My First Homemade Journal...

[sirgilbert357]

So I've been going back and forth on this little project and despite the costs, I've decided it was something I really wanted to do. I sold some junk I had sitting around to raise funds and bought some materials. Here's my first effort at making my own journal:

 

The book block with "mull" attached. I had some burlap coffee bag just layin around and said what the hey, why not?! Hindsight is 20/20...lol

 

The book block glued to the cover.

 

Red flyleaves. Love the red, white and blue color theme. Hey, I'm American, I thought it was a good place to start. This step presented some interesting challenges. My second journal will be much better.

 

The cover. Heavy duty fabric, not bookcloth. Love the look and texture.

 

Ribbon sewn into middle sig. Not sure if this is the "right" way to do it or not, but it made sense at the time, its very secure and I actually like how it looks there. *shrug* Might just become a little trademark of mine, lol.

 

Paper is HP 32 lb laser printer paper, 10 sheets per signature, 7 signatures, so 140 sheets, 276 writing pages (Whoa...might have gone overboard there!), flyleaves are heavy cardstock of unknown weight. I used basic chipboard for the cover and spine. Signatures were stitched with coptic stitching (no pic of that, sorry) with heavy duty upholstery thread.

 

Anyway, pretty happy with how it came out, despite its little ugly warts and imperfections. It's very solid and I've been carrying it around now for a few days, writing in it here and there. I've already got some crazy ideas in my head of making more. How addictive is this hobby of pens and paper going to get anyway??? Can't wait to see just how much better my 2nd journal will be.

 

Feel free to share thoughts, comments, criticisms. After I think they are presentable enough, I may just throw one up in the PIF thread so a unbiased user can give me an honest opinion of my work...

 

A big thanks to TMLee for the advice and guidance along the way. I will be taking your observations into account with this next journal...already starting the signatures!

Edited November 9, 2014 by sirgilbert357

[jay.is.here]

beautiful

[Art]

Looks like a very nice journal and a terrific project. Congratulations. I especially like the fabric you chose. Texture and color both are very attractive.

[sirgilbert357]

Looks like a very nice journal and a terrific project. Congratulations. I especially like the fabric you chose. Texture and color both are very attractive.

 

Thanks! Got enough to make two in this color scheme since I liked it so much...the second one may have lined paper though, as I think it will be more useful that way...

[dgreenwood116]

I want to try this so bad, but I haven't be able to figure out how do you sew the folds of paper together?

[Art]

I want to try this so bad, but I haven't be able to figure out how do you sew the folds of paper together?

 

That's a good question. I might be tempted some time next year to give this a go too.

[sirgilbert357]

I want to try this so bad, but I haven't be able to figure out how do you sew the folds of paper together?

 

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...

[Yaakova]

Very well done! I'm fascinated by the art of bookbinding, and your first effort is most impressive.

[sirgilbert357]

Very well done! I'm fascinated by the art of bookbinding, and your first effort is most impressive.

Thank you! I'll be sure to update the thread when the next one is complete.

[laoriginaltec]

It looks great!

[sirgilbert357]

Signatures for the next one are folded and ready for hole punching:

 

This journal will be much thinner and thus, more comfortable to write on. There are 5 sheets per signature and seven signatures total, so 140 pages (well, I guess 136 if you subtract for the flyleaves, etc). Here it is with weight on it next to amberleadavis' TWSBI Vac 700. The pen is about as thick as the bookblock will be when finished.

 

I folded every single sheet one at a time with a bone folder. The "fishtail" (is that what its called?) on each signature is much more consistent and cleaner than my first journal.

 

The gloves are to keep my hand oils off the paper obviously...

[sirgilbert357]

It looks great!

 

Thank you! I have too many ideas -- can't make them fast enough. LOL. I have two bookblocks folded already. Will punch holes and sew them up tomorrow night if time allows. I'll update this thread with pics as I go since I didn't do a very good job with that on the first journal. Hopefully it will make for an interesting thread...

[greensparcs]

if you want to have clean edges I found this ( I do like both styles btw )

[Art]

 

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...

 

Thanks for the info. It is really tempting to give this a go.

[sirgilbert357]

if you want to have clean edges I found this ( I do like both styles btw )

 

 

I always wondered what the best way would be to do this. Thanks for posting this. I think I like the "fishtail" edges better for now, but I may be tempted to do this at some point in the future, so this is good to have.

[sirgilbert357]

 

Thanks for the info. It is really tempting to give this a go.

 

Dooooooooo it. DOOOOOOOOOO IT! Its a lot of fun.

[GatzBcn]

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!

[Art]

 

Thanks for the info. It is really tempting to give this a go.

 

 

 

Dooooooooo it. DOOOOOOOOOO IT! Its a lot of fun.

 

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.

[injesticate]

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

[sirgilbert357]

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!

Yeah, I didn't take any pics of the spine to show the stitching before I glued the "mull" in place. I'll take pics on this upcoming one.