My awl slipped on a signature and poked straight through 4 folded sheets

I was at my kitchen table in Tacoma on a Tuesday night, maybe 10pm, sewing a text block for a rebind of a beat up copy of The Hobbit, and I was rushing the last signature. My awl slipped off the sewing support and went right through the fold, punching a hole through 4 sheets at once instead of just the section I wanted. I sat there for a minute wanting to toss the whole thing, then decided to try something. I got a small strip of matching paper, glued it over the hole from the inside with wheat paste, and pressed it flat under a stack of cookbooks for the night. Next day I poked fresh holes just a hair off from the tear, stitched it like normal, and honestly you can barely tell unless you tilt it into the light. Has anyone else patched a blowout mid-sew, and did you back it with tissue or just paper?

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river_bailey218d ago

Did you use wheat paste for the tissue back too or just plain water? Curious how it held up once the block got pressed and dried. I've had patches wrinkle on me before and it shows way worse than the hole would have.

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