I just found out I've been folding my signatures wrong for three years

I was at a small workshop in Portland last month and saw the instructor fold a folio with the grain running the opposite way from how I do it. She said it makes the paper sit flatter when you sew it, and sure enough, my test book from that day opens way easier. I always thought the paper direction only mattered for the cover boards. So, is grain direction in the text block a must-do rule, or is it more of a personal choice thing? What's your take?

3 comments

3 Comments

cameronjenkins10d ago

Remember my friend who got super into bookbinding last year? She made a whole set of notebooks with the grain running wrong in the signatures because she didn't know any better. They looked fine on the shelf, but they always wanted to snap shut when you tried to write in them. She was so frustrated until someone at her local guild pointed out the grain thing. Now she swears by matching the grain direction in the text block, says it makes all the difference for how the book feels in your hands. It seems like one of those small details that turns a good project into a great one.

hollyl4510d ago

My old sketchbook's grain was wrong and it's fine.

alice2697d ago

Yeah, that grain direction really matters for how the book lays flat. I learned the hard way with a batch of journals that just wouldn't stay open. Getting it right makes the whole thing feel so much more solid.