On Thursday, February 13th, 2025 participants gathered in mpark during Activity Hour for the second ever workshop on chapbook stitching, led by mpark Fellow Bridget Dolan. In the workshop, participants learned how to make their own chapbooks while learning about the history from Bridget. This directed workshop focused on chapbooks as a historical tool of mass literacy around the era of the printing revolution, in which reading materials became easy to disseminate and easy to consume. The method of making the chapbook has remained consistent since the 1600s and is still used today, especially in the creation of zines.
Bridget guided the participants through stitching their own chapbooks, using the saddle stitch and waxed thread. The saddle stitch, a stitch originally designed for leatherworking, is used to hold the chapbook together because it creates a strongly bound book that will continue to stay together even if a stitch is cut. Participants folded their chapbooks with bone folders, used gourd awls to poke holes in the paper, then used leather-working needles and waxed thread to create their own chapbook that they might write poetry in, take notes, plan projects, glue or tape things into, or simply just use as a model for future chapbook stitching.