How to Make a Sewn Journal – Great for Bullet Journals!

How to Make a Sewn Journal – Great for Bullet Journals! – Angie Cruise Blog

How to Make a Sewn Journal – Great for Bullet Journals!

Happy Monday, friends!  I hope you all had a fabulous weekend and have greeted Monday rested and ready for a new week.  I have a special treat for you today, which is why I’m here on an off day.

If you know me at all (which, if you’ve been around awhile, you do!) then you know how much I love journals, planners, bullet journals, and paper products in general.

Last week, I got a little experimental and came up with a pretty fun little DIY that I thought I’d share here on the blog. If you love notebooks and you love crafting, this is right up your alley!

I’m not really a DIY blogger, so bear with me here!  If you love this little tutorial, be sure to tell me in the comments below!  Maybe I’ll write up a few more.

I use so many notebooks on a daily basis.  I keep a bullet journal (sort of), write daily lists, keep a gratitude journal, and have one in my purse for brain dumping.

This is just to name a few.

Recently, I signed up for a subscription to The Planner Society box (eeek!  It’s open for sign ups

, and when my first box came in and I saw the paper, I

I needed a journal made out of the paper included in the kit. I don’t know much about making journals, but thought I’d give it a try.

I scoured Pinterest, and confirmed that you

put a journal like this through your sewing machine.  From there, it was all over.  I immediately dove in and started playing with the paper.

Gather Your Materials

You don’t need much to make one of these journals.  I made this one using:

one sheet of scrapbook paper (~8.5×11)

-printed on cardstock or other heavier weight paper (I did 5 sheets, front and back)

To start with, I trimmed about half an inch of paper all around.  This was personal preference, because I wanted my notebook to be the same size as the others in my collection.  Fold your paper over and see how it looks.  You may like the larger size, and it’ll save you a step!

Once I trimmed my paper, I lined up all of my paper, making sure all the edges were even. I measured to find the exact center and drew a line with a pencil.  Don’t skip this step!  You might think you can sew a straight line, but paper is a lot less forgiving than fabric.

Once that was done, I simply fed the book through the sewing machine, working slowly to ensure that the stitches were even and the line was straight.  I kept my needle tension on 3, but the next time I make one, I’ll increase that so that I have bigger stitches down the spine.

From there, all I had to do was trim up the edges and fold over the binding so it lays flat!

These journals are really versatile!  The most popular use for a sewn journal that I’ve seen is to use it as a bullet journal.  You could also keep it in your purse or tucked into your planner so that you have plenty of paper handy for notes. I also use one as a gratitude journal.  I just really love the size of these, if you can’t tell.

If you make this, I’d love to hear what you thought in the comments below!  Like I said, this is my very first craft tutorial post, so I’d love some feedback!

Want some more DIY tutorials?  Check out all of my craft projects

How to Make a Sewn Journal – Great for Bullet Journals!

That. is. AWESOME! Who knew you could run it through the sewing machine?! That’s such a time saver!! Thank you so much for sharing! We’re adding it to our homeschool lesson plans this week. =)

6th Feb, 2017 at 10:48am

Hey Brandi! I’m glad you like it! And yes, I was amazed that I could do that as well! Let me know how it works out for you!

6th Feb, 2017 at 11:33am

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam.

Learn how your comment data is processed

Girl Mom. Essential Oiler. Clean Living Enthusiast. Foodie. Aspiring Yogi. Texas Girl. Here, you can find tips and inspiration on real life sustainability, clean living, and a touch of minimalism for the average person. My motto? "I want to love the earth, treat my body right, and make the best choices I can, without constantly worrying about whether or not it's enough" I hope you find what you're looking for here.

Enter a search query

Copyright © 2020 Angie Cruise Blog.