After commissioning three books for her baby shower (see posts Baby Shower Book, vol. 1 and vol. 2-3), Michele commissioned another to commemorate the first year of her son Colin’s life. Now that she had a better understanding of the variety of choices available to her, Michele wanted to work more closely on the design for this book. We settled on a Coptic stitch binding, which allowed for her to select alternating blue and orange signatures that would be visible along the spine, adding a touch of whimsy. We reinforced the playfulness of the aesthetic by selecting patterned paper designed with a little boy in mind. I tied this book in with her baby shower cards I also bound with a Coptic stitch by using the same color thread (see Baby Shower Book, vol. 2-3).
Front cover 
Spine 
First page with hand lettered name and birthday
The virtue of the Coptic stitch binding is that it lies flat, so it’s ideal for writing in, though it does provide a challenge if you want to use it as a photo album because there isn’t much room for the spine to expand. To see the work around for this, check out my blog post on the portfolio I made for Max Shafer.
Michele wanted a personalized first page with Colin’s name and birthday, so we worked together to decide which of my childlike lettering styles she preferred, settling finally upon a style that look like stackable wooden block letters.
The resulting book could not be more adorable!