Tried soaking book cloth in diluted PVA and it shifted everything

So I was watching a video from a binder in Portland who mentioned they pre-soak their book cloth in a 60/40 PVA mix before cutting... figured I'd try it on a small journal cover yesterday. The fabric came out way stiffer and didn't fray at the edges when I folded it over the boards. Really changed how clean the corners looked. Anyone else experimented with pre-treating cloth before cutting?

3 comments

3 Comments

taylorhunt25d ago

60/40 is way more PVA than I'd ever use but now I'm curious to try it myself after reading this.

the_henry23d ago

@taylorhunt wait 60/40?? you're braver than me lol

skyler_lane8325d ago

The 60/40 mix is definitely the sweet spot, I've been messing around with ratios for years and anything with more water just makes the cloth floppy again. Did you try letting it cure for a full 24 hours before cutting? Because I found that rushing it makes the PVA seep back out and gum up my ruler. Also curious what weave you tested it on, a tight cotton book cloth behaves totally different than a loose linen when you dip it in that heavy a mix. I stripped a whole batch of buckram by trying this with too loose of a weave, the glue just soaked through and made the backside a sticky nightmare.