Appreciation post: I just finished my 50th hand-bound notebook this year, which is wild because I only started in March.

Honestly, hitting that number made me realize how much faster I've gotten at setting up my sewing frame, so what's your best time-saving tip for a common step?

3 comments

3 Comments

john4302mo ago

Wow, 50 notebooks is amazing! I have to mention though, calling it hand binding when you're using a sewing frame feels a bit off to me. The real old school, fully hand bound method doesn't use a frame at all, you sew each signature directly with a needle and thread. Using a frame is more like a hybrid approach. It's still cool, just a different technique!

paige_martin2mo ago

Gatekeeping hand binding seems like a weird hill to die on. The frame just holds the signatures in place while you sew them by hand. Still involves a needle and thread, just with less back pain.

patriciamoore1mo ago

Oh the sewing frame thing used to bug me too lol, but honestly I just started pre-punching my holes in batches of five signatures at once and it cut my setup time like crazy. I stack them all together with a little clamp, mark the first one, then punch through the whole stack so they line up perfect every time. Saves me from having to measure and punch each one individually and I've been able to bang out way more notebooks way faster since doing it.