Took me three hours to realize I was using the wrong grain direction on my book cloth

Kai Butler · 2026-06-12T14:40:03.338623+00:00

I was pressing the covers and they just would NOT lay flat. Kept adjusting my glue mix, tried different pressing times. Finally noticed the grain on my cloth was running the short way instead of along the spine. Such a simple fix that cost me a whole evening. Anyone else have a basic mistake that ate up way more time than it should have?

lopez.karen3mo ago

Twelve books for me. Spine cracks on every single one.

4

oscar_ellis3mo ago

Twelve books with spine cracks sounds like a paper grain issue, not cloth grain.

2

amy_murphy853mo ago

Right? Grain direction is one of those things that feels obvious after you learn it but somehow still trips you up. Had a whole batch of sketchbook covers warp on me because I grabbed the wrong roll of book cloth without checking the grain first. Bookbinding really does love to humble you with the tiny details.

1