Make your own Medieval-Style Girdle Book
Five-day course running from Monday 5th October to Friday 9th October, every day from 10:30am to 4:30pm.
Popular between the 14th and 16th century, this unique book style was used to make a portable binding for reading on the go. Made in both leather, alum-tawed skin, and fabrics, they feature in artwork and marginal decorations of the time period in different formats and sizes. Come create your own.
This in-depth 5-day course will take you through the many and varied stages of creating a medieval-style hardback book with wooden boards, primary leather cover, metal clasps, and a secondary chemise cover with extended tail. The class involves a small group of 8 participants. All the tools and materials you need will be included.
Each day will take you through a different stage of the binding process, as well as giving you historical context for the choices you make along the way. The class will cover: folding, pricking, sewing, and trimming of the pages; optional hand-sewn headbands; shaping the boards; lacing the boards on; covering the book; making and fitting simple clasps; creating the secondary chemise binding and finishing it with a knot. By the end of the class, you should have the confidence to create your own unique tomes using variations on what you have learned.
While this course will be accessible to beginner and intermediate binders ages 18+, some craft experience is recommended as we will be covering a lot of different hand skills.
The cost for all five sessions is £500. A £50 deposit is required to secure your place. The balance may be paid in up to three installments.
Please visit our shop HERE to pay your deposit. Places are limited to seven.
Linette Withers completed her MA in Medieval Studies at the University of Leeds and went on to work at the International Medieval Congress, Leeds helping run the international conference. She set up Anachronalia in 2012 and has been bookbinding professionally ever since, creating modern and historically-inspired books and stationery, as well as repairing books and doing historical binding demonstrations. https://anachronalia.co.uk/
