My mentor pointed out my headbands were too tight and it made a huge difference

I was binding a small poetry book for a gift and my teacher, who's been doing this for 40 years, gently said 'you're choking the spine, let it breathe a little.' I started leaving just a 2mm gap when I tie up the book and the opening is so much smoother now. Has anyone else had a simple piece of advice completely change a basic step for them?

3 comments

3 Comments

lopez.jennifer2mo ago

That's a good fix, but honestly, you should probably leave even more space than that. A tight spine will always fight you.

-1

king.aaron8d ago

Yeah Ryan made a good point about the paper swelling, I saw a video where a bookbinder said the same thing about cheap stock causing issues later too.

ryanj602mo ago

Jennifer's totally right about the spine fighting you. But what about the paper itself? Cheap paper swells up more with glue and moisture, so that tight fit today becomes a cracked mess in six months. Ever notice how some books just fall apart faster? That's often why. Maybe the real fix is using better paper from the start, not just more space.