I Made Myself a Journal and Learned a Lot

On Thursday, 9th January, I released a video on YouTube.
It’s a cozy, silent video with soft piano music playing in the background, where I make a handbound journal. This one features a closed stitch, which is different from my previous creations.

Before making this journal, I had created some different sized journals, each designed for a specific purpose. some for everyday journaling, others for budget planning, pocket diaries and travel journals. All of these featured an open stitch, commonly known in bookbinding as Coptic stitch. They look cute with matching colored threads on sides.

For 2025, I wanted to make a journal for myself. I also aimed to learn a new type of stitch and binding structure.

Although I had tried case binding before, I used paper for the cover, which didn’t work well, it turned out that paper isn’t the best option for case binding.

So, this time, I decided to use cloth and make a classic case bound journal for myself to use as an everyday journal. The process isn’t vastly different but is slightly more complex than Coptic binding.

For this journal, I chose a vibrant canary yellow cloth and a printed cover paper. To make the cover paper stiff and thick, I used canvas paper. The stitching I used is the classic kettle stitch which holds the thick text block securely. I selected dotted paper for the text block.

Overall, making this journal with a cloth cover was a new and exciting challenge for me.

Now, I have a brand-new, 200-pages bullet journal, handmade by me, to jot down my thoughts and map out my ideas.

I also share my journal spreads on Instagram, focusing on writing more and decorating less. Don’t forget to check it out!

Stay tuned for upcoming video entries on YouTube, where I share more about my handmade journal business journey.

Thank you for reading and watching!