Leather Notebook

Creating the signatures
The first step in making a journal, is to decide how many pages you want to bound, and then dividing them into signatures (unit of folded pages that will be stitched). For instance, if you wish to have 50 sheets in your book, you might want divide them into signatures of 5, each signature having 10 pages. Different types of paper can be used however I preferred to use acid-free parchment paper for the texture and look of the journal.

Preparing the leather
Different thicknesses of leather can be used and this will be entirely up to you. You can purchase boxes of scrap leather from Amazon for less than $25 dollars. For this project, a thick vegetable tanned leather was used to give it the durable and thick appearance I wanted. The leather was cut to leave approximately 1/2 inch of leather bordering all of the pages. Once the leather has been cut, you will notice that the leather can have some fraying of fibers from the cut edges. This is where you will use an edge beveler to clean up all of the edges of the leather, giving it a nice and finished appearance.

Preparing the leather for stitching
In order to assure that all signatures are sewn at a consistent distance from each other, I created a template. This way, all holes will be exactly where I want them to be positioned on the leather. Also, in the future if I decide to create a leather journal with similar dimensions, I could easily use the same template. Depending on the thickness of the leather, this task can be a little time consuming. I initially made the holes with a stitching awl, and then subsequently widened them with a thicker needle and hammer. Needle nosed pliers were also used to help pull the needle through the holes. Once you are satisfied, the leather can also be softened at this stage. This can be accomplished in many ways. One method is simply to manually flex the leather to give it a more broken in feel. Another way is to use rubbing alcohol on the leather and then add petroleum jelly to penetrate the leather.

Staining
This can be accomplished with a variety of different stains and colors. I decided to use a stain from Ecoflow called acorn born. It is important to use an old clean cloth for this step to assure that you rub the stain evenly throughout the leather. If not, the stain will be absorbed more readily in some areas of the leather than others, causing an uneven appearance. This may not be a bad thing, as some of you may opt for this appearance.

Stitching the signatures
Stitching was completed using a thick waxed thread designed specifically for leather use. This was a lengthy process considering I had 8 signatures to sew in place.

Cutting the Pieces
Using your utility knife and steel ruler on a cutting mat for fixed blades, cut the following pieces of leather:
(1) 8.5″ x 6″ cover piece
(2) 6″ x 3″ flap pieces
(1) 4″ x 2.25″ card piece
(2) 2″ x 1″ pen tabs

Skiving the Pen Tabs
Skiving is the process of thinning a piece of leather so that when layers of leather are stacked on top of each other, the resulting thickness is thin enough to sew through with your machine. There are many tools that can be used for skiving, but the easiest and safest to use as a beginner is a Super Skiver (link in materials list above). It takes a little bit of practice to get this right, so I suggest trying it out on a few scrap pieces to start.
Using your skiver, remove a thin layer from the back side of each end of each pen tab. Your aim is to remove about half the thickness of the leather from the last 1/2″ of each end of the pen tabs. This way when they are folded in half to make a loop, the end of the loop is only the thickness of one layer of leather. You are basically shaving away thin layers; this sometimes comes off looking more like sawdust than a layer depending on the type of leather you use.

Attaching the Card Pocket
As an added optional detail you can cut a small notch out of the long edge of the card pocket. You can do this either with your utility knife or with a belt end punch. This will make it easier to remove a card from the pocket. You can also use your corner rounding tool to round the bottom two corners at this point if desired.
Place a strip of double sided tape on the back side of each of the short sides of the card pocket, as well as the long side of without the notch. Press the tape down well.
Peel the paper side of the tape off, and place the pocket in your desired location on one of the flaps.
With a leather needle, upholstery thread, and an appropriate foot loaded onto your BERNINA, edgestitch the pocket down to the flap. Remember to set your stitch length to at least 3.5 (I used 4.0). If your machine has a speed setting, slow it down to the lowest setting possible. You may also need to tighten your top tension. Start at the top of one short side, stitch down and across the bottom, and back up the other side. Back stitch at the beginning and end.

Notching the Flaps
Before they can be attached to the cover, the flaps need to have notches cut out of them to accommodate the pen tabs.
Lay the two flaps down on your cutting mat, making sure the flap with the card holder has the opening for the card facing to the LEFT (this is the opposite way it will be placed on the cover). On the RIGHT long edge of each flap, measure down 2″ and mark this point (I use an awl to do this, but you can also make a small scratch with any hard object such as a pin, nail, etc).
Measure down 3″ and mark.
Using your utility knife, cut a 1/4″ deep notch on each flap between these two points. You can use your steel ruler to make sure the cuts are straight.

Prepping Cover for Stitching
On each pen tab, put a small dab of leather glue on the back side of each end. Let the glue dry slightly until it is mostly clear so that it is tacky.
Fold the tabs over to make loops, pressing the glue together. You can put a Clover Wonder Clip on this spot to allow the glue to set, but it doesn’t take long.
Place the flaps onto the cover, wrong sides together, with the notches in the flaps towards the outside of the cover. Mark where the edge of the flap stops, so you will know how far to glue on the next step.
Flip the flaps over so the wrong side is up. Spread a very thin and narrow layer of glue on the two short edges and the long side with the notch. DO NOT glue the long side with no notch. This needs to be left open for the pocket to work. You can spread the glue with your finger (if using a natural glue like Bish’s) or with any small plastic tool.
With the wrong side of the cover up, spread a very thin and narrow layer of glue between each mark that you made in the previous step.
When the glue has dried slightly and is clear and tacky, place the flaps onto the cover, wrong sides together, one edge at a time, notches to the outside, being very careful to line up the edges as you go. This glue works like contact cement, so you only have one chance to get it right. If you haven’t done this process before, you may want to try it out on some scraps. Press the flaps down firmly.

Final Assembly
Return to your BERNINA. Edgestitch each flap down to the cover separately along the outside edge. Make sure that the front of the cover is up, as that side of the stitching will look best from that side. It is a little more difficult to see where to stop and start this way, but it is worth it for the results. As you come to the notch, place a pen loop tightly into that space and continue stitching. Make sure the loop is lined up well as you stitch. Backstitch at the beginning and end of each flap.
And that is it! Your leather Field Notes cover is complete! Insert your favorite pen into the loops which will keep your cover closed when not in use. As an extra detail, you can use metal stamps to emboss initials into the front cover for a special detail.

Our journals are beautiful, hand made and leather bound so we want to give you some tips on keeping them fresh and looking new for longer.

Firstly, it's important to keep your journal out of direct sunlight. The UV rays can cause the leather to fade in colour. Any colour of leather can be affected over time when exposed to too much sun. This happens due to the sun causing the natural oils found in leather to evaporate. This ultimately results in the leather becoming dried out and possibly beginning to crack.

Secondly it is important to keep the leather dry. When leather is exposed to moisture or water for too long or too frequently it can cause the leather to lose its natural oils. Much like the affects from sun damage, leather that’s exposed to moisture over time will often crack, become wrinkled and even start to shrink.

Another important care tip for looking after a leather journal is to only use special cleaners, or cleaners designed specifically for leather. Most chemicals can be too harsh. The two chemicals that can cause the most damage to leather are acetone and alcohol. Make sure when cleaning the leather that your product does not contain these two substances.

I like to think of treating the leather the way I would treat my skin. With the right care and treatment, it’ll stay looking younger for longer!

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