Homemade Leather Journal Book Cover

A homemade leather journal is a keepsake as well as a practical outlet for your creativity.

Making a homemade leather journal cover will personalize your creative experience, reflecting your own talents on the outside as well as the inside of your journal. The possibilities of design range from the very simple to the detailed, depending on your own ambitions.

Things You'll Need

• Hardback journal
• 2 to 3 square feet of scrap leather
• Ruler
• Sharp craft scissors or fabric scissors
• Hot glue gun
• Craft decorations, such as buttons or beads (optional)

Instructions

1. Use the ruler to measure a rectangular piece of leather to fit the covers of the journal. The width of the leather should encompass the width of both covers and the width of the spine when the journal is closed. The length should extend along the height of the journal covers. Allow approximately 1 to 2 inches extra on all sides of the leather.

2. Lay the leather out flat, wrong side facing up. Open the journal, cover side down, centered on the leather. Cut an angled notch, approximately 1 inch deep at a 45 degree angle, at each corner of your measured rectangle of leather, so that you create a flap on each side. These flaps will fold over to the inside of the cover, and the notches prevent the flaps from overlapping.

3. Make sure that when you close the journal, the spine has sufficient room to bend and straighten easily. Double check all your measurements and notches before you go to the next step.

4. Draw a line with the hot glue along the inside of each flap, no more than 1/4 inch from the edge of the flap, and press the leather firmly against the inside cover. Do not glue along the spine!

5. Embellish the cover with any designs you choose, or you may leave it blank and enjoy the lovely leather itself.

Tips & Warnings

• Check your local upholstery store for scrap leather by the pound.

• When choosing your leather, make sure to touch and smell the leather. Good quality leather should be soft and supple. Poor quality leather may have a rancid or chemical scent.

• Don't worry if the inside leather flaps don't line up perfectly--as long as they don't overlap, your covers will lie smoothly.

• If you don't have a hot glue gun, any strong craft glue or rubber cement will substitute.

• Do not use Elmer's craft glue. It won't bind properly with the grain of the leather.

References

• Leather Quality Information
• Homemade Journal Making