A new book

Here is my latest hand-bound leather journal. This one is covered in a beautiful soft and buttery lavender coloured leather. I have used this leather before. My first hand-bound journal was made using this leather. It wasn’t a huge piece of leather to start with but I have managed to cut covers for 3 thick journals and 2 thin journals.



The book is held closed by means of a black leather lace. The metal celtic concho secures the lace to the cover.



Here’s the exposed long-stitch spine – this book was stitched together with 18/3 black linen thread.



This journal has eleven signatures in total. That’s 220 pages in all.



Since the leather is a little floppy, I glued in this pretty butterfly print manila postcard to stiffen it a bit. The pink page you see there is like a title page. It wraps around all the signatures. It’s a canvas textured cardstock. I used one of my punches to punch the butterfly shape onto the card.



I really like this journal. It’s very pretty and I think the black leather lace tie works well with the lavender cover.

If you fancy having a go at bookbinding, you'll find the tutorial which inspired me here. You don't need leather for the cover if you haven't got any. I'm thinking of trying to put together a fabric cover with some interfacing to make it stiff.

Have a great day, friends.