Rant: The week I messed up every single book I touched with cloth grain direction

Last Tuesday I was working on a run of 6 coptic stitch journals for a local shop in Portland, and I cut all the book cloth with the grain running vertical instead of horizontal along the spine. I didn't notice until I glued one on and it bubbled up like a bad sunburn after an hour. Then the next three did the same thing, and I was so frustrated I just kept going, you know? It was one of those weeks where every small mistake stacked on top of the last one, like forgetting to score the hinge properly or using too much PVA. By Thursday I had scrapped 4 covers and wasted about $40 in material. But then Friday I slowed down, re-cut everything with the grain right, and the last two books came out perfect. Has anyone else had a week where you just could not get the cloth direction right no matter what?

2 comments

2 Comments

olivia_morgan810d ago

The grain direction struggle is real, especially when you're in a flow state and just not paying attention. I've definitely had those weeks where my brain just refuses to cooperate with basic bookbinding logic.

jordanm1910d ago

My buddy ruined an entire notebook once. Grain was all wrong. Total waste.