How to Make Your Own Leather Journal Courier Wrap & Cover

Make your own journal with a leather courier wrap.

Make your own leather journal courier wrap and cover with a piece of leather dyed in your favorite color or embossed with designs. Place a lined, bound journal insert or a blank-paged journal insert for art sketches into the courier wrap and cover. When the journal is filled up, you can replace it with a new journal insert. Leather-covered journals are used for diaries, sketchbooks, poems or jotting down events of your vacation. Small, handmade leather wrap-covered journals are often given out as birthday and Christmas gifts to writers and people who keep journals or diaries.

Things You'll Need

• Leather
• Blank journal
• Straightedge ruler
• Felt-tipped pen
• Leather knife or rotary cutter
• 4 large paper clips
• Rubber cement
• Sewing machine with Teflon or roller foot

Instructions

1. Open the blank journal and lay it on the wrong side (unfinished side) of the leather. Make a mark with a felt-tipped pen at the top and bottom corners of the front and back covers of the journal. Remove the journal and set a straightedge ruler onto the leather. Align the ruler with the top left and right corner marks and draw a line. Do the same for the bottom marks.

2. Measure 1/4 inch up from the top line and draw a line parallel to it. Measure 1/4 inch down from the bottom line and draw a line parallel to it. Cut the leather on the lines you just drew with a leather knife or rotary cutter.

3. Wrap the leather on the journal and fold the left and right sides over the front and back cover. Measure 4 inches in on the inside of the front cover on the leather and make a mark. Do the same for the back cover. Trim the excess leather on the sides with a leather knife or rotary cutting tool, cutting on the lines you just made to remove it. Close the journal and double-check to see if there is enough slack in the leather for the journal to open and close. Fold the left and right edges in. Secure them in place with paper clips.

4. Cut a 3-inch strip of leather that is the same measurement or height as the leather cover you already cut. Position the leather strip on the back of the leather cover so that the back cover of the journal can fit in it and be held by it when you open the journal. Apply rubber cement to the top and bottom edge of the 2-inch strip, about 1/2-inch wide. Press it to the back of the leather in the predetermined location.

5. Place the leather finished or right side up on your sewing machine table. Stitch the long edges (the top and bottom of the leather cover) with a 4-millimeter stitch with a 1/4-inch seam allowance to secure the flaps that will hold the journal cover in place. Trim as close as you can to the stitching on the long edges.

6. Cut a 1/2-inch wide, 45-inch-long lace out of the leather with the leather knife or rotary tool. Cut two 1/2-inch slits, 1/2 inch apart at the front of the leather cover and 1 inch in from the right side. Thread the leather lace through the slits and pull it out 1 inch and tie a simple overhand knot to secure it.

7. Place the journal into the leather cover and close it. Use the leather lace to keep it shut by wrapping the lace one or two times around the journal and then inserting the end under the top lace, going across the back of the journal.

Tips & Warnings

• Make a more stylish cover with an embossed piece of leather.

• Add a metal button instead of cutting slits at the front to wrap the lace around to keep the journal shut.

• Handle leather knives and rotary cutters with care, as they are sharp and can cause injury.

References

• Craft Stylish: How to Make a Rugged Leather Journal Cover