A retired binder told me my corners looked like "melted butter" and I had to completely rework my approach

After 2 years of self-taught binding, an old timer at the local shop pointed out my corners were too rounded and uneven - he showed me how using a bone folder at the right angle fixes it. I switched from eyeballing the turn-in to measuring exactly 3mm from the edge every time, and it made a HUGE difference. Anyone else get a piece of criticism that forced you to relearn something basic from scratch?

2 comments

2 Comments

jason1113d ago

Oh man, this hits way too close to home. I spent a year thinking my corners were "rustic charm" when really they looked like a melted cheese sandwich. That bone folder trick changed my whole game too, but I still catch myself eyeballing it sometimes and have to stop and remeasure. My worst moment was when an old pro told me my headbands looked like they were knitted by a drunk spider. Had to unlearn everything I thought I knew about sewing them on. Sometimes the harsh truth is exactly what you need, even if it stings for a while. Glad you stuck with it though. That 3mm rule is gold once you get the muscle memory down.

ryan_flores13d ago

That "drunk spider" line is brutal but funny. I had a buddy who was trying to get into bookbinding and he spent a month making his own headbands. When he showed them to a local binder at a workshop, the guy just stared at them and said "they look like you tied knots with your eyes closed." He was pretty crushed but he ended up redoing all his technique from scratch. Took him another three months but his headbands finally stopped looking like tangled fishing line.