Recently, I decided to try a new hobby where I'm not staring at yet another screen. I ended up trying my hand at bookbinding, and so far it's stuck!

The reason I chose bookbinding was kinda impulsive. I've been watching videos about commonplace books: a method of writing in an indexed book to store and retrieve information. Kind of like a life wiki! This really seemed to resonate with me, so I decided to buy a new notebook to try it out.

I knew it had to be nice for me to want to write in it, so I ended up buying a 400 page A4 hardback lined notebook from NoteworthyGiftShop on Etsy. The pages are 100gsm, so nice and thick! This got me thinking...

Could I make one?

The answer is yes, absolutely!

A red handmade notebook with parchment paper.
The first book I made!

I started watching bookbinding videos and the process seemed simple enough; all you're relly doing is folding and sewing pages together, assembling a cover and glueing it all together. I adore books so the inspiration and watching the process was enough for me to dive right in.

So far, I've really enjoyed what I've been doing. Counting and folding pages for signatures (groups of pages), and then sewing those signatures has been really relaxing, especially with some chilled music in the background. Once you get into the flow of things, your mind starts to calm and wander. I'd definitely reommend it to reduce stress. Watch your fingers though; I've pricked myself a lot.

I do make mistakes and it doesn't always go how I planned, but that's okay! I'm still enjoying the process.

A blue handmade book with gold foiling that depicts two tarot cards.
A grey handmade notebook with gold crosses. It is textured like wallpaper.
A pink handmade notebook, help at an angle so you can see the pages from the bottom, but still see the front cover.
A handmade notebook open, revealing parchment paper.
A pink handmade sketchbook, bound with coptic stitch. The cover is a light pink, and the stitches are in a light blue.
A yellow handmade notebook in coptic stitch style. The stitches are purple.
Some of the books I've made since I started!

Some bookbinding resources