If you’re looking for cool paper crafts to try, making your own DIY handmade journals, books, notebooks, and mini notebooks at home is a fun paper craft that’s easy to do for adults and kids alike. You can use your fabric stash to do it and upcycle some other materials that you probably have around your house at the same time. This handmade book tutorial will walk you through the process of making a fun and creative journal for yourself or to give as a gift.
Some of the links in this article are paid ad placements or affiliate links that will pay a small commission if they’re used to purchase something. To see the entire affiliate policy click here. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
I took a bookmaking class last week and learned how to make a notebook using cardboard, paper, and fabric. It couldn’t have come at a better time, because the notebook I use to track my blog articles is almost full. Rather than wait until I run out of pages, I decided to print my own interior sheets and build a fresh book that matches exactly how I plan and publish each post.
The instructor also gave us “homework,” which was to teach someone else how to make a book, because she wants everyone to feel confident enough to try it. I liked that idea, so I recorded the process and put together this written walkthrough. If you’ve ever wanted to make a custom notebook for your own projects, this is a practical, beginner-friendly way to do it.
Materials you’ll need.
- Cardboard or sturdy mat board for the cover interior (flat, not corrugated, thicker is better.)
- Fabric, wallpaper, or heavy paper to use for the cover.
- Embellishments and extra scrap fabric for bookmarks and decorations (optional)
- Fabric to attach to the signatures.
- Stapler (long-arm version is best) You can also sew the pages together.
- Glue (Sobo or strong craft glue will work best)
- Extra cardboard to smooth the glue on, or an old credit card.
- A cutting board to put on the cover to weigh it down while it dries.
- Optional silicone mat that won’t stick to the glue.
- Scissors
- Paper for the interior pages (printer paper is fine)
- Fabric or decorative paper for the end pages.
- Tape for the signature and to hole the cover down if it won’t stick
For an article about making mini notebooks, click here.
Make the pages.
I started by creating the interior pages for the notebook. These are the pages I’ll use when I’m writing blog articles, it’s basically a checklist for everything I need to do for each post, so that I don’t forget to add something into the articles. I printed a stack of them on regular printer paper and folded each sheet in half to make booklet-style pages, which are called “signatures”.
I used about a dozen sheets for each signature and stapled them down the fold with a long-reach stapler. A long stapler makes this much easier because you can slide the paper in and keep everything lined up evenly, but the main goal is simply to get the staples centered and straight so the register folds neatly. You can also sew these down the middle of the fold if you have a sewing machine but no stapler.
If you stack and fold more than just a few pages together, the outer edges won’t line up perfectly, some pages will extend slightly farther than others. You can trim the edges with an X-Acto knife if you want everything perfectly even, but it’s optional. I left mine as-is because it doesn’t affect how the notebook works.
Once I had 5 or 6 signatures made, I added a small amount of glue along the folded spine edges to help the stack behave like a single block. I used regular Elmer’s craft glue, which would probably make the bookbinders in the Artisan Shopping Directory membership scream, but it’s what I had!
After applying the glue to the very edge of the signatures and slightly on the inside of the edge, I clamped the stack with large binder clips and let it dry. Drying time is part of the process, so it helps to be patient and let each stage set before moving on. I used multiple big binder clamps to keep everything tight and even. You can absolutely make a smaller book with one or two registers, but I wanted a thicker notebook that would last a while, so I used several registers to build up a proper spine width.
When the glue had dried, I wrapped the outside of the spine with pieces of tape to help hold the book block together while I worked. In class we used tape at this stage, and it really does make handling everything easier. The outermost pages will be covered later when the book block is attached to the covers, so the tape won’t show in the finished book. You could use masking tape, duct tape, or whatever you have on hand.
I also glued a strip of fabric over the spine edge, similar to what you see on many hardbound books. My goal was to add a little flexibility where the pages meet the cover. On my class project, the paper at that hinge area ended up ripping because the cover was tight, and I wanted to avoid that happening again. I used a stiff, transparent fabric (kind of like tulle, but sturdier) so it would reinforce the spine while still allowing movement. I glued it centered over the spine and let it dry carefully so it wouldn’t stick to anything it shouldn’t.
Make the cover.
With the book block done, I moved on to the cover. The spine piece needs to match the thickness of all the registers stacked together, because that measurement determines how the book opens and closes. I originally planned to use fabric, but I couldn’t find my iron, so I switched to a faux leather sample I had on hand. It’s fabric-backed “pleather,” which gives a nice, finished look and feels like a real hardbound cover.
Cut the cardboard for the covers about 1/2 to 3/4″ larger than the size of the pages. You want the cover to be a little bigger than the pages when it’s done.
For the cover boards, I used thick cardboard backing from a watercolor pad. It’s much sturdier than thin cereal-box cardboard, which we used in class. That’s fine to use, but you might want to glue a few of those pieces together to make it thicker, then use that once it dries.
I laid the faux leather face-down, spread a fairly even layer of glue on the first board, and pressed it onto the fabric backing. I tried to keep the glue smooth to avoid lumps or lines showing through.
Then I positioned the spine piece and the second board with a small gap between each section so the cover would flex instead of fighting itself when opened.
To keep everything flat while it dried, I stacked weights on top. Cardboard can warp as it absorbs moisture from glue, so pressure helps a lot. I used a silicone baking mat underneath (because glue won’t stick to it), then added a heavy cutting board and a paper cutter as a weight. I left it overnight, not because it always takes that long, but because I wanted to be sure the faux leather and thick cardboard fully bonded.
Wrap the cover.
Once the cover was dry, I trimmed and folded the faux leather around the edges. I notched the corners so the folds would lie neatly without bulky overlaps, then glued the long edges first and folded them in, then I did the short edges.
Faux leather can be a little stubborn, so at one point it lifted up instead of grabbing immediately. To solve that, I taped sections down while the glue dried. With a more absorbent fabric like cotton, you likely wouldn’t need that extra step, but with pleather it helped keep everything tight to the boards.
After the cover was wrapped, I printed decorative paper for the endpapers on the inside cover. You can get printable paper for crafts on this site, we have a bunch of designs to download for free, and that’s where I got the patterns I used.
I also added a simple bookmark made from a strip of denim fabric glued near the top inside edge. This is the moment to add bookmarks or anything else that needs to be anchored under the endpapers, because the paper layer will cover the raw ends and make everything look clean.
I glued one piece of decorative paper over the inside after I trimmed it to be a little smaller than the full-sized sheet. This was to cover the spine area mostly, because the endpapers will also cover the inside of the covers. Don’t use too much glue on paper, because too much moisture can cause bubbling and warping. I used more glue than I probably needed because I was still slightly concerned about how well the paper would stick to the faux leather-based cover, but in general you’ll get a smoother finish with a thinner, even layer.
To see the full directory of all of our verified members, click here.
Attach the pages to the cover.
Then it was time to attach the pages to the cover. I trimmed the reinforcing fabric on the book block so it wouldn’t stick up over the edge of the paper on the cover, tested the placement against the spine, and glued the fabric directly onto the spine area. Because the fabric was slightly transparent and wanted to grab onto nearby paper as it dried, I let the book dry upright with the pages held open just enough that nothing stuck together. The goal is to keep that hinge area flexible so the book opens comfortably without tearing.
Add the endpapers.
To finish the inside, I added the end sheets that connect the book block to the covers. Each sheet is folded in half, one side gets glued to the inside cover, and the other side gets glued to the first or last page of the book block. This step can be a little tricky because wet paper becomes delicate and the fabric at the spine may still be settling. I worked slowly, smoothed wrinkles with a flat edge (a piece of cardboard works, as would an old gift card), and adjusted as I went.
You could also glue the endpaper to the block of pages before you glue the cloth that covers the pages to the book, then glue the other side of it to the cover. that way you’d be working with only one piece of the end paper at a time.
Once those sheets were in place, I could close the book and let it dry, since the glued surfaces weren’t going to bond to each other in the wrong spots. If you want to make sure that doesn’t happen, you could dry it upright sitting on the spine with the cover slightly open in the front and back so that they cover isn’t touching the pages.
After everything set, I checked the inside corners and edges. A few places didn’t stick as firmly as I wanted, likely because faux leather can be finicky with basic white glue, so I added small strips of double-sided tape along the edges to secure them.
Even with the added flexibility, I still noticed one stress point where the hinge area on the inside cover can tear, especially if the paper is pulled tight across the bend.
The fix is simple: glue a narrow strip of ribbon, fabric, or paper over that crack to reinforce it. I used a small green fabric strip on the inside front and back hinges, then trimmed any loose threads. It not only strengthens the area, it also looks like an intentional design detail.
The finished book has a sturdy cover, decorative inside panels, a built-in bookmark, and custom pages designed specifically for my blogging workflow.
This was a fun, practical craft, and it’s the kind of project you can easily adjust to make the spine thicker for more pages, choose different cover materials, or print interior layouts that fit your own planning system. If you try making one, give yourself time for drying between steps and don’t be afraid to experiment with materials until you find what works best.
Related articles:
