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Hand drawn patch of Nox Aeris by Janus

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Coloring test

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I encourage exploring different stitches. Saddle stitch limits you to the one and there's only so many pages you can stick in there (I usually only do about 4 or 5 pages per signature), and while attaching several signatures together with adhesives is fine, it requires additional materials and most adhesives disintegrate with time, especially on a binding that does a lot of opening and closing. Modifying the saddle stitch or learning new stitches is easy and makes your book your very own, on top of using found or second hand materials.

My college bookbinding club usually led with long stitch (at its core a modified multiple signature saddle stitch), followed by coptic stitch, Japanese Stab stitch, and secret Belgian binding because they're easy and you get a cool unique look with each of them. Other regulars included French link, kettle stitch (the one often used for books with glued on hard covers), butterfly stitch, and buttonhole stitch. With any of these you can try dos a dos or French doors books, or add an endband. You can find many free tutorials online, we usually used videos by Sea Lemon.

Some of my books and further tips below the cut:

Here you see long stitch (one with stitching covered by a glued on calendar page), Japanese Stab stitch, buttonhole stitch binding, Coptic stitch, and butterfly stitch. The last photo has a saddle stitch, secret Belgian binding, and Coptic stitch again.

I can't find all my books right now and I don't claim to be an expert. You can really go crazy with the possibilities. Folks might prefer a softer or harder cover depending on the stitch but I like to stick to a soft cardboard like those used in food and other packaging. As you can see it also means I can use any funky designs I find, and has a built in spine I can use for stitches that need them like buttonhole or secret Belgian.

I've used magazines, calendars, paper bags, fabric scraps, decorative tape, candy wrappers, and whatever else I found to decorate covers. I've used thread (though you might need to double up or use embroidery thread so it doesn't slice the paper), linen cord, ribbons, nylon chord, and yarn for the stitching. Beware frizzy or poor quality cords/threads may have a tendency to tangle or catch and be a pain while stitching (or if your thread is a little too thick for your poked holes), you can run it through a hunk of beeswax to assist it with keeping its shit together.

Book binding machines are cool! But before you invest in one, try making them by hand, and also check if your local library or university might have one you can use. Try making one page zines, try making art books, print out something you wrote or your favorite public domain book and bind it, make a junk made out of junk, rebind an old book that's fallen apart. Use up all those crafting scraps you have lying around and make your growing collection of unused sketchbooks look cooler. Follow your book binding dreams with an awl, a needle and hubris.

(If you would like assistance finding resources or following bookbinding directions I would be glad to do my best to assist)

DIY notebook/junk journal tutorial for people on a budget

I found myself watching a lot of bookbinding videos recently & had the realization: I could probably do that at home, for free. And I was right. So before an influencer convinces you to drop 50 dollars on a book press and a fancy bonefolder, here's how:

STEP 0: MATERIALS

Cardstock - This can be any slightly thicker paper. I've been using postcards and blank greeting cards, because they're already around the size I want, but you can even use the cardboard from a cereal box if you want something sturdier.

Scissors/Xacto knife - You need at least the scissors, but the Xacto knife makes things a lot easier. If you have an actual paper cutter, use that instead.

Glue - your choice, I've been using modpodge but you can use a glue stick, etc instead.

Sturdy tape - duct tape, electrical tape, masking tape, etc. It needs to hold up to wear and tear; washi/scotch tape will not work.

Binder or Paper clips - binder clips are my preference but large paper clips work in a pinch

Ruler(s) - If you have them, I recommend using two rulers: one metal (if you're cutting paper with an xacto knife), one plastic or wood (this will be your bonefolder).

Pen or pencil

Paper scraps - These will be the pages of your notebook. You want them to be the same size or bigger than your covers. You can use literally anything; I've been using the last blank pages of old planners and notebooks, end pages of old books, and various scraps that would otherwise be thrown away.

Safety pin - Awl substitute

Needle and thread

ADDITIONALLY you should have a) a surface to glue on and b) a surface to cut on. A piece of scrap cardboard works well for both.

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STEP 1: DECORATING THE COVER

Take the cardstock you want to use for your cover, cut it to size if you need to, and fold it in half, using the side of your wooden/plastic ruler to flatten the crease. If you want to decorate it, take a magazine clipping or paper scrap of your choice and glue it on one side ( shown below). Avoid gluing anything onto the crease.

Flip it over and trim the sides down. Cut off the corners, then glue and fold the sides over. Use the ruler on anything you need to crease.

Flip back over and repeat for the other side! Make sure to leave a gap at the 'spine'.

STEP 2: CREATING A SIGNATURE

A "signature" is a stack of folded papers, aka, your notebook's pages. Take the papers you wish to use, fold each of them in half, and nest them together. I've been using 10 sheets of paper for mine, which will become 40 pages total. It might be harder to fit more than this into a small-sized notebook. Also, I try to arrange the sheets so that the CLEAN EDGES line up at the BOTTOM of the stack, with the rough edges at the top. This way you'll only have to trim 2 sides instead of 3.

Line your cover up with the signature's bottom edge, making sure everything inside is aligned neatly. Then slap on a binder clip and trim off some of the excess material with scissors, if needed.

Use a ruler to mark where the edge of the cover is, then remove the cover to avoid damaging it (but keep the binder clip). Hold the ruler firmly in place slightly to the left of the line you just made. Carefully make repeated, even strokes with your xacto knife along the side of the ruler to cut straight through the layers of paper. Repeat with the top of the signature. A metal ruler is recommended for this step because a sharp xacto knife WILL CUT THROUGH PLASTIC AND WOODEN RULERS. I learned this the hard way, but if you're careful it should be fine. If you have access to an actual paper cutter, skip this step and use that instead!! it's way faster and safer!!

The finished signatures should be the same size as your cover now.

STEP 3: PUTTING IT TOGETHER

Stick your signature into the cover, align everything, then open to the center page. Clip the pages to the cover at the top or bottom, one on each side, in this 'open' position. Make a few marks along the center crease with even spacing.

Awl time. Using your marks as a guide, CAREFULLY push your safety pin through your signature and out through notebook's spine. You might want to use a thumbtack to make things easier on your fingers.

The next step is to sew the sheets together through the holes you made. Unfortunately this is not a sewing tutorial, so if you don't know how to thread a needle you might want to pause here and look that up. I'm using a simple saddle stitch, keeping the knots on the outside. There are many ways to do the actual book binding, including just stapling it, but this is how I do it.

You can remove the binder clips at this point. The only thing left to do is reinforce the spine. Trim the thread and fold your Sturdy Tape of choice over the spine, leaving some excess at both ends. The goal here is mainly to cover up the loose thread. Split the excess along the dotted lines shown below...

...Then stick it down on the insides of the front and back cover.

And you're done!!!!!

Enjoy your cool new handmade notebook!

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Hand drawn patch of the @ameliapodcast logo

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Slapdash teen Ji-U

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Hand drawn patch of Reminisces (후일담) by Sisters Barbershop (언니네이발관) (V2)

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Hand drawn patch of Tainted Love by Soft Cell

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Professor Layton hint coin patch

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Hand drawn patch of Le Fare by Yann Tiersen

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Hand drawn patch of I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love by My Chemical Romance

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Hand drawn patch of Reminisces (후일담) by Sisters Barbershop (언니네이발관)

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Hand drawn patch of Lost Songs: Lines and Shapes by LS Dunes

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Hand drawn patch of 1981 Extended Play by I Don't Know How But They Found Me

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Hand drawn patch of Model by Okean Elzy (Модель від Океан Ельзи)

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Hand drawn patch of Ashcraft by Mot