Student showcase: Metal embossed Japanese stab bound sketchbook workshop

I had a fabulous day with a craft group up in Birtley, Northumberland, yesterday, showing everyone how to make a Japanese stab bound sketchbook with a metal embossed cover.

In the morning I showed everyone how to make the cover, taking everyone through the tools and materials first, creating a sample piece, and then moving on to the main decorative piece. I took along two of my Celtic knot drawings, but we also had someone use their own design, which I love!

We stopped for a delicious shared lunch, before moving on to aging and colouring the metal embossing in the afternoon. Finally we moved on to making the sketchbooks. We covered the book board in book cloth, and then we all sat in a circle to do the Japanese stab binding together. Lastly, we attached the decorations to the covers.

I seem to have missed taking photos of three of the books, but you can see what amazing work everyone created by looking through the other eleven!

Well done, everyone, I had such a great day with you all, and hope to see you all again soon!

If you would like a bespoke workshop for your craft group, please get in touch and I’ll be happy to work something out with you.