Bloomsbury Bookbinding Studio: £155 January Day at West Dean

Bloomsbury has been London's book district for well over a century, so it is fitting that one of the city's most approachable bookbinding classes takes place there. West Dean College, best known for its campus in West Sussex, runs one-day short courses at its London Campus in Dilke House, 1 Malet Street, London WC1E 7JN. The bookbinding days are taught by an experienced binder, cost from £150 and send every student home with two finished books.

The current bookbinding tutor is Amy Kitcherside, described on the West Dean course pages as an award-winning bookbinder with 15 years of experience. Since 2019 she has run bookbinding workshops around London, including at Cockpit Arts and teaching at Shepherds, the Pimlico paper and binding specialist. That background shows in the course design, which is built around simple, sound structures that you can repeat at home once the day is over.

West Dean itself is part of the Edward James Foundation, whose main campus is the West Dean estate near Chichester in West Sussex. The London Campus lets Londoners take short courses without the trip south, and the college links those one-day classes to longer study, from an online foundation certificate in art and design to degree-level courses. A bookbinding day can be a standalone treat or the first step toward something bigger.

The Introduction to Bookbinding course, reference D1D42067, is priced at £150 and the next London date is 28 November 2026. It is listed as full, with a waiting list, so join it if you can be flexible. Over the day students make two books. The first is a soft-cover, single-section pamphlet. The second builds on that to make a hard-cover, single-section mini notebook, introducing board, book cloth and decorative papers.

Along the way the class covers measuring, folding and cutting different materials, which are the habits that make every later project neater. The tutor supplies most of the materials, including decorative papers for covers, coloured endpapers, book cloth, 135gsm text paper, sewing thread, waste paper and silicone paper. The college adds 2mm grey board and PVA glue, so beginners do not need to buy anything in advance.

If November is full, the January course is the one to book. Bookbinding: Japanese Stab Bindings, reference D1D43158, runs on 22 January 2027 for £155, and the page currently shows places available. A stab binding is sewn through holes punched near the spine, so the stitching becomes a decorative feature as well as holding the pages together.

Students make two A5 books. The first is a basic four-hole stab binding with a soft cover. The second is a hardcover book sewn with a Koki Toji stitch, often called the noble binding, a more ornate pattern that wraps the spine corners. Both use Japanese decorative papers, and the course page suggests bringing a folder or padded envelope to carry the finished books home flat.

Stab bindings are a good choice for a first class because there is no tricky spine to round or back, and the results look impressive on a shelf. They are also practical: a stab-bound book makes a handsome guestbook, photo album or sketchbook. Once you have learned the four-hole pattern, dozens of variations open up from the same basic method.

Both London courses follow the same timetable. Registration is from 10 am to 10:30 am, teaching runs from 10:30 am to 4:30 pm, and the morning session finishes at 1 pm. Lunch is from 1 pm to 2 pm and is not included, then the afternoon session runs until 4:30 pm with an optional 15-minute break. The college asks students to wear suitable clothing or an apron, and stout covered footwear, so no sandals or open toes.

For lunch, Bloomsbury is well supplied. The streets around Store Street and Goodge Street have cafes and sandwich shops within a few minutes of Malet Street, which makes it easy to return to the bench on time. Bringing a packed lunch is also sensible if you want to spend the break looking at what the rest of the class is making.

Which course should you pick? Choose the introduction if you want to understand how a conventional book goes together, from the folded section to the covered board. Choose the stab binding day if you are drawn to pattern and decorative paper, or if you want to make gifts quickly afterwards. Both are rated for beginners, and many students take one and then the other, because the skills overlap without repeating.

Malet Street runs through the University of London's heartland, and the towering Art Deco Senate House, home to the university's main library, stands at its southern end. A few minutes' walk south brings you to the British Museum, whose collections span thousands of years of writing and record-keeping, a natural follow-up to a day spent making books by hand.

To the east, Russell Square and the Brunswick Centre lead toward the independent and secondhand bookshops on Marchmont Street, while Gower Street and Tottenham Court Road connect to Goodge Street and Warren Street stations. Russell Square and Goodge Street are the most convenient Tube stops for Malet Street, and Euston is a short walk north for mainline trains.

Address: West Dean London Campus, Dilke House, 1 Malet Street, London WC1E 7JN. Bookings and enquiries go through the course pages, and the college's phone line for short courses is 01243 818300, option 2, a West Sussex number rather than a London one. When a course shows as full, the waiting list form on the page takes your name and email.

Prices quoted here come from the course pages: £150 for Introduction to Bookbinding and £155 for Japanese Stab Bindings. West Dean also sells an online starter course called Get Started with Making Books for £47, taught by Tracey Bush, which is a low-cost way to practise first if you are unsure whether the craft is for you.