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My First Homemade Journal...


sirgilbert357

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I've marked this thread and will look for some nice paper while I'm Christmas shopping. Looks like a nice project for early in the year. I'm going to start lining up supplies like needles and thread and such.

If you want to try the HP 32 lb paper shoot me a PM. I'll be happy to mail you a couple of sheets (you don't live in Antarctica do you?!). I've been impressed with it...

 

Oh and don't spend too much on the needle and thread; a regular large sewing needle is what I use and it works fine. You can use waxed dental floss for the stitching too if you want. I just used upholstery thread because I know how strong it is and I wanted the red color...

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Great job! Something I've been tempted to try, but I think it will have to wait a while. I'll also say, i'd have been tempted to use the burlap for the cover as well, but that's just me

Stay tuned, I might have something up my sleeve! Working on a way to control the potential fraying of the threads without glueing the living daylights out of it...covers take more abuse than we realize and my main focus is going to be durability first and foremost.

Edited by sirgilbert357
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If you want to try the HP 32 lb paper shoot me a PM. I'll be happy to mail you a couple of sheets (you don't live in Antarctica do you?!). I've been impressed with it...

 

Oh and don't spend too much on the needle and thread; a regular large sewing needle is what I use and it works fine. You can use waxed dental floss for the stitching too if you want. I just used upholstery thread because I know how strong it is and I wanted the red color...

 

PM sent on the HP 32 lb paper. Very kind of you sirgilbert. I have a big roll of coat thread around somewhere and a few upholstery needles too. Used them to repair a seat in one of my cars and to restitch a backpack not too long ago.

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PM sent on the HP 32 lb paper. Very kind of you sirgilbert. I have a big roll of coat thread around somewhere and a few upholstery needles too. Used them to repair a seat in one of my cars and to restitch a backpack not too long ago.

 

Got it, I'll mail it out tomorrow.

 

Those would probably be perfect then. Better if its an old needle and not super sharp; you aren't piercing anything (I used a push pin to create the holes in the signatures) and a sharp point just becomes a liability for fingertips, LOL.

 

I also highly recommend a bone folder or paper creaser. About 3 dollars at a Hobby Lobby, Michael's, or maybe even Wal-Mart (I saw someone say they got one there). Or there's always the internet. These things just make the creases of your paper crisp and save your hands from abuse.

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You are talented this is very nice.

Thank you!

 

So I started sewing the signatures for the next one last night, but there was a lot going on in the sirgilbert household and I didn't finish. Either way, I'll post up pics of the bookblock as it is later on today. I really like this stitching method, it looks very clean and uniform once done. It's tempting me to try an open spine journal next...

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What an amazing project!!

I was just considering making my own journal this last week, but thinking it would be too complicated for me to do.

You did so very well on your first try! I doubt mine will turn out half that well (if I do attempt it).

 

I am nervous about sewing the signatures...I am horrible at sewing (although my mom & grandma are amazing, I did not get the sewing gene).

Is it difficult to keep everything straight while sewing? I looked at the link you shared - it is very informative but overwhelming to me. I think I need the simplified instructions, lol.

Tessy Moon



My thoughts are filled with beautiful words for the King, and I will use my voice as a writer would use pen and ink. Psalm 45:1


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What an amazing project!!

I was just considering making my own journal this last week, but thinking it would be too complicated for me to do.

You did so very well on your first try! I doubt mine will turn out half that well (if I do attempt it).

 

I am nervous about sewing the signatures...I am horrible at sewing (although my mom & grandma are amazing, I did not get the sewing gene).

Is it difficult to keep everything straight while sewing? I looked at the link you shared - it is very informative but overwhelming to me. I think I need the simplified instructions, lol.

 

Well, I didn't get around to posting up any pictures of the signatures, but I'll try to do that tonight. Its honestly harder to punch all the holes in perfect alignment than it is to sew it all together. Trust me, once you get going following the "in A2, out A3" stuff, you see the pattern and it makes sense. You literally just zig zag back and forth between holes...if I didn't suck at drawing, I'd draw you diagram...tonight may be kind of busy for me (I JUST got informed by Mrs. Sirgilbert that we are going to a fundraiser dinner -- oh joy. There goes my time to work on the journal tonight!), but I'll try to get pics up. Once the thread is through all the holes, you just pull it snug and the signatures snap into alignment (if your holes were punched correctly).

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BOOM!!

 

http://www.trumpetvine.com/moleskine-reloaded/

 

Ask and ye shall receive!

This is the stitching pattern I used. I think its coptic...or coptic-y in nature. Anyway, I tried two different kinds and this was, by far, the better of the two. I messed up in that you don't really want to pull the thread super tight. It should be snug, but as you go, just lay the signatures down and try to open the pages. You want it to be able to lay flat as you flip through the pages. My theory is that this is partly dependant on the paper you choose too. If you have really thick stiff paper, then it is less likely to want to open flat too. So, I won't be going beyond 32 lb, I won't be stitching as tightly and I do not plan to use mull or glue on the next journal. I DO however plan to use endbands for the spine. These will be glued to the ends and create some decoration as well as keep the signatures from being "floppy" and sliding out of alignment...all without adding too much stiffness. Anyway, it is a major learning experience, so just accept the fact that while your first one might be "good", the next one will be an improvement upon the first. I almost didn't finish the first and I'm really glad I did now...

:o That's what i've been looking for, i guess i wasn't looking hard enough! Anyway, thank you! I can't wait to try this! I think i'll probably start with some printer paper before i actually give the journal a try! The pictures helped too, all this looks way to advanced for me but i'll go ahead and jump in and try it!

http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww296/messiah_FPN/Badges/SnailBadge.png
https://www.etsy.com/shop/FountainPenStation?ref=hdr_shop_menu

http://NIBBLYNIB.WORDPRESS.COM

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This is pretty well made for being your first journal! The only thing I was going to say was to advise you to sew the signatures, but then I read that you used the Coptic sewing style. Not the most usual, but still effective.

 

Great job! :thumbup:

Is there another method other than what is mentioned? If so, could you provide a link? :)

http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww296/messiah_FPN/Badges/SnailBadge.png
https://www.etsy.com/shop/FountainPenStation?ref=hdr_shop_menu

http://NIBBLYNIB.WORDPRESS.COM

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OK, since I was lazy about taking pics with the first journal, here are some detailed ones to make up for that. This will show a portion of the stitching process for those who are interested. I'll try to describe the steps, but, we are starting kind of in the middle after all, so it could actually do more harm than good, LOL...

 

So here are the signatures marked for punching the holes. This is probably one of the more important steps, but honestly, it need not be *perfect*, as there is a way to line things up permanently later...

post-116380-0-31685600-1415759174_thumb.jpg

 

My precision tool I procured especially for this purpose:

post-116380-0-91971300-1415759194_thumb.jpg

 

This is where I started tonight. Sorry, we are in the middle of the book block, but stay with me and I think you will find its not that hard. Using the steps listed here: http://www.trumpetvine.com/moleskine-reloaded/ , this picture depicts "sewing into D5" (just completed, so the needle is hidden).

post-116380-0-46879500-1415759206_thumb.jpg

 

You will work your way back and forth across the bookblock, so the path will be A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 -> B5 B4 B3 B2 B1 -> C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 -> D5 D4 D3 D2 D1 (see the link I posted for more info on what the letters mean), so now we are sewing "out of D4":

post-116380-0-08784700-1415759211_thumb.jpg

 

After going out of D4, we thread the needle between the signatures from left to right and go BEHIND NOT THROUGH the stitch linking holes B4 and C4. Clear as mud? Look closely at this pic and the next one:

post-116380-0-97263400-1415759215_thumb.jpg

 

Needle pulled through:

post-116380-0-58807200-1415759220_thumb.jpg

 

Slack taken out of thread and getting ready to go to the next hole:

post-116380-0-45828700-1415759224_thumb.jpg

 

Now, I've returned the slack to the thread so I can work the needle, so don't let that confuse you...now take the needle and just go right back into D4. This part could be difficult with a sharper needle or subpar thread. The idea is to put the needle through the hole without piercing the thread that's already in there. You want to thread "side by side" if that makes any sense...

post-116380-0-33534600-1415759229_thumb.jpg

 

Now pull your needle and thread all the way through; it will look like this:

post-116380-0-44715600-1415759233_thumb.jpg

 

Now, if you were like me after reading through that link I posted above, I needed some alone time with a beer sitting down. But its really not that bad. Just literally spell it out to yourself and go one step at a time and it really does all make sense after you've linked a few holes together. The process to join signature A and B is a tad different in that there's more back and forth and not as much of the "hooking" going on, but once you have A and B sewn together, it really flies along and you can literally add as many signatures as you want...

 

Any questions, feel free to ask. Hope this helps...

Edited by sirgilbert357
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Oh, almost forgot, the dots on the outside of the signatures are simply there so I know where NOT to hold the paper. The push pin will obviously exit there...I use a template laid on the inside and punch my holes from the inside of the signature going out...I should have taken a pic of that, but I forgot to, sorry...

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Great looking journal. You might try needlepoint needles - they're blunt tipped, large eyed and come in various sizes usually several to a pack.

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Great looking journal. You might try needlepoint needles - they're blunt tipped, large eyed and come in various sizes usually several to a pack.

Thanks for the suggestion. It may be hard to tell, but the needle in the pics isn't sharp at all. I don't know if that is just how it's made or if it's just really old and has seen a lot of use, but it wouldn't break skin without some serious force behind it. I'm sure I'll lose it or something, so when it's time to find a replacement, I'll look for the needles you recommend.

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sirgilbert357 was kind enough to send me a few sheets of the really nice paper he's using to make his journal. It arrived today and I immediately gave it a bit of a writing test to see how it felt and looked. I like it a lot. Thank you very much. I'm adding a ream of this to my shopping list.

 

15798280542_94f465c993_z.jpgBond Paper from Eric Nov 2014 by UGotaHaveArt, on Flickr

 

As you can see I get a bit of bleed with my wettest pen/nib combo, but I don't use that to journal very often.

Edited by Art
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sirgilbert357 was kind enough to send me a few sheets of the really nice paper he's using to make his journal. It arrived today and I immediately gave it a bit of a writing test to see how it felt and looked. I like it a lot. Thank you very much. I'm adding a ream of this to my shopping list.

 

15798280542_94f465c993_z.jpgBond Paper from Eric Nov 2014 by UGotaHaveArt, on Flickr

 

As you can see I get a bit of bleed with my wettest pen/nib combo, but I don't use that to journal very often.

 

That seemed to arrive pretty fast! Looks pretty decent...that wettest pen DOES show a bit of feathering, but wow, that's a *really* bold line, lol. I'd guess this paper could handle like 90% of pens out there...not too shabby!

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