Diy Leather Bound Journal

A pocket sized journal with leather cover and decorative inner lining

Posted by The Crafty Gentleman

About

This classic leather-bound journal is perfect for business, as a gift or even just as a scribble pad to keep at home. Best of all, it's completely personalisable with a decorative inner lining!

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You Will Need (7 things)

  • Plain Paper
  • Rotary Cutter
  • Fabric Glue
  • Waxed Thread
  • Leather Awl
  • Decorative Paper
  • Soft Leather

Steps (7 steps, 1440 minutes)

  1. 1

    Using a rotary cutter (or good scissors), cut out a strip of leather measuring 27cm x 12cm. Try to cut this as neatly as possible, with clean lines and sharp corners.

  2. 2

    Cut a similar strip out of your chosen decorative paper (I used a map of the British Isles, but you can use anything you like!).

  3. 3

    Using a suitable fabric glue, stick the decorative paper to the inside of the leather strip. Leave this to dry under a stack of heavy books for at least 24 hours (ensure that it doesn’t stick to the books by first placing a piece of cling film over the top).

  4. 4

    Cut out 18 pieces of paper, each measuring 12 cm x 17 cm. Arrange these into 3 stacks of 6 pages each. Fold each of these stacks in half, keeping all of the pages in the stack carefully aligned. Use a blunt knife to enforce the crease.

  5. 5

    When the leather/paper cover has completely dried, use an awl to make 6 holes in it, as shown by the red marks in the diagram. These should be approximately 3 cm from the top edge and 3 cm from the bottom edge.

  6. 6

    Similarly, make two holes in the centre of each of the previously prepared stacks of pages. The holes should be along the crease and should line up with the holes made in the cover.

  7. 7

    Finally, tie the pages to the cover by carefully feeding a length of waxed linen thread through the holes.