Courses
The Western Australian Craft Bookbinders Guild offers a range of courses at a small cost. These are held on weekends in Como, and cater for both members and non-members. Here is a map reference (Como, McDougall House). These courses are a great way to start your bookbinding, and are run on a regular basis. The courses run as a progressive series, so attending a number of them will help your skills, as a range of different binding styles and techniques are demonstrated. Some skills are repeated, so that you get opportunities to improve through the participation in a number of courses.
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All courses result in you taking one of more completed items home at the end.
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Check the list of courses below to see when the next courses will be run. If you cannot make a course that you have booked for, please contact the Secretary so that someone else may take up the place.
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You must be 18 years old or over to attend one of our courses.
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Weekend courses start at 9:00 am and go through to 4:00pm on both Saturday and Sunday.
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From 2025, all our courses will be held at McDougall House on Clydesdale Street in Como. See the map reference above.
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You must register and pay in order to attend, and places are very limited. We have a maximum of 8 on all courses.
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Payments must be made before the course starts, and are not refundable in the last 14 days prior to the course commencing. View our Refund and Privacy policies here.
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Details about what you make and techniques you will learn can be found on our Course Details page.
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Last updated: October 2025
November 2025 Advanced Course
Date: Saturday, November 8th, 2025 - 9:00 AM to Sunday, November 9th, 2025 - 4:00 PM
The advanced course introduces leather binding and is best done after a little experience in other binding styles.
This course is $115.00 for the course, and all tools and materials are provided. This course takes place over a single weekend, for a total of 12 hours of tuition.
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This course is now full. You may register for the waitlist.
Takeaway: A leather half bound book which is bound on cords for the authentic old book style.
February 2026 Beginners Course
Date: Saturday, February 14th, 2026 - 9:00 AM to Sunday, February 15th, 2026 - 4:00 PM
This is a great introduction to making your own books using very traditional techniques. We provide all the tools and materials for the course, and discuss how you can get started on your bookbinding journey.
This course is $115.00 for the course, and all tools and materials are provided. This course takes place over a single weekend, for a total of 12 hours of tuition.
This course is now full. You may register for the waitlist in the event there are withdrawals.
Takeaway: A pamphlet style book, a hardback multi-section book, a slipcase for your hardback book.
December 2025 Introduction to Finish Course
Date: Saturday, Dec 13th, 2025 - 9:00 AM to Sunday, Dec 14th, 2025 - 4:00 PM
This course goes through a range of techniques that allow you to enhance your books, such as gold lettering and patterns, inlays, onlays and underlays, and textures.
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This course is available only to members.
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Courses are generally published no earlier than approximately 4 months in advance. We do not run courses in January. There will be more courses in 2026.