After my travel journal came undone, I gave synthetic thread a shot

I was all about using cotton thread for sewing signatures because it felt right for handmade books. But when a journal I made for a friend started falling apart after a few months in their bag, I tried nylon thread. The nylon holds knots better and doesn't stretch or break as easily. Now I use it for any book that might get rough handling.

2 comments

2 Comments

garcia.casey8d ago

Was it hard to switch from natural to synthetic materials though? Like, did it feel wrong moving away from that traditional bookbinding vibe?

ryanf667d ago

Read about an old bookbinder who called synthetic thread "cheating." He said real books breathe with natural materials. Honestly, if my friend's journal stayed in one piece, I don't care if the thread is cheating. The vibe is a book that holds together, not one that falls apart in a bag to prove a point.

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