I finally stopped ruining my bookcloth with a cheap iron trick

After melting three yards of bookcloth trying to use a standard household iron, I grabbed a cheap thrift store one for $5 and dedicated it to just bookbinding, setting it to the lowest cotton setting and using a pressing cloth, and now I haven't had a single scorch mark in 6 months - has anyone else had to experiment with iron temps after a disaster?

3 comments

3 Comments

gavin_kelly918d ago

Yeah the parchment paper tip is solid, I've been using that for a while now and it really does help you see what's happening. But I gotta push back a little on the synthetic setting advice. Some bookcloth is actually cotton based with a starch finish, not acrylic coated at all. If you hit that stuff with the synthetic setting you'll never get the adhesive to activate properly and your book covers will just peel apart after a few weeks. The trick is actually knowing what kind of bookcloth you have in the first place. If it's that cheap buckram stuff from the craft store then yeah, synthetic setting is probably safer. But if you're using something like a proper bookcloth from a specialty supplier you can go higher because the cotton will take the heat. Best thing is to test a scrap piece first before you commit to the whole project. Just my two cents from having messed up both ways over the years.

the_laura9d ago

The lowest cotton setting is actually still too hot for most bookcloth honestly. You want to be on the synthetic setting, like polyester or nylon, since bookcloth usually has an acrylic coating that melts way before cotton fibers do. I scorched a whole roll of bookcloth before I figured that out, the cheap iron thing is smart though, for sure a dedicated one is the way to go so you don't have to keep resetting back and forth. Also try putting a piece of parchment paper between the iron and the cloth instead of a regular pressing cloth, it keeps the heat more even in my experience and you can actually see through it a bit.

max_ross8d agoMost Upvoted

The parchment paper tip is good but you gotta be careful it doesn't shift around while you're pressing, had that happen once and ended up with a weird wrinkled spot. If you're testing scraps anyway try the paper on different heat settings first to see where your iron actually runs.