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Hit 50 hand-sewn bindings last week and honestly I think machine stitching is overrated now
I kept seeing everyone online swear by sewing machines for speed, but after binding #47 I finally figured out my hand stitch tension. My last binding of a 1920s poetry collection took me 3 hours but the spine opened flat as a pancake. A buddy at the Austin Book Arts Center told me my kettle stitch looked "sloppy but functional" and it actually pushed me to tighten up. Anyone else ditch the machine for certain projects?
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troyjackson15d agoMost Upvoted
Wait, you mean people actually use sewing machines for bookbinding? I thought those were just for quilting and making your mom cry when you break the needle... Seriously though, 50 hand-sewn bindings is no joke. I tried machine stitching once and the thread tension looked like a drunken spider web, plus the noise drove me crazy. Hand stitching lets me sit on the couch and watch old westerns while I work, way more chill. And yeah, that flat spine opening is the whole reason I stick with it... machines just can't match that feel. Your buddy at the Austin center sounds like a real treasure with that "sloppy but functional" compliment, I'd frame that and hang it above my workbench.
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black.margaret15d ago
Haha, "drunken spider web" is the perfect way to describe it. I feel like my machine is possessed sometimes, just tangling everything up for no reason. But you're right, the noise is the real killer - I can't hear myself think with that thing whirring away. Hand stitching lets me watch my shows and actually relax, like you said with those old westerns. And for real, that "sloppy but functional" comment is the highest praise I've ever gotten from another bookbinder. It's like getting told your ugly baby is "special" but in a good way. Have you ever had someone give you a backhanded compliment that actually made your whole year?
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