I finally gave up on making my own bookcloth

Everyone in the bookbinding groups always talks about how easy it is to make your own bookcloth with heat n bond and some cotton fabric. I tried it three times over the last month and every single time the cloth buckled when I glued it to the boards. The last attempt was with a $12 yard of linen I got from a craft store in Portland and it still wrinkled up like crazy. I think the issue is that homemade cloth just doesn't have the same stiffness and give as the commercial stuff from places like Talas. I ended up buying a roll of pre-made buckram for $18 and it worked perfectly on my first try with zero bubbles. Has anyone else had better luck with homemade cloth or is this just one of those things that looks good on YouTube but fails in practice?

2 comments

2 Comments

tara7451mo ago

Wait, you actually had the same wrinkling problem? I always thought homemade was just as good but this makes me rethink it.

victor_carr251mo ago

Four times for me before I threw in the towel. I used that same heat n bond method with a really pretty cotton from Joann's and it looked great until I actually glued it down. Then it wrinkled like a paper bag someone sat on. I think the issue is the fabric stretches weird when it gets wet from the glue, and homemade cloth doesn't bounce back like the commercial stuff does. Honestly the $18 I spent on actual bookcloth from Talas is the best money I ever wasted on my hobby.

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