How to: Easy Ribbon Bound Journal

Looking for an easy journal to make? Here’s fast one – a ribbon bound journal.

 

Here is what you will need:

• Paper for the cover. I used some beautiful handmade paper I had purchased a while back, but you could use any type of stiff paper for the cover.
• Six or more sheets of paper (handmade, watercolor, or plain printer paper) for interior pages
• Rotary cutter, scissors, or paper cutter
• Bone folder or scoring tool
• Punch or awl
• Ribbon

So let’s get started!

Cut the handmade paper for the cover into 2 pieces each measuring 5 x 7 inches.

Cut the interior sheets 4 ¾ x 6 ¾ inches. If you are using heavyweight paper, make sure and score every sheet 1½ inches vertically from the left.

Score the front cover at 1½ inches vertically from the left.

Put the front and back cover together and measure and mark for the binding holes ½ inch from the edge at the following increments from top: ½, 1 ¾, 3½, and 4½ inches.

Punch the holes in the cover on those marks.

Position the interior sheets under the cover.  Mark the holes through the cover onto the interior pages.

Punch those holes.

Place the interior pages between the covers and start the binding by lacing the ribbon from the top of the journal into the top hole. Leave 8 inches of ribbon to tie off later. Bring the ribbon around the spine and poke down from the top into the second hole.

Lace the ribbon up the third hole from the back of the journal. Weave the ribbon around the spine and then up through the bottom hole.

Tie off the two ends of ribbon.

There you have it. A quick and simple ribbon bound journal. Don’t want to use ribbon? You could also bind it with wire or waxed linen.