Had a customer at the craft fair insist I should 'just glue it' instead of stitching a textblock

3 comments

3 Comments

Used to think hot glue was fine for quick book repairs but watching that video where someone's glued textblock fell apart in a week changed my mind completely. The stitching actually lets the book lay flat and last for years, so there's a real difference between a finished project and something that looks like a kindergarten craft. Now I tell people to respect the process if they want a book that actually holds up to regular use.

adamgreen2mo ago

Yeah the 3M hot glue sticks I used to buy from Michaels were basically doing the same thing. I grabbed a paperback from a thrift store once, tried the glue method, and it was toast within two weeks of normal flipping through pages. The whole thing just cracked right down the spine. Now I tell folks to grab a curved needle and some waxed thread from any craft store for like 5 bucks. It takes a little longer but once you get the hang of the pamphlet stitch you can fix most paperbacks in under an hour. That little extra effort means you aren't redoing the same repair three months later.

jamie_white2mo ago

Grab a cheap paperback from a thrift store and practice the pamphlet stitch on it first. That way if you mess up (and you probably will the first time) you aren't ruining something you actually care about. The curved needle makes a huge difference too, don't bother trying with a straight one. Waxed thread is another one of those things where spending the extra dollar saves you from having to redo the whole job because the thread snaps midway through. Once you get the rhythm down it's almost meditative, you'll wonder why you ever bothered with glue.