If a hand made leather journal or sketchbook is an essential part of the creative adventurer's gear, then a tiny leather book necklace is its ideal sidekick. It is always handy when you need it, and its pages are ready to be filled with the littlest notes and sketches, memoirs of your adventures, or musings of your imagination. I love making leather journal or sketchbook necklaces, and I thought it would be fun to share a tutorial on how you can make one for yourself!
Materials:
•leather (eco tip: instead of buying it, find an old leather jacket or skirt at the thrift store and up-cycle it!) I typically use scraps left over from making my larger leather journals.
•paper (A sheet of 8.5 x 11" printer paper is needed for the measurements given here to fit best.)
•strong thread (waxed linen bookbinding thread is ideal, but an artificial sinew or strong nylon thread will do just fine)
•necklace cord (just about anything you can string this little book onto and hang around your neck!)
• an awl (or a sewing thread-ripper tool will do)
• one metal jump ring
• scissors
• strong sewing needle (ideally, one designed for stitching leather)
• ruler and/or straightedge
• felt-tipped pen (fine pointed)
• cord or chain for the necklace
• leather lacing or fairly thick string for closure tie (I use the same leather lacing for the necklace cord and the closure tie)
Process:
➸ Preparing the Pages:
1 ➸ Take the the sheet of paper and fold in half (short-ways - see image)
2 ➸ Use the straight edge to tear along the fold in the paper (see image)
3 ➸ Stack the sheets, then fold the top sheet in half again
4 ➸ Use the straightedge to tear all sheets along the fold
5 ➸ Repeat steps 3 - 4, four times, until your sheets are roughly 1 1/2 x 2 inches in size
6 ➸ Fold all sheets in half and then stack them together into four signatures (groups of pages - see image)
7 ➸ Make one page into a template for hole-punching: measure 1/4 inch in from either end of the fold and punch holes (see image)
8 ➸ Use the template to punch each signature (see image), then set the pages aside
➸ Preparing the Leather:
9 ➸ Mark the underside (the "fuzzy" suede side) of the leather in a 3 x 1 5/8 inch rectangle and cut it out (see image)
10 ➸ Find the center of your leather rectangle and mark it with the pen (see image)
11 ➸ Use the paper template to mark four sets of holes, 1/8 inch apart (see image)
12 ➸ Punch holes in the leather where marked
13 ➸ Cut an 8 inch length of leather lacing (or thick string) for the tie
➸ Putting it Together:
14 ➸ Cut an 18 inch length of thread and thread the needle
15 ➸ Stitch each signature to the leather, tying each one inside with a double knot and trimming the ends (see image)
16 ➸ Punch or cut a hole in the center of the edge of the back cover and string the leather lace (or thick string) tie through, knotting it on the outside to hold it in place (see image)
17 ➸ Punch one last hole in the center top of the cover, right above the binding stitches (see image) then attach the metal jump ring through this hole
18 ➸ Cut a 32 inch length of cord or chain for the necklace and string on your finished journal
19 ➸ You did it! You've just finished your fully functioning tiny leather book necklace, and now you're ready to fill its pages with notes or tiny sketches! Congratulations!
Please share any questions in the comments! I'd also love to see how your book necklace turns out, if you'd like to share a photo.
Need some inspiration on what to write or draw in your new creation? Check out my Tiny Pages Project, a fun challenge to fill my own tiny book necklace!
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NOTE: The above tutorial is a simplified version of the process I've developed to create tiny book necklaces and sell them in my shop, BadonHill.co - the journal necklaces I sell have high quality art paper pages and are all finished and ready to go! See the many leather book necklaces I have available for sale HERE.
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