A handmade junk journal is the version you build yourself from cover to signatures to binding, instead of starting with a pre-made book. It takes longer. It also produces something that looks unmistakably yours – the proportions, the paper choices, the binding style, the cover material are all decisions you made, not defaults somebody else picked.
This is a from-scratch tutorial. By the end you’ll have a finished journal you sewed together yourself, ready to fill with pages. We’ll cover the four parts that make up any handmade journal (signatures, cover, binding, closure), the materials you actually need versus the materials internet tutorials say you need, and the step-by-step assembly. Plan for two to three hours of working time spread over a day or two while glue and adhesives dry.
The Four Parts of a Handmade Junk Journal
Before you start cutting paper, it helps to know what you’re building. Every handmade junk journal has four parts, and the order you assemble them matters: signatures first, then cover, then binding to join them, then closure to keep it shut.
1. Signatures
A signature is a small bundle of pages folded in half. Three to five signatures per journal is typical. Each signature usually has six to ten sheets of paper, which when folded gives you twelve to twenty pages of writing surface. Mixing paper types within a signature (a plain page, a patterned page, a book page, a kraft page) is where the junk journal character starts to show up.
2. Cover
The structural shell. It can be hard (chipboard wrapped in fabric or decorative paper) or soft (heavy kraft cardstock folded and creased). Hard covers last longer and look more finished; soft covers are faster and easier for a first attempt. The cover is always slightly larger than the signatures – about a quarter inch overhang on top, bottom, and the open edge.
3. Binding
The stitching that holds the signatures to the cover. The classic three-hole pamphlet stitch is the simplest – one signature, three holes punched along the fold, one piece of thread sewn through. For multiple signatures, you’ll use a coptic stitch or a long-stitch (both look gorgeous and aren’t as hard as they sound). We’ll cover both.
4. Closure
The thing that keeps the journal shut so loose ephemera doesn’t fall out. The simplest closure is a length of ribbon or elastic wrapped around the journal. Fancier options include a button-and-string wrap, a leather strap with a buckle, or a magnetic clasp. Closures are added last, after the rest of the journal is assembled and decorated.
Step-by-Step: Building Your First Handmade Junk Journal
This is the version I teach in workshops. It produces a 5×7 journal with three signatures, a soft kraft cover, three-hole pamphlet binding for each signature linked with a long-stitch spine, and a ribbon closure. Total working time about 2-3 hours.
Step 1: Cut Your Paper
You need 24 sheets total (three signatures of eight sheets). Each sheet is 7 inches tall by 10 inches wide before folding – that gives you a finished page of 5 by 7 inches after folding. Mix paper types within each signature. A good ratio: half plain text paper, a quarter patterned paper, a quarter found ephemera like book pages or sheet music. Trim ephemera to size with a paper trimmer or sharp scissors and a ruler.
Step 2: Fold the Signatures
Stack eight sheets together, lining up the edges as best you can – small variations actually add to the junk journal look. Fold the stack in half along the 10-inch dimension. Run a bone folder firmly along the fold from the inside, pressing hard. The bone folder crushes the fibers so the fold stays flat. Repeat for two more signatures. Set all three aside.
Step 3: Make the Cover
Cut a piece of heavy kraft cardstock or thin chipboard to 7.5 inches tall by 11 inches wide. Score it gently in the middle (at 5.5 inches from either edge) – just enough that the cover folds easily but doesn’t crack. If you want to decorate the cover, do most of that decoration now while it’s flat. Distress the edges with sandpaper or scissors, stamp a title, paint a wash, or glue down a fabric strip across the spine area. Let any wet decorations dry fully.
Step 4: Punch the Binding Holes
For each signature: open it flat, mark three points along the inside of the fold (one in the center, one an inch from the top, one an inch from the bottom). Punch through all eight pages at each point with a heavy needle, an awl, or a paper piercing tool. The holes should line up across all three signatures so the binding stitch flows cleanly down the spine.
For the cover: fold it in half, then mark and punch three matching holes along the fold, lining up with the holes in your signatures.
Step 5: Sew the Binding (Long-Stitch Method)
Cut about 30 inches of waxed linen thread and thread it through your needle. Place the first signature inside the cover, lining up the holes. Starting from the OUTSIDE of the cover, push the needle through the top hole, leaving about 4 inches of tail thread on the outside. Come out the inside of the signature at the same hole.
Now go down the inside fold to the middle hole, push through to the outside, then back in at the middle hole of the next signature (place it nestled against the first). Down the inside fold to the bottom hole, push through to the outside. Tie off with the tail thread you left at the start. Repeat the pattern for the third signature. The visible long stitch down the spine is the decorative finish.
Don’t pull the thread tight enough to bend the cover – just snug. Loose binding means pages flop; over-tight binding means the journal won’t close flat.
Step 6: Add the Closure
Cut a length of wide ribbon or elastic about 1.5 times the width of your journal. Glue one end to the inside of the back cover near the spine. Wrap it around the closed journal and tie or tuck the free end. Or use a button-and-string closure: glue a button to the front cover, tie a loop of waxed thread to the back cover, and loop the thread around the button when closing.
Step 7: Decorate the Pages
This is where the actual junk journaling starts. Add pockets, tip-ins, tags, ephemera, envelopes, hand-stitched borders. Don’t try to finish every page before you start using the journal – leave most pages mostly blank and let them develop as you fill them. The junk journal is supposed to grow with use. Our guide to junk journal pages covers the eight techniques that work in any handmade journal.
Five Common Mistakes When Making a Handmade Junk Journal
- Cutting paper too precisely. Small variations in size make pages look handmade rather than machine-cut. Embrace the slight overhang and the uneven edges. They ARE the look.
- Using too thin paper for signatures. Regular printer paper is fine for some pages but warps under wet media and tears at the binding holes. Mix in heavier papers (cardstock, kraft, watercolor paper) for at least half the signature.
- Skipping the bone folder. A fold made with your finger creases will spring back open. A fold pressed with a bone folder stays flat. This single tool is the difference between an amateur-looking book and a finished one.
- Binding too tightly. Pulling waxed linen thread hard enough to dimple the cover means the journal won’t close. Aim for snug, not taut. The pages should sit flat but the cover should still flex naturally when you open it.
- Treating the first one as precious. Your first handmade journal will have problems. Make it anyway. The second one will be better because of what you learned. Plan the first as a practice book and put zero pressure on it.
Alternative Binding Methods Worth Trying
Once you’ve made one journal with the long-stitch binding above, these are the next techniques to experiment with:
Coptic Stitch
The exposed-spine binding you see on most handmade journals on Instagram. Multiple signatures are sewn together with a chain stitch visible along the spine. Looks complex but is just one repeating pattern. The advantage: the journal opens completely flat, which makes it much easier to journal on the inside center spread. The downside: it takes twice as long as a long-stitch.
Three-Hole Pamphlet Stitch
The simplest binding possible. One signature, three holes, one piece of thread. Result is a thin booklet rather than a full journal, but you can make several pamphlets and bind them together later with a separate cover. Great for first-time bookbinders or for making tiny journals to tuck inside larger ones.
Folio (No Sewing)
If sewing intimidates you, skip it. A folio binding uses no thread – signatures are glued together along the spine with PVA glue and then attached to the cover. Looks just like a sewn journal from outside but takes about a third of the time. The downside: pages can detach over years of heavy use. Fine for journals you’ll fill once and store.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to make a handmade junk journal?
About 2-3 hours of active working time for a 3-signature 5×7 journal with a soft cover. If you want to wait for paint or gesso to dry between cover-decoration steps, spread it across a weekend. Hard covers with chipboard and fabric add another hour. Decorating the pages themselves can take as long as you want – many builders make the shell in one sitting and then spend months filling it.
What paper should I use for a handmade junk journal?
Mix several. Half plain text-weight paper (60-80 lb), a quarter patterned scrapbook paper, a quarter ephemera – book pages, sheet music, old letters, kraft paper. The variation is what gives the junk journal its character. Avoid using only printer paper; it warps under any wet media and tears at the binding.
Do I need special tools to bind a journal?
Not really. A heavy needle, waxed linen thread, a bone folder (or the back of a butter knife in a pinch), and a way to punch holes – either a paper piercing tool, an awl, or even a thick needle pushed through carefully. No specialized bookbinding equipment is required for the long-stitch and pamphlet methods.
Is making your own junk journal cheaper than buying one?
Slightly cheaper per journal, but the bigger win is control – you pick the exact paper, dimensions, and cover material. Pre-made junk journals run $25-60. A handmade version costs $10-20 in materials if you already have basic supplies, or $40-50 in first-time material purchases that then make several journals. The real reason to make your own isn’t the price; it’s that you can’t buy the particular journal you want to make.
Can I make a handmade junk journal without sewing?
Yes – use the folio method above (PVA glue along the spine, no thread) or use a Japanese stab binding kit that uses pre-drilled holes and ribbon. Both produce a sturdy journal without any actual sewing. The trade-off is that pages don’t open as flat as a sewn binding, and the folio glue can fail over many years of heavy use.
Where to Go Next
If you want context before you start, our what is a junk journal overview covers the basics. Once your handmade journal is built, fill it using the techniques in our junk journal pages guide and the style ideas in junk journal inspiration. For the full materials breakdown beyond what’s in this post, see junk journal supplies. And if making one from scratch turns out to be more project than you bargained for, our monthly kit subscription includes a junk-journal kit option launching summer 2026 that has everything pre-cut and ready to bind in one sitting.
The first one you make won’t be your best one. That’s the deal with handmade. Make it anyway, then make the second one. By the third or fourth, your hand knows what it’s doing and the binding flows. The journals also get more interesting because you stop following the tutorial exactly and start making decisions yours.