My old boss in Chicago told me to never skimp on the kettle stitch, and he was dead right

I was binding a small poetry book about six months ago and thought, 'it's only 40 pages, a simple glue job will hold it.' I ignored his advice and just glued the spine block into the cover. Looked fine for a week, then the whole text block just fell out into my hands. He used to say, 'the kettle stitch is the backbone, not the glue,' and I finally get it. That one little stitch at the head and tail of each signature makes all the difference for holding the sections together. I had to take the whole thing apart and redo it properly, which took me three days. Has anyone else learned this lesson the hard way with a specific binding?

3 comments

3 Comments

webb.victor21d ago

Honestly that's the worst feeling when a project falls apart after you cut corners. Tbh it applies to way more than just bookbinding. Ngl I've messed up woodworking projects by using the wrong joint or cheap fasteners when the proper method was right there. That little extra effort up front saves so much headache later. Your old boss had it spot on with the backbone thing. Seems like the core skills always matter most.

jake_chen1mo ago

Learned that lesson with a cheap stapler once lol

blair_lewis851mo ago

Tell me about it, @jake_chen. That cheap stapler life is a trap. You think you're saving a few bucks, but then it jams on the first staple. Total waste of money and time. Always better to get the decent one from the start. Learned that the hard way too.