Learning the caterpillar stitch

Ever since I saw an example of this in 500 Handmade books I've wanted to give it a go. And a couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to learn this stitch with Hamilton based book-maker Ann Bell. The first day was spent on making a book using single needle coptic before we could even start on the embellishment stitches. Ann follows Keith Smith's text, only a bit more loosely. She says "inconsistency is OK, as long as it's consistently inconsistent". I'm fond of that philosophy, because when it comes to book binding - an anal retentive I am not.  My caterpillar has legs all over the place, and a body that looks anorexic in parts - a millipede on weed.

Stitching across the spine.

Still, I'm pretty pleased with the overall finished product. It can only get better with practice and a glass of wine.

The girls and their finished books (or some not quite finished).