Old bookbinder at a guild meetup told me my thread tension was all wrong

I was at a guild meetup in Portland last month and this guy in his 70s watched me sewing a text block for like two minutes... he said I was pulling the thread way too tight and it would warp the spine over time. I always thought tighter was better for a firm book, but he showed me how to let the thread sit looser and let the sections breathe a bit. Tried it on my last rebind of a 1920s novel and the spine opened way flatter... anyone else get feedback that totally flipped their technique?

2 comments

2 Comments

ray_hernandez9d ago

Yeah, that's wild how one tiny change can make such a difference, huh?

phoenix_thompson49d ago

Man that reminds me of the time I swapped my coffee order and it threw off my whole weekend vibe.