Binding the Leather Journal
1. Cut the leather into two pieces and bevel the edges on both sides of the leather. There is a specialty tool in leather crafting for beveling but you may also use a fingernail cuticle remover.
2. Trace your pattern onto the leather and wood burn the design following the directions for the feathered griffin.
3. Measure ¾” from the top of each leather piece, front and back. With the blunt side of a knife score along this line to create a fold line. If you soak the leather in water for a few moments first the score line, fold line, will be more defined.
4. On both the front and back, measure in 1 ¾” from each side of the leather along the fold line and mark the points for your rivet holes. The center of each hole is 3” apart from the other hole. With a hole punch make a hole at the points. Set the rivets into the holes. Rivets are not necessary to the construction of this artist’s sketch book but do add some strength as well as a small accents.
5. Watercolor papers and illustration papers are available in very large sheets that usually measure about 22” wide by 30” long. Many papers include a deckle edge on the two long sides.
6. Cut two sheets of watercolor paper into 6“ wide by 28” long strips leaving the deckle edging on both of the width edges. You will have approximately 10 strips.
7. Measure 11” from the narrow edge of the paper to find the middle line point, mark this line with a pencil. Using a ruler and the blunt side of a knife score along the line to create a fold line. Fold each strip along the fold line. One folded strip creates two sheets of paper – four pages counting fronts and backs.
8. Cut 22 sheets of tracing paper 6” wide by 11” long. These sheets will be placed between each page of the watercolor paper and will protect your artwork from dirt, smudges and smears.
9. Each sheet of tracing paper and each folded strip of watercolor paper needs two holes punched ½” from the top edge and 1 ½” in from the side to correspond with the rivet holes in the front and back leather covers.
10. Arrange the papers with one sheet of tracing paper on top, then one sheet of watercolor paper, alternating the two types of paper ending with one sheet of tracing paper.
11. Use scrap paper to wrap the pages together, taping the scrap paper into place. Working the pages as one unit will be easier than trying to work individual papers during the lacing process.
Lacing Diagram