If you've ever wanted a junk journal that functions more like a curated supply kit — something to keep on your desk and pull from while you work, or fill with handmade goodies and sell in your shop — an altered book of pockets might be exactly what you've been looking for. In this nearly hour-long tutorial, I walk through the entire process of transforming a secondhand hardcover into a book with 42 individual pockets, each one made from the book's own pages using folding, cutting, and gluing techniques. No special equipment required, and the results are genuinely useful, beautiful, and sellable.
What we cover
This tutorial covers the full process from choosing the right book through removing pages, making 42 pocket variations step by step, and a detailed flip-through of the finished, embellished version. You'll see how different folding and cutting approaches create entirely different pocket shapes, and I show you exactly what I put inside each one for inspiration.
What you'll learn
How to choose a book that will hold up under the weight of pockets and their contents
Not every old hardcover is right for this. The binding method matters more than anything else. What you're looking for is a book that's been sewn into the spine — you can confirm this by finding the middle of a signature and looking for the thread. Books with glued bindings (common in Reader's Digest volumes and certain library copies) will start shedding pages once you add weight to them. Even books that look sewn can turn out to be glued, so always check the center of a signature before you commit.
How to remove pages without compromising the book's structure, including:
- Finding the middle of each signature and leaving those two pages intact to protect the thread binding
- Identifying the slightly-glued pages where signatures meet and leaving those in place — they add structural support
- Working through the book in passes rather than removing everything at once, so you don't overshoot
- Keeping an even page count across the spine so the book stays balanced once pockets and contents add bulk
How to make a diagonal-slant pocket — cut a slant across the first of two pages, distress the edge before gluing (much harder to do afterward), then glue the two sides down to the back page to form a clean open pocket.
How to make a split-page double pocket — cut or split three pages so you end up with a smaller pocket on top and a larger one behind it, each glued at the top and bottom to the page beneath.
How to fold pockets instead of cutting them, and why this matters — folding the page in on itself rather than trimming it creates a sturdier entry point. I fold and glue the folded edge down on itself before gluing the pocket to the base, which gives the opening real durability.
How to make a four-pocket spread from three pages, including:
- Folding the first page down, the second page up
- Leaving the third page as a base
- Gluing strategically — top only, side only, bottom only — to create four distinct pockets on a single spread
How to sew a pocket closed with embroidery floss, including:
- Poking holes through all four pages with an awl
- Using an even number of holes so you start and end on the same side
- Tying off the knot flush with the hole for a clean finish
How to make diagonal corner pockets — cut the corners off two pages, fold the triangles in toward the center, and glue down just a dot at each corner. The result is a pair of slots for sliding in tags or folded pieces of ephemera.
How to create a narrow long pocket by folding a page partway back on itself, punching a half-circle opening for easy access, and gluing the side and bottom edges only.
How to fill and embellish the finished pockets, drawing from your stash of:
- Tea-dyed journaling spots sewn around book and magazine pages
- Handmade tags cut from a single 12×12 sheet of scrapbook paper (and using the corner offcuts as decoration)
- Mini booklets made from paper offcuts — perfect for the narrow pockets
- Laminated dried flowers, doilies, lace, envelopes, stickers, glitter paper, and washi tape
- Paper butterfly embellishments, book page bows as paper clips, and corner hugger bookmarks
Tips & gotchas
Sewn binding is non-negotiable. A glued spine will fall apart once pockets are loaded with contents. Always open to the middle of a signature before you choose your book — if you can see thread, you're in good shape.
Remove pages gradually, in passes. It's much easier to remove a few more pages than to deal with having removed too many. Go through the whole book once lightly, then revisit. When I'm pulling pages from the middle of a signature rather than the sides, I take extra care — slow and gentle — because a snapped thread means a loose signature.
Leave the slightly-glued joining pages alone. You can feel the difference: pages at the middle of a signature open freely; the pages that bridge two signatures resist slightly. Those are doing structural work. Let them be.
Keep the page count even across the spine. Removing pages unevenly creates a book that won't close flat and loses integrity once pockets add bulk. Eyeball the spine as you go.
Distress edges before gluing down. Once a pocket is glued to the base page, you can't easily get in to distress that edge anymore. Do it while the pieces are still loose.
Fold rather than cut wherever possible. A folded-and-glued edge at the opening of a pocket is far sturdier than a raw cut edge. The extra minute it takes is worth it, especially if the book is going to be handled a lot or sold.
Don't use double-sided tape for pockets. Anything you slide inside will catch on the tape and stick. A proper craft glue is the right call here — glue stick won't hold either, so use something with real strength.
Give the glue time to dry between steps. I know it's tempting to keep going, but if you're gluing pockets and then immediately moving on, things shift, pages stick where you don't want them, and pockets end up misaligned. Glue a section, set it flat or under a weight, and come back to it.
Don't panic about bulging during construction. Some of the more layered pocket spreads will bow or curl while the book is empty and the glue is fresh. Once every pocket is filled with contents — ephemera, booklets, tags, lace — the weight distributes and everything settles flat. This is normal.
When sewing through multiple pages, use an even number of holes. Start and end at the back so the knot sits on the hidden side. An odd number of holes leaves you finishing on the wrong face.
It's one of those rare things that works equally well as a gift, as a personal supply organiser, or as something genuinely worth selling. The pockets I showed here are a starting point; once you've made a few, the variations come naturally. There are dozens of fold-and-cut combinations I didn't even get to in this video, and the more you work through a book, the more possibilities you'll see in each page.
