Talked to a retired binder at the library yesterday and it changed how I look at grain direction

She saw me struggling with a bookcloth piece and pointed out I was going against the grain, then showed me this trick where you fold the cloth first and let it crease naturally before cutting. Makes so much sense now for avoiding that weird puckering on the spine. Anybody else learn something from a random pro that made you rethink your whole process?

2 comments

2 Comments

beth_butler7519d ago

Hold up though - that folding trick is good but you still gotta check the actual grain of the bookcloth first. Folding it naturally just shows you the path of least resistance, not necessarily the correct grain direction for your project.

the_kelly19d ago

Right, because folding a piece of bookcloth is basically a magic trick now. Next someone's gonna tell me I have to consult a spirit board to find the true grain. I tried that folding thing last week on some cheap stuff and it just creased in three different directions like it was having a crisis. Ended up gluing the whole mess sideways anyway and now my book cover looks like a wavy potato chip. Maybe I'll just start using cardboard from cereal boxes, at least that stuff knows what it wants to do.