Stop telling new binders to start with sewing first

I keep seeing people push beginners straight into sewing their own text blocks, but after 12 years in this trade I think it's backwards. Learning how to case in a premade text block teaches you the fundamentals of hinge alignment and board cutting way better than struggling through a crooked headband on your first project. Am I the only one who thinks sewing should come after you nail the casing basics?

3 comments

3 Comments

milalewis5d ago

Did @viola_garcia56 really just compare bookbinding to boiling eggs? I mean, I get the point about foundations but that feels like a stretch. For me, I started with a cheap premade text block from a craft store and just practiced cutting boards and casing it in over and over until my hinges felt right. That repetition really clicked for me before I ever touched a needle and thread.

viola_garcia565d ago

And it's the SAME thing with learning to cook. Everyone wants to start with homemade pasta from scratch but they cant even boil an egg without it turning grey. You gotta learn the basic foundations first like hinge alignment and board cutting before you even think about sewing. Otherwise you're just setting yourself up for frustration and a crooked mess that makes you want to quit.

milalewis5d ago

Yeah @viola_garcia56 is acting like we're curing cancer here, it's just bookbinding not brain surgery. Is the order you learn things really that big of a deal in the end?