Handbound Journals

This tutorial has been brought to you by Steph Hung of Curiously Crafty. With a compulsion for creative wonders, she has her hands in too many cookie jars…

Welcome to the wonderful world of journalling! I promise, if I can make one then you can too. The following instructions will make a journal that is 5 3/4″ x 4 1/2″.

(All of the pictures have also been posted at flickr.)

Materials:

• 60 – 70lb. paper (I use 20 sheets per journal)
• one sheet of white paper for the cover guide, cut to 5 3/4″ x 9 1/2″
• decorative paper for end papers (I used scrapbook paper. You will need 2 papers that measure 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ each)
• cardboard
  • covers are 5 3/4″ x 4 1/4″ each
  • spine is 5 3/4″ x (width of pages; to be discussed later)
• fabric (1/2″ wider than cover guide on all edges)
• pencil
• scissors
• glue
• wax paper
• clothespins/paperclips
• ruler
• sewing needle
• strong thread (you can buy bookmaking thread, or just use hand-quilting thread)
• bone folder (*optional)
• awl (*optional)

Instructions:

Part 1: Sewing the pages

1. Cut pages in half, leaving you with 40 – 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ papers.

2. In groups of five, fold papers in half.

Each group becomes a signature.

3. When all the papers are folded, squeeze the signatures together at the fold. Measure this width;

You can now cut the spine cover at this width.

4. With a book this size, you will need 4 sewing holes. Mark a vertical line 1/2″ in from either end of the page, and then mark 1 1/2″ from those lines.

5. Punch holes through the signatures where they have been marked.

6. Now comes the sewing. This is what you should have at this point:

Write “top” on the top page to help keep your orientation of the signatures when sewing. Thread up your needle, knot it 2″ from the end, and here we go:

Go into #1, come out #2, go into #3, come out #4. Go down to #5, come out #6, go UP into #7 (also hole #3), come out #8 (also hole #2), go DOWN into #9, and out #10. At this point tie a knot with the string end that is hanging at #1.

*the blue lines indicate which sewing lines will be visible to you.

Go into #11, come out #12, go UP to #13, come out #14, go DOWN to #15, and come out #16. String the thread through the loop that was created between #4 and #5, and carry on as before.

**remember: you are only ever working with 2 signatures at any time. Try and keep the thread as taut as possible.

7. When you are finished sewing, you should have something like this:

.

8. Apply a layer of glue to the spine, wrap in wax paper, and clip in place with paperclips/clothespins.

Allow this to dry for at least 1/2 hour.

Part 2: Making the book cover

* try to use a medium weight fabric such as cotton, as a heavyweight fabric will be difficult to glue down and a lightweight fabric may show glue seeping through. you don’t need to iron the fabric (see below).

1. Lay out your covers, spine, and cover guide.

When the covers are laid on top of the cover guide, there should be 1/8″ space between the covers.

If not, trim your cover guide.

2. Glue the covers to the guide.

3. Now glue the covers to the fabric, with the cover guide UP.

Pull the fabric taut underneath to stretch out any wrinkles.

4. Glue down the corners.

5. Glue down the edges of the fabric, trying to make precise corners.

6. Allow the cover to dry, pinning in place if necessary.

Part 3: assembling your book

1. With wax paper underneath, apply glue to your first page.

2. Press it to the front cover, leaving a 1/8″ margin on all 3 sides.

.

3. Repeat steps 1&2 for the last page. Push the signatures back into the spine.

4. Fold your endpapers in half.

5. Apply glue to the inside of the front cover, and the inside edge of the adjacent page.

Smooth endpaper on top.

Repeat for the last page.

6. With wax papers between covers and pages, place your book under a heavy weight and allow to dry for at least 24 hours.

7. Tada! Admire your freshly made handbound book.