In just a few hours, I learned quite a bit about the book arts, paper, and bookbinding, from Andrew Huot of Big River Bindery in Scarborough, Ontario. Visiting Andrew’s studio in person was a treat in itself, as it contains vintage printing presses and heavy metal bookbinding equipment, including the biggest paper cutter (guillotine) I’d ever seen.
During the workshop Introduction to the Book Arts, we made five different kinds of handmade books, using simple tools: an 8-page mini pamphlet made from a single piece of paper folded and cut (video, template), a pamphlet, a double pamphlet (which had a special name I need to recall), a tab-in-the-middle pamphlet, and a hard cover concertina book.
Tools used included an awl (with a non-tapering barrel so the hole remains consistent size no matter how far you pierce), 18/3 Irish linen thread (more about thread diameter here), scissors, a bone folder, a metal ruler, bookbinding needles, a glue stick, a paper knife (mine was an X-ACTO knife, I think), and a self-healing cutting mat.
The inside pages of the booklets were text weight paper. More about paper weights here. It was a bit of a revelation to learn about how paper grain works, as demonstrated when ripping a newspaper is easy and straight in one direction and jagged (against the grain) in the other. We were shown how to do a bounce test to determine the direction of the grain.
A great trick was how to secure the thread so it will not fall off needle, without a knot (see very cute YouTube short demonstrating locking the thread, featuring a cat named Potato Chip, below).
A recommended source of supplies is George Hill & Co.
Note that there’s a special event coming up, an annual book arts fair called Wayzgoose, in Grimsby, Ontario, on Saturday April 25, 2026!
Andrew teaches at his Big River Bindery in Scarborough, at University of St. Michael’s College, with the Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild (CBBAG), with the American Academy of Bookbinding, and with CBBAG’s Ottawa chapter. His adventures in bookbinding may be followed on his Facebook and Instagram.
As Andrew says, learning book arts skills is good fun (and any “mistakes” are part of the charm of a handmade product), and I can’t wait to learn more.
