Have you ever wanted to make your own custom journal or sketchbook? Did you think it would be too difficult for someone who's never put a book together before? Well, I'm here to tell you it's not. It's actually super easy and fun! So, if you want to find out how to make your own book, keep reading. You can also watch me make my first journal in the video below. Happy book making!
Supplies you will need:
- Chipboard
- Printer
- Printer Paper
- Mod Podge Matte
- Mod Podge Gloss
- Acrylic Sealer
- PVA Glue (Optional. Can use Mod Podge.)
- Flat ½ Inch Wide Paint Brush
- Leather Sewing Kit
1. Preparing The Signatures
A signature is made up of 4-6 sheets of paper that are folded in half and nestled inside of each other. Each signature makes a pamphlet style booklet. The signatures consist of 4 to 6 pages. Too many pages can cause the right edges to not be even. So, it's best to keep the signatures to a maximum of 6 pages.
To prepare our signatures, we need to design them using a program such as Canva or Microsoft Office. (You may also use scrap paper or whatever other printed paper you may have.) Once you have designed your pages, print out however many pages you want your journal. If you want it to be 50 pages, print out 25, then, flip the paper on the long side and print on the back of the sheets that you already printed on. You may also want to design and print out your front and back cover, along with the inside of the covers, as well.
Once your sheets are printed, fold each sheet in half, one at a time. Try to fold them as perfectly as you can. Stack 4 to 6 pages on top of each other and fold them together to make 5-6 little booklets. Set them aside as we prepare our book covers.
A book signature.
2. Making the Front and Back Covers
Next, we need to prepare our book covers. If you didn't design your covers when you designed your journal pages, you will need to do so, now. You will need to grab your chipboard and cut it down to the size you want your book to be. For example, my book is going to be 8.5 inches by 5.5 inches. This is the measurement you will get when you fold, or cut, an 8.5" x 11" piece of standard letter size printer paper in half. So, if you are fine with this measurement, you don't need to cut your signatures down, but if you prefer a different size, this will be a good time to trim them down to size. Cut your chipboard to your preferred size, as well. You need 2 pieces identical to each other.
Once we have our chipboards cut and our covers printed, we will need to cut our covers to fit our chipboards. Lay the chipboard on top of the back side of the cover. Make sure the cover is 1 inch larger all the way around the chipboard. Trim the corners at a slight angle inward, toward each corner, careful as to not cut right next to the corner, rather leave about a mm or 2 so the corner doesn't poke through when you fold over the edges. Example pictured below.
Picture of how the book cover corners should be cut.
Now, we're going to take our glue, or Mod Podge, and paint it onto the chipboards. Turn the glue covered chipboard over onto the paper. Center it to where you want it. Then, brush glue onto the flaps and press them down onto the back of the chipboard. Repeat with the other cover. Let that dry for 2 or 3 hours. Once it's dry, turn them over. Cut your inside cover sheet to however you want it. I cut mine a centimeter shorter than my covers. Take your glue stick and apply it all over the back of the paper. Apply it to the back of your book covers. Let them dry for an hour or two.
3. Sealing The Covers
Now, we need to seal the covers. First, we want to make sure our ink doesn't smear when we brush on the Mod Podge. So, get out the acrylic sealer, go outside, and spray a thin and even coat over each cover from about 8-10 inches away. Let one side dry for about an hour, then do the other side. Allow to dry another hour.
Now, decide if you want your cover to be glossy or matte, or both. I chose to make the inside of my covers matte and the outside glossy. You will need a cup of water for rinsing your brush, a paper towel for drying excess water off the brush, and, of course, your flat paint brush. Larger brushes are not recommended. I like to use a thin, flat brush, no wider than a half inch. Load up your brush with the Mod Podge. Apply to your cover starting at the top left corner and making long, quick strokes, going up and down only. Work quickly and try to make as few strokes as possible. Kind of like applying nail polish. Keep reloading your brush with MP as you continue to cover the whole board. It's ok if you mess up on the first coat. You're going to fix all the imperfections on your second coat. Once you have covered both covers, let them dry for 3 to 4 hours and apply the second coat. Let that dry for 3 to 4 hours, then turn over and apply your preferred Mod Podge to the other side of the covers. Repeat the dry time and add second coats, as you did for the first side.
4. Poke Holes In Covers & Signatures
Now, we need to make holes in our covers and signatures so we can see them all together. First, use a pen to mark where you want your holes to go on your covers. You can make as many holes as you want. I did 9 holes, but could've gotten away with as few as 2. Now, take a pencil and mark a line over the whole stack of papers where your hole marks are on the covers. Each marked line should line up with the marks you made on your covers. Get out your leather sewing kit and take out the awl. Place a piece of cardboard box under your cover and poke holes with your awl where you made the marks. Repeat for the other cover. Then, unfold each signature, place, one at a time, over the cardboard, and poke holes in each signature where you made the marks earlier.
5. Sew Your Book Together
Now, we're going to sew our book together using a Coptic stitch. This stitch will resemble the chain stitch that you may know of if you're someone who sews or embroiders. Our stitches will look like a braid when we're finished. This binding will also allow our book to lay flat so we may write or draw without worrying about the middle of the book arching.
I have provided an illustration that I drew to show how the stitches should go. I've numbered the arrows so you can see each move made during the process. I hope it's clear enough to understand. You will need to sew the bottom cover and your first signature together, first. Then, sew your other signatures together. When you get to your last signature, sew the front cover to the signature as you also attach them to the prior signature, as you did with the rest.
I hope the diagram helps. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them below. I will try to answer as best I can. Feel Free to watch the video and print out the diagram if it helps you.
Coptic Stitch Diagram
Finished Book with Coptic Stitch Binding
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