Monday, February 18, 2008

mitered corners






When I learned how to make mitered corners we learned a really involved and contorted way to do it. The corners were perfect, but it was very process intensive. I won't try to describe it. It finally occurred to me that there was a much easier way to do it with identical results. If anything the results are better considering how much less the book has to be handled. Less handling, less mess, fewer accidents. I since ran across this method in print but can't remember where. The sequence of photos are fairly clear. The only critical consideration is to use davey board that is the same thickness as what's being cover. The angle doesn't even have to be a perfect 45 degree angle, and the edges will still meet straight and flush.

Using mitered corners is not a necessity. Folded corners leave more cloth in the corners for wearability. The mitered corner is smoother and less bulky when that matters. The mitered corner is more durable than it may look, because the glue has a chance to impregnate the ends of the cloth fibers locking the edges together, and the end pages have a smooth, flush surface to adhere.

5 comments:

  1. What a great idea to use a board as the meaure! I always just do it by eye, but this will be great to help students understand what the distance needs to be and why that is, so thanks!

    Great blog by the way, look forward to seeing more of your work.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sarah, thanks for stopping by. You have nice work posted. Stop by the etsy group too if you haven't been there.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for such helpful hints! (Sorry I'm so late finding this.) I just started to learn how to make hardcover books and wrapping my covers with bookbinding cloth and papers, and your hints really came in handy! :) Thanks again!

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.