Caught myself doing the same stitching pattern for 2 years until a workshop at the local library opened my eyes

I went to this little bookbinding workshop they do once a month at the downtown library near me, mostly because I had nothing else going on that Saturday. The instructor was this older guy who's been binding for like 40 years, and he watched me do a coptic stitch for about 30 seconds before he pointed out I was crossing my threads wrong. I had no idea, I just thought that was how it worked. He showed me this tiny adjustment where you loop the thread under instead of over, and my spine tension went from loose and floppy to actually holding shape. I redid one of my practice journals when I got home that same night and it came out way cleaner than anything I'd done before. Has anyone else had a random tip like that totally change their basic technique?

2 comments

2 Comments

wilson.emma1mo ago

My buddy down at the shop got totally humbled at a quilting class a few years back... she'd been doing the same running stitch on her bindings for ages and thought she had it down. This old lady just leaned over and said her needle was too big for the thread she was using. Swapped to a finer needle and her tension went from looking like a kid's craft project to actually professional. She told me she went home and reworked three whole quilts because she couldn't stand looking at her old ones anymore... it's wild how one tiny thing can make such a difference.

the_claire1mo ago

Oh geez, wait - she reworked THREE whole quilts over that? That's kind of insane honestly. I mean, I get being a perfectionist but that's a lot of work to undo and redo just because of a needle size swap. Idk, maybe it's just me but once I bind something it's staying put unless there's a major error. Don't get me wrong, the needle thing is totally a game changer once you figure it out. But ripping out three entire quilts over tension? That lady must really love her seam ripper more than I love my coffee.