Kit Learns a New Skill

Every now and then, I like to go cruising through Etsy to check out what other people are doing, maybe get inspired to haul out the old arts and crafts materials and work on a new box. This time, I came across some of the handmade journals. Now, there are two things that consistently test my willpower whenever I go shopping: decorative boxes and blank books. I have an enormous collection of of sketchbooks and journals that have caught my eye over the years, but I'd never seriously considered making my own. After all, you need special glues and tools and things like that, right?

And then I saw these.

Pay special attention to the bindings. I've seen that kind of binding a few times in stores, but I'd never known what it was called. Say hello to the chain stitch, aka the Coptic Stitch in reference to the fact that this binding has been used at least since the days of the Dead Sea Scrolls (so sayeth Wiki).

A quick Google search led me to this tutorial. Turns out all you really need to bind your own journals is a needle, thread, and maybe something to punch holes with. It's kinda complicated to explain, but once you actually DO it, it's not all that difficult. It took me about an hour to bind a 60 page test book. I'm not saying I'm an expert or that I created the Bestest Little Journal out there on my first try, but the basics aren't too difficult.

I'll have to see if I can refine my technique and hunt down some better materials than what I used for my test book. If I can, I might be able to make some pretty cool stuff.