using the ruler, make your measurements. If you’re varying the pattern per signature, I like to mark all the holes, then label them based on the signature.
Use this template for your spine as well. Line up your template and mark (in light pencil) where the holes should be punched.
Once the holes are punched, you’re ready to stitch. For this stitching method, you will stitch all the signatures with the same piece of thread. Measure out the height of your book for each signature, plus one extra (i.e. 5 signatures for an 8-inch book means 48 inches of thread). *You will have some left over, but better too long than too short.
Tie a knot at one end, leaving about half to three-quarters of an inch of length at the end. Thread your needle.
Stack your signatures in the order you wish to stitch them in. You can start with the first signature or the last, so long as you’re stitching them in the right order.
From the inside of the first signature, pull your thread through the bottom hole, through the corresponding hole on the cover, then pull it tight.
Thread the needle back through the very same hole, leaving a small loop. *I like to use a toothpick to ensure I don’t accidentally pull it through while stitching. Be careful not to poke through the weave of the thread.
From the inside, thread the needle out through the next hole, then back in through the third. This will leave a long stretch of thread exposed along the spine (hence the name “long stitch”).
Repeat this process until you reach the final hole on this signature. Instead of going back into the first signature, thread it in through the top hole of the next column and in through the top hold of your second signature. Pull tight.
Repeat the steps from above for the middle holes: out through the second hole, in through the third, our through the fourth, in through the fifth, and so on.
As you thread out through the final hole of the second signature, remove the toothpick holding the loop from the first signature. Thread through that loop, tuck under the stitch, then poke the needle in through the hole in the third column.
Continue the pattern.
Once you reach the final hole of the final signature, connect the stitch like the others, then thread in through the same hole (like with the first hole). Loop through the inner thread and tie off the end.
Once a book has been fully stitched, I like to place it under something heavy (or in a book press) for a day or two to let it be pressed flat.
You’ve just completed your first long stitch book!
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Cross Stitch Tutorial
Leather Stitch Tutorial
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Tigerpetal Press is a small book press dedicated to publishing local authors and poets.