A hand-bound scrap notebook
Turn leftover paper and cereal-box card into a stitched notebook for sketches, lists, recipes, or a gift.
About this project
A thin notebook is a good place for the paper you have been saving. Mix textures, put an old map on the cover, or make a pocket-sized version you will actually carry. This first binding uses one folded bundle; you can see every stitch and replace the thread when it wears.
Supplies
Materials & tools
- Four to eight sheets of scrap paper, all about the same size
- One piece of thin card, about the same size as an unfolded sheet, for a folding cover
- About 60 cm of strong thread; double ordinary sewing thread if it breaks easily
- A suitable sewing needle, scissors, pencil, ruler, two binder clips, and thick scrap card beneath the work
Before you start
- Choose the notebook’s job and size before trimming. The example uses full A4 or letter-size sheets folded once, making a notebook roughly 15 × 21 cm.
- Use one bundle of four to eight sheets rather than stacking several folded bundles. This three-hole binding is for a thin notebook, not a thick journal.
Instructions
Fold the pages and cover
Stack the sheets and fold them together in half. Press the fold with your thumbnail or the back of a spoon. Fold the cover in half too, then put the folded pages inside it. Check that the cover reaches the page edges before cutting anything shorter. Clip the stack at the edge opposite the fold so the pages stay lined up.
Mark and prepare three holes
Open the notebook at its middle page. Mark three places along the fold: one in the center, one 3 cm from the top, and one 3 cm from the bottom. Rest the open fold on thick scrap card. Ask an experienced helper to make a small hole through the pages and cover at each mark. Keep fingers out of the needle’s path. Each hole only needs to let your needle and thread through.
Sew through the three holes
Put the thread through the needle’s eye. Do not knot its end yet. Start inside the notebook. Push the needle out through the middle hole, leaving 10 cm of loose thread inside. Go back in through the top hole. Then go all the way down the inside fold and out through the bottom hole, passing over the middle hole. Finally, go back in through the middle hole. You now have a long line of thread inside the fold, joining the top and bottom holes.
Punch through the nested pages and cover at three places along the fold. The long inside stitch connects the end holes. Return through the centre hole and tie the two ends around that long stitch. Tie around the middle stitch
Lay one loose thread end on each side of that long inside stitch. Tie the ends together over it with a firm double knot. Pull just enough to hold the pages together. Pulling hard can tear the paper. Cut the loose ends to about 2 cm and remove the clips. Open the notebook gently to check that the thread is not tugging at the holes.
Give it a cover worth keeping
Draw, collage, stamp, or label the cover. A cereal-box print can stay visible or turn inward. Press the closed notebook under another book if it springs open. Start using it; a notebook does not need to be immaculate to be worth carrying.
Troubleshooting
- The knot slides loose along the fold.
- Make sure the two tails straddle the long inside stitch before tying. That stitch is what the knot holds onto.
- A hole tears.
- Ease the thread rather than tightening it further. A small folded paper patch can repair the fold; let any glue dry before piercing and restitching. Use fewer sheets or a finer thread if it tears again.
- The pages bulge or the book will not close.
- Remove some sheets or use thinner paper. The inner sheets naturally creep outward a little; trim only if it matters to you, with support appropriate to the cutting tool.
Where to take it next
- Glue an envelope inside the back cover for tickets, patterns, or small paper scraps.
- Make a recipe book with mixed papers, a tiny pocket notebook, or several thin notebooks tied together as a gift.
- Keep the binding visible in a contrasting thread, or add a cover drawing that continues across the spine.
A closer look
The center knot catches the long stitch inside the fold. That is enough to hold this small bundle together while letting it open. You can unpick the thread, change the cover, and bind it again.
What it needs to do
A function can have more than one solution. These options belong to this example; try alternatives thoughtfully.
pages
Four to eight sheets that fold comfortably together; clean one-sided printouts and paper offcuts are useful.
cover
Thin card that folds, such as a cereal box. Thick shipping-box card is too bulky for this notebook.
binding thread
Use a strong thread that passes through your needle. Thin embroidery or bookbinding thread works; coarse parcel string can tear the holes.
stitching
A needle with an eye that accepts your thread, plus prepared holes through the fold.
temporary holding
Two clips hold the folded bundle while you mark and stitch; remove them when finished.