my first completed Christmas gift for 08 - yay! :D
I saw some cool journals on etsy a while back and decided to make my own.
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take your paper (I got a 50 sheet package of drawing paper at a craft store - $1.10 - I liked the color) and cut out rectangles to make signatures with.
I determinded the size of the journal I wanted by the paper I bought. I cut my 12"x9" sheets in half 10 at a time, then folded the rectangles in half, so I ended up with 4½"x6" pages. -
unfold your signatures and measure where to punch your holes.
I punched 6 holes to get a nice even stitching on the spine of my journal. -
I used an awl for this part.
I put a piece of cardboard between my pages and cutting board so the holes go all the way through better. -
refold your signatures, press them down, and measure how thick they are altogether.
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now the the outside - I used leather, but you can use whatever ya like. I LOVE the smell!
I got a 1/2 lb. bag of leather scraps at a carfts store - $6
try to get a large enough piece for the size journal you'll be making.
measure the signatures your just made and allow extra for the flap to fold over the front cover.
I didn't have a big enough piece, so I cut the leather in ways that gave me the most to work with. -
A rotary cutter worked great on this, but any really sharp blade will be fine.
I wanted to have neat-o stitch lines on mine so I took advantage of needing to piece together my strips and cut diagonally along the leather. -
match that cut with the piece you'll be joining it with.
I like the raw edges the leather scraps come with, so I pick out the ones I like best for the ends of my strip. -
measure out holes to punch with an awl so that they're even and match up well.
that was a bit tricky with a diagonal line, so if you don't want to mess up your leather, make a paper template first and after you get the holes situated where ya want and it all goes together how ya like, punch the leather. -
I used thick, waxed thread and a big needle to sew the pieces together.
you can stitch it however you like, but I like this sorta flat blanket stitch kinda thing I do. - I really don't know what it's called :P
leave a tail about 6" long or so, and with your pieces side by side, go through the holes as if they were wrong sides together, in the same direction. -
bring your needle through the holes and go through the loop, pull tight and go through the next holes down the same way.
The first stitch won't have a loop to go through, but you can wind around the tail you left and then pull it between the pieces where they're butted up together and run the thread under the stiches on the back side. do the same at the other end when you finish sewing it up, and run that tail up through the stitches on the other side, too.
I like using waxed thread for this because it sorta sticks to itself and I didn't need to make any knots on the back side - much smoother that way. -
the spine - this is where you'll need that measurement from your signatures - mine was about an inch thick.
wrap your leather around your pages and decide where you want to sew your signatures in.
I divided up my inch into six and punched the holes in the same spots I punched them in the paper before. -
sew the signatures into the leather - I started at the top, went in from the leather side and through the pages, wove the needle in and out until I reached the bottom, then went back up, then down... and so on until you've got all the holes filled. tie the ends off and leave them long or string up some beads on them... I poked the ends back through so the spine was nice and clean.
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cut a strip to wrap around the journal & hold it together.
I secured mine with a decorative silver button thing to match the snap I wanted to use at the other end. -
measure around your journal and decide where to place your snap.
you could totally just leave the strap long to tie the journal up with, but I didn't have enough and I wanted to use a snap anyway.
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By Clytemnestra
By Miss Muffin of Doom
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Posted By:Candice C. »
September 30, 2008 10:15
Popular tags: Painting & Decorating, Dressmaking / Tailoring, Revamping, Christmas, Clothing & Fabric, Decorating, Gothic, and Halloween
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Glitter Pixie
30 Sep 11:42
this is amazing. i'm totally making these for xmas presents for every member of my family. i had better get started. hope you don't mind? and thanks so much for the inspiration and a very helpful how-to
michelle G.
30 Sep 12:19
thats very nice, you put alot of work into it, I know she will love it
Lilim
30 Sep 14:12
*Sniffles the leather journal* Hehe it always smells so good ^__^ I love it, its manly but not to manly that a girl wouldn't also love it
Vicky Ninja
30 Sep 20:10
Thats the most beautiful journal i've ever seen. i want one T_T
Persephone
30 Sep 20:26
This is fantastic. I'm definitely going to be making one of these within the next few months. Its great!
Sugarlishes
30 Sep 21:34
wow if i knew it was that easy i would of tried these long time ago! thanks for the great how too!!
DIS.AR.RAY
30 Sep 23:59
This is amazing. I love it! Its such a cool design.
:D
I wouldn't use leather [being all vegetarian and crap :D ] but it does look cool. Maybe pleather.
Geslepen
01 Oct 01:58
you must be the best relative ever
Frustrated Crafter
01 Oct 02:00
I LOVE IT!!!!
What a great way to use up some of reclaimed (read: garbage picked) leather!
Candice C.
01 Oct 21:42
Geslepen - I am, come to think of it... ;) kidding, I just know she'd appreciate something handmade and I really don't know what else to get her that wouldn't be "just another gift"... ya know?
M Gray Blackbird
02 Oct 04:16
the craftmanship on this is amazing, i'm still learning, trial by error style. but wow! you gave it a very rustic look, which i ador!
M Gray Blackbird
02 Oct 04:17
the craftmanship on this is amazing, i'm still learning, trial by error style. but wow! you gave it a very rustic look, which i ador!
PB
04 Oct 01:39
That's pretty awesome! So much better than the store-bought journals.
Missy El
19 Oct 20:21
This is just amazing!
Knittin' Kitten
16 Nov 19:44
So did you sew up each sets of paper one at a time? Sorry, I'm copying this and just want to make sure
Candice C.
16 Nov 21:37
Knittin' Kitten - yeah, each signature was sewn in one at a time. here's a website I found helpful when sewing the signatures in. I didn't do mine the same way (I did more than 3 signatures so I didn't skip any rows and then go back - just worked my way across going up and down the spine), but the basic sewing is what I did as far as the holes I used:
http://www.teeshamoore.com/how_to_make_journals.htm
Knittin' Kitten
18 Nov 23:28
Ooh excellent I know what you mean. Thankyou!
Zezerk
13 Dec 17:37
Thank you so much for sharing! This is fantastic!!
Namsab
04 Jan 10:22
This.
is.
amazing.
And I LOVE you for posting a How-To, because I've always wanted to have a journal like this, but the ready-to-buy ones never fit my taste.
I can't get over how awesome this is, really. I soso hope I can remake this.
Cassie
05 Jan 00:19
Truthfully, I'm fascinated. It looks... gothic and old with an awesome elegance. That probably makes absolutely no scense, but that journal is wicked sweet.
jessica;;
09 May 22:47
i love this :D
it looks so old and lovelyy
am going to make one as soon as i get some leather :)
thanks! x
M Gray Blackbird
19 May 17:54
where the heck did you find paper that cheep?!?! or was each piece a $1.10? i love the look of this by the way! i'm wanting to do something simalar but as a cover for a note book, something that can be taken off, and placed on a different one, just trying to figure out how to do that...
Candice C.
19 May 21:34
Blackbird - it was 1.10 for the whole pack. I got it in the art section of my craft store (not the scrapbook part) where all the construction paper and big notepads are.
k-k-k-KATIE
11 Jul 20:40
this is so cool!
i am fascinated by books (blank ones especially) and making them, and this is such a good job!
when you flip the pages are there big gaps between the signatures?
Candice C.
24 Jul 20:58
hmmmm... ya know, I don't remember! I guess if you're worried about them being too far apart, you could make them with fewer pages in them and just sew them in closer to each other. I probably would squish mine a bit more next time around to it's a little tighter.