CopticCowgirl

[copticcowgirl]

Fanbinding: An Ever-Fixed Mark by @ninepiecesofcrait

These binds took me a minute due to—let’s just call much of my 2025 a series of unforeseen life changes that I’m slowly recovering from. But I still have been binding. Slowly, meticulously, and with intention. My love of books will never falter, and bookbinding (plus family, deep friendships, and mentors) saw me through a rough patch.

When I didn’t have the capacity to create anything myself, I quietly watched others, learned a beautiful new binding technique, and kept feeding my curiosity by asking questions.

This bind was part of my very first exchange between @duran-binding @maleekamolscreates and Morning Star Bindery. I finished well past our deadline (bless my patient, supportive friends), but in the end I want to be proud of what I put out while also doing justice to the author’s own beautiful work.

@ninepiecesofcrait, I have an author copy with your name on it. Your author notes were as compelling as your characters and this story.

Details of the bind below. Special thanks go to my bookbinding mentor, Mark Kirchner, whose teachings have opened my eyes to German Bradel case bindings, millimeter tolerances, and the art of wabi sabi.

▫️Bind style: German Bradel case binding with a hollow, rounded and backed with hide glue, Irish linen between ramie tapes ▫️Endpapers: Patterned lokta paper ▫️Fabric: Magic Moths by Pammie Jane ▫️Edges: Ink transfer (first time!) using ink transfer paper and an inkjet printer ▫️Endbands: Japanese silk thread, 4mm leather core ▫️Label: Titled on my Kwikprint using the underside of the purple patterned lokta paper. ▫️Typeset: My own, using Kaari & Co artwork for the chapter headers

No money was exchanged in making these binds. I participate and believe in the @renegadeguild ethos of gift economy. Be generous whenever, however you can. 💜

And, because it is now customary, I have included a photo of my chicken, Spam. I love her.

[copticcowgirl]

Fanbinding: Recursion by @tessacrowley

There is nothing I love more than pouring every ounce of my soul into a bind, right to the edge of my ability, and coming away feeling so utterly spent and satisfied.

This was a blind bind, meaning I had not yet read the fic, but my intention was to create something explosively colorful. I started with the fabric and worked my way through the bind from there.

Since this was not my own typeset—always grateful for @phoenixortheflame's generosity in sharing her typesets and her fav fics with me—I decided to create my own bookplate. It’s probably one of my favorite parts of the bind.

Bind details:

Bind style: Split-boards with French groove, Oxford hollow (success!), full cloth bind, rounded & backed

Endpapers: hidden cloth-jointed sewn-in endpapers using Jemma Lewis marbling paper

Fabric: Millefiore in red by Kaffe Fasset

Edges: Hand sanded to 2,000 grit sandpaper, acrylic ink applied with paintbrush & toothbrush for speckles

Endbands: Japanese silk thread in 9 weight, 3mm core

Label/Bookplate: inkjet color printed onto white cardstock, sanded at the edges to be flush with fabric/inkjet color printed onto Southworth 32lb linen paper

I still cannot get over how well the gorgeous art from @itsphantasmagoria went with my color scheme. It was an unintentional and sublime coincidence.

I often include behind-the-scenes shots, but since there were so many with this bind, I intend to create a separate post.

But since I cannot help myself—and because my chickens love to make an appearance when I'm binding—here is one BTS with my girl, Scarlett.

[copticcowgirl]

Thesis-style bind: Roosting Ecology of Rafinesque's Big-Eared Bat and Southeastern Myotis in the Coastal Plain of Georgia

I wanted to do something special for my husband's birthday this year, so I spent the last month working on binding his 2011 Ph.D. dissertation.

Using DAS’s YouTube and Patreon videos, I vowed to attempt everything in his “Thesis Binding with Supported French Groove” YouTube video, and wow. I learned so much!

I’ve been bookbinding for a little over a year now, so I felt pretty confident I could pull off this bind.

There were many firsts: Split boards (I LOVE this!), Oxford hollow (I STRUGGLED with the head/tail turn-ins), quarter binding, actual bookcloth (why does it attract so much glue?!), heat quill pen by hand, French/Harrison groove, and a slipcase.

For the slipcase, I used the Hollander's book “Introduction to Bookbinding and Custom Cases,” and I highly recommend it for anyone new or even a year+ into binding.

And if you’re looking to really improve as a binder and don’t have access to in-person classes, DAS’s Patreon is THE BEST at any tier level. He recently has been uploading slow versions of his videos, with everything done in real time, and following along has made a massive difference in my binds.

It feels like I’m attending a workshop, except that I can rewind. Which I do. A LOT.

If you've made it this far, you know what's next. Bind details below and BTS (incl my 😵‍💫 face) below!

🔹bind style: quarter cloth bind, rounded & backed, sewn endpapers, split boards, Oxford hollow, French/Harrison groove 🔹endpapers: Jemma Lewis marbled papers 🔹fabric: Verona bookcloth, sapphire, from Hollanders 🔹edge decoration: diluted Liquitex acrylic ink in gold, applied in multiple layers for subtle shine 🔹endbands: 3 color bead on front, DIY rectangular leather lace core, Japanese silk thread 🔹slipcase: bookboard (.090), chipboard (.030), Jemma Lewis marbled papers, cream-colored cardstock for interior color, Verona sapphire bookcloth, Jade PVA “thick” used to glue pieces together, heat foil quill with gold foil for title.

[copticcowgirl]

Fanbinding: Our Objective Remains Unchanged by @citrusses

My first Drarry bind(!!), my first non-magical AU, and my first time gifting a bind to another fanbinder. @haxkattpress generously allowed me to use her beautiful typeset back in October, and I decided to gift her and the author a bound copy by way of saying thank you.

I know I'm supposed to talk about my bind, but it was her bind and description of this fic—“...the most creative and meticulously researched fics I have ever had the pleasure of reading"—that hooked me last year. I had never read a Drarry before, but I suddenly wanted to blind bind OORU based solely on the time and effort she dedicated to it.

So thank you, Haxkatt, for your generosity and for finding your way into friendship with me. Cheers to binding slowly, not rushing creativity, and becoming so absorbed with tedious details that the rest of the planet fades away.

And thank you, @citrusses, for writing such a wonderful AU to become immersed in. As soon as I finished binding my copy, I plopped myself on my couch and dove in. I loved it and love your work.

Also, I will never get over reading the physical copy of a fic I bound myself. Holding it in my hands, curled up on my couch, and disappearing into a story someone spent countless hours crafting for free is such a high.

Fanfic writers, I will never get over you.

Since this was a blind bind, I gleaned details from the typeset and the fic description, going for posh academic vibes to match the Oxford setting. I nearly fell out of my chair while sifting through my fabric stash; it matches the chapter headers perfectly. I kept my endbands simple and found beautiful art by Kenneth Crane for my dust jacket, making adjustments in Canva.

In the fic, Draco quotes poetry, so I pulled those for the flaps. Thank you to my dearest @phoenixortheflame for checking over my dust jacket for final tweaks—I've nicknamed her "The Finisher."

Bind details below for each copy—one for Haxkatt, one for citrusses, one for myself—bound for personal use only.

Bind details: bind style: full cloth bind, flatback(2), rounded&backed(1), sewn endpapers, ramie bands endpapers: 65lb tan cardstock fabric: quilt fabric from a quaint little shop in Ball Ground, Georgia, where my mother and grandmother live. Picking through fabric with them (quilt ideas for them, book ideas for me!) during December 2024 is a fond memory. This fabric came from that haul. book edge decoration: acrylic ink edges(2) and hand-marbled edges(1) from the @renegadeguild California meetup in February endbands: double faux core, 4mm leather core, Japanese silk thread typeset: @haxkattpress I love every.single.detail. dust jacket: designed in Canva; title font, Craw Modern; author font, Zing Rust Script; body & flap font, EB Garamond, The Seasons; art by Kenneth Crane

It was during these binds that I made the decision to keep detailed notes throughout my process. My ENDLESS thanks to @mourningmountainsbindery for sending me your awe-inspiring Google spreadsheet.

What a difference it makes, keeping a record of what you did right and what you'd change going forward. Sometimes you don't know until the bind is done, but now I can look back and learn from my mistakes or replicate my wins.

Now for my favorite part: BTS!

And finally, because no bind is complete without a little pain, I've included a few quotes between myself and @maleekamolscreates when it came to sanding a rounded fore-edge. The time it takes to get it right is a special type of agony.

Especially when you have to do it twice. Which I did, because Round 1 was not perfect and because I love pain.

[copticcowgirl]

Fanbinding: BLOODY, SLUTTY, AND PATHETIC

This bind took a hot minute to finish. I made it my goal to complete two copies of BSP during the month of February, for @renegadeguild's 2025 Binderary. One for myself, and one for the author, who gave me permission in late January.

BSP is my first official author copy, gifted to and recently received by WhatMurdah, whom I can't thank enough for both writing this stellar fic and for allowing me to bind them a copy. I read BSP in mid-2024 and have been thinking about it as a bind since.

Lots of firsts with this one. First-ever typeset. Have a long way to go on that front, as it's definitely not my favorite part of binding. I prefer getting into the nitty-gritty of the bind itself instead of staring at a laptop screen for hours and agonizing over fonts and scene break flourishes. I kept it simple and still learned a lot, so that's a win!

I also had the honor of receiving the "Found Typo(s) After Printing" badge.

However, my dedication page to WhatMurdah made the entire typeset worthwhile.

It was also my first time attempting Renaissance chevron endbands (another goal for binderary! aaand there's a reason you don't see them on the bind itself, ha). When those didn't turn out as I'd hoped, it was my first time doing "random chaos" endbands, a la @maleekamolscreates.

Thank you, Maleeka and Marissa, for holding my hands through that one. I like to know what's coming, so letting go of structure to embrace the chaos of go-with-your-gut-feeling-for-your-endband-pattern was...hard.

But gorgeous, no? Can I get a "good girl," Maleeka??

Another first was creating a full-fledged dust jacket that looks like it came from a professional. I owe that to @phoenixortheflame, who sat with me on a Zoom call for 2+ hours and guided me through her artistic process. We worked in tandem in Canva so that I could pepper her with questions like, "You can pull the rulers across the page like that?!" Thank you for showing me how to center align correctly and for gently critiquing my choice of keep-all-fonts-the-same.

The before/after must be shown because honestly, every time I look at it I want to cry happy tears.

And while I know she will say, "But you had the vision, I just gave you some structure!" I'll still heap praise all over her because JUST LOOK AT IT.

Art by the incredible @jjuuppiter, who posted this work well before BSP was published but somehow must have KNOWN it would be written into existence one day. Please go check out their page. I fell in love with their art for "The Politician's Wife" first, and eventually found "Bloody Witch and Her Worshipper."

And finally, details of the bind itself below and behind-the-scenes photos (my favorite to look back on!) below that.

Bind details:

bind style: full cloth bind, rounded and backed, sewn endpapers, ramie bands

endpapers: "french marble strawberry" from Hollanders, chosen in mid-2024 after reading BSP for the first time 

cover material: "love dove" fabric, designed by Kathy Doughty. chosen solely for its bold colors. 

book edge decoration: head & tail edges hand sanded to 1,000 grit, DIY'd maroon acrylic ink to match fabric, applied in layers, then burnished with Renaissance wax & agate stone. maroon acrylic ink applied directly to deckled fore-edge for author copy. we don't talk about the fore-edge for my own copy.

endbands: double faux core, 4mm leather core, Japanese silk thread

typeset: this was my first-ever typeset, which meant I spent hours meticulously ensuring I didn't mess anything up (full disclosure: I did, but those mistakes are all my own)

dust jacket: designed in Canva; title font, Villanelle; author font, ITC Blaze; body & flap fonts, IBM Plex Serif; art by jjuuppiter 

Did you know? To make a deep maroon color, take 1 drop blue, 11 drops red, and 2 drops yellow. Voila! Deep maroon.

Now you know.

These copies were made for personal use only; no profit was made and all associated costs came from my own pocket. Please abide by the code of binding fanfiction, which amounts to: if you want it on your shelf, bind it yourself.

[copticcowgirl]

California Renegade meet-up

If ever you're given the chance to meet fellow bookbinders in person, do it. Don't hesitate. The experience of sitting amid a group of individuals who are as wholly obsessed about a hobby as you are was, frankly, fucking awesome.

I'm still floating on a happy cloud of endorphins from this weekend's @renegadeguild Cali server meet-up. It was a small melting pot of fandoms and ships, age ranges and skill levels, and an established ethos about sharing knowledge without reserve or judgment. 

Even with the (very) early morning alarm, a long drive, and nerves about meeting everyone for the first time, it was the best experience. I learned how to marble paper and book edges. I tried my hand at paste papers. I held other binders' books (!!!!) and was properly gobsmacked by their skill, listening as they openly shared how they achieved an edge, an endband, a leather cover, a difficult technique. 

At one point, when the day was winding down and just a few of us were left standing inside @duran-binding's kitchen, a passionate discussion ensued about the history and origins of a fandom I'd never heard of. And in that moment, my mind took a snapshot from above: the five of us animatedly discussing fanfiction and how our favorite fandoms could potentially intersect. It left me feeling intensely grateful for being invited into this community of fanfiction binders.

So yeah. 10/10 recommend. 

[copticcowgirl]

Fanbinding: The Politician's Wife by pir8fancier, intended as a gift to the author.

The moment I read this fic, I wanted to bind it. TPW was first published in 2005(!) and is considered a classic, with good reason.

I have been binding books for almost a year and finally feel competent enough to offer authors a bound copy of their work. I had seen other binders do this, especially @renegadeguild members, and have always looked up them.

Acknowledging an author's effort with a physical copy of our gratitude?! My kind of people.

Anyway! Back to the actual bind. Thank you to Gioia of Lyra Bindery for allowing me to use their typeset. A Monet painting features in this fic, so I let that guide my bind's design.

Details:

Full cloth bind, rounded and backed, with sewn endpapers

Hand-sewn endbands, Japanese silk thread, 4mm leather core

Cloth is "Wild Iris" designed by Holly Taylor. Instead of HeatnBond to back my cloth, I used Pellon's Wonder-Under 805 interfacing.

Dust jacket art: Claude Monet's "Agapanthus"

Edges: sanded up to 1,000 grit, applied acrylic inks with a natural sea sponge, burnished with Renaissance wax and agate using Glenn Malkin's technique.

First time using ramie bands as my sewing tapes! They were fun.

Process shots below. I will never tire of seeing it all coming together.

Thank you again, pir8fancier.

[celestial-sphere-press]

Book Decoration: AKA All The Ways I Don't Use a Cricut

(this post is for people who don't want to buy an expensive cutting tool, or for those that do have an expensive cutting tool that would like to mix things up a little)

1. Print That Shit

If you're already printing your own textblocks, an easy step for titles is to print them. Above is a title printed onto an "obi" of decorative paper. I measured out where I wanted things on the finished book and laid it out in Affinity, then printed it on a full sheet & trimmed it down to wrap around the book. A more simple method is to print & glue on the label into a slight indent in the cover (to protect it). A third option is to do the spine in bookcloth, while you print on paper for the cover and then glue that paper onto the boards (this usually looks even better when it is a three-piece bradel bind).

2. Foil Quill / Heat Pens

The heat pen is one of my go-to tools, but it can be a bit touchy about materials. The most popular version is the We R Memory Keepers' Foil Quill (which is one of the most ergonomic), but other pens exist that can get you to a higher heat temp, finer lines, or more consistent foil. For example, I have a pen created by a local Japanese bookbinding studio that fares way better on leathers than the WRMK quill & with a finer tip, but it's hell to control. Best results in general are on paper or smooth bookcloth (starched linen, arrestox, colibri - even duo will work but its less solid). The fuzzier a bookcloth is, the less your foil quill wants to deal with it. This means the heat n bond method of making bookcloth does not play nice with a heat pen usually, but there are two solutions: 1) use this tutorial on paste + acrylic medium coated bookcloth instead that will get you a perfect surface for the heat pen, or 2) use the pen on paper & then glue onto the cloth. I did a video tutorial for both foil quill use and this type of homemade bookcloth for @renegadeguild Binderary in 2023.

You get the most consistent results by tracing through a printed template that is taped in place, as I do in the video above.

3. Paint That Shit

Acrylic paints will do you fine! The above is free-handed with a circle template, because I wanted that vibe. If you need straight lines that won't seep, lay them down with tape first & then paint over it first with a clear Acrylic medium, then your color. Same goes for stencils. Two more examples of painted bookcloth:

4. IT'S GOT LAYERS

By using layers of thinner boards, you can create interesting depths & contrasts on your cover. You can also make cutouts that peep through to the decorative paper behind. The most important part to this technique is the order in which each edge is wrapped. To get a good wrapped inside edge, you will split the turn in into tabs to get them to conform to a curve. You can also layer multiple colors of bookcloth without multiple layers of board, as seen below left, so long as you mind your cut edges for fraying.

5. Inlaid... anything

Mirrors! Marbled paper! I saw someone do a pretty metal bookmark once! The key is creating a little home for it to live in, which is pretty similar to the above layering method. On one layer you cut the shape, & glue that layer onto the bottom solid board before covering. You can do the top layer as an entire 1 mm board (like I did for the mirrors) or a sheet of cardstock, like I would use for inlaid paper.

6. Decorative Paper

Decorative paper is always helpful & adds to the paper hoard... & its effects can be layers with other techniques, as below. Marbles, chiyogami, momi, or prints & maps of all kinds can be great additions. Some papers may need a protective coating (such as wax or a sealer).

7. Stamps (with optional linocut)

While I've not used many more regular rubber stamps, I do know some who have, successfully! And I've used one once or twice with embossing powder (see photo 3 up, the gold anchor on the little pamphlet bind). What also works is to carve your own linocut or stamp, & then use block printing ink to ink it onto your fabric (as i did above). A bit time intensive, but it was nice how easily reproducible it was, and I liked the effect I got for this particular bind.

These methods are not exhaustive, just ones I've used, and there are of course many others. I haven't gone too into detail on any of these for the sake of length (& post photo limits) but feel free to ask about more specifics. Usually I'm using them in combination with other options.

[copticcowgirl]

no cricut, no problem. love these examples.

[celestial-sphere-press]

what kind/style of endbands do you usually do? they look so good 👀

hi!! sorry for taking a while to answer, I wanted to make sure I could give you my best answer.

I usually do what's called a "double core" endband. I use double core endbands over the "bead on front" method because bead on front style is not great for uneven distributions of color, irregular patterns, or using more than three colors. Functionally it works by having your extra threads wrapped up inside the thread that is showing, forming the smaller secondary core. Ultimately you are doing figure 8s around the main core & then your secondary core of thread. This keeps things pretty neat & tidy. The tutorial I first used was this one by DAS Bookbinding, though I don't think his endband tutorials are his best ones. Another binder I've spoken with endbands about a lot is maleeka, who recently did an endband tutorial herself.

maybe I should do one... but it takes a lot for me to get enough motivation to make videos. I'll take this opportunity to write up some tips I've shared when people ask instead:

1. Endband core material is the MOST IMPORTANT component. You need a core that is stiff but flexible - it should NOT be floppy because it wiggles everywhere under the tension of the thread, but still needs to flex with the opening & closing of the book. You want something that doesn't compress, to reduce tension shifts in thread creating a lumpy endband. Have a smooth core is less critical but helps to avoid snagging threads & allows you some leeway on sliding threads around for adjustments. My personal choice is smooth leather jewelers cord (link is just an example, I get mine from a local craft store).

2. Thread size. All your threads need to be the same size; it will be visible if you are using two different sizes, and mess with your front core. Additionally, I know lots of people will use larger twists of multiple strands of embroidery thread, which can work, but is more likely to compress & alter its size in unexpected ways. A single strand is preferable. If you want something thicker you can find some thread weights that are heavier twists intended to be used in a single strand, not pulled apart. I prefer smaller sizes because it works better for the gradient designs I like.

3. Silk thread is your friend (if you can spend the money on it). It reduces fuzz (no fuzz like you get with cotton/DMC embroidery thread), it's usually easier to manage, has a more compact twist, and a higher shine. I use Japanese silk hand sewing thread in size #9 (9号). There's multiple brands (Tire, Daruma, KNK/kanagawa, etc). Here's a wholesale listing (minimum 20,000¥ for international). A non-Japanese brand is Guterman silk (German brand). Both the Japanese & German threads come in a heavier weight (Japanese is #16, Guterman is buttonhole).

4. Thread tension is the most important part of the actual technique. You need to ensure the threads currently wrapped in the secondary core keep tension when you are working the thread around them.

5. Working on a curve. This is only really relevant if you're doing an endband on a rounded book, but the circumference of the curve means there's more real estate on the outside vs inside of the curve. Sometimes this can cause bunching on the secondary core. My own solution to this is that sometimes I wrap the primary core but drop a wrap here or there around the secondary core (only between two wraps of the same color I'm dropping). I uh... don't know of anyone currently recommending this besides myself so I can't point to any pro endorsement for this method, it's just what works for me. Forgive my terrible writing:

6. Pattern management. I... don't really plan much how my patterns sit on the spine, which is not very helpful. HOWEVER you can do some pattern management on the fly, if you really want your pattern to end at a certain place. Thread can be packed more or less densely on the core, resulting in some pattern compression; you could also strategically drop wraps in less noticeable locations. An unintended example: I was replicating the pattern on this endband (left) when I realize I wasn't packing the thread as densely as I had the first time around (right), which resulted in the overall pattern taking up more space. You can do this on purpose, if you need to.

this was way more than you asked but it gave me a chance to put all this in one spot. Best of luck in vanquishing the dreaded EndWyrms.

[celestial-sphere-press]

self reblog bc I thought i should add:

I do encourage you to experiment a bit! the above advice is not all there is to know about endbands, and you can create some great results if you get a bit creative while keeping some of the above principles in mind and how it affects your results.

when sewing with regular cotton or polyester embroidery thread, I recommend 1) using a single strand (see above) and 2) use a combo of fire and watered down PVA application to control fuzziness. all endbands I made in 2023 were non-silk! fuzz management is the name of the game. here's one:

an example of sewing a really thick knitting lace (also partially metallic) onto a fabric scrap around cord for a faux endband. there is no bead or core of any kind on the front of this! because the size of the "thread" would not match anything else, i kept it to a single color:

I'm still very satisfied with how both of these turned out, even if I've moved on to using other materials now. thread tension remained a major factor for both of the above in making sure it turned out right, but for the faux band it was more a function of making sure I pulled each loop through with the same amount of force and tension.