If you've been making junk journals for a while, you probably know that feeling of having a cover you love and a stack of papers you've been saving — and not quite knowing how to bring them all together into something finished. This video covers exactly that: choosing and sizing pages, assembling signatures, binding with the three-hole pamphlet stitch, and embellishing a completed cheesecloth junk journal from first page to last. I work through the whole process on camera, and then give a full flip-through of a second, larger journal I finished off-screen — so you get to see two very different outcomes from the same approach.
What we cover
Starting from a finished cover, this tutorial walks through every remaining step: selecting and ordering pages, trimming them to fit, doing all your pre-binding decoration work (inking, stenciling, stamping, sewing), binding with a three-hole pamphlet stitch using waxed thread, and then embellishing — pockets, tags, journaling spots, belly bands, hidden paper clips, and more. The video closes with a full flip-through of both journals.
What you'll learn
How to choose and arrange pages for a junk journal signature — pulling from writing paper, book pages, braille paper, tea-dyed paper, scrapbook paper, and specialty papers, then ordering them so different types alternate and flow naturally through the signature.
How to make a trimming template from a magazine cover — cutting a sturdy template to the exact maximum page size, so every sheet trims to fit without sticking beyond the cover edge. I also show how to handle the middle pages of a signature, which need to be sized slightly differently from the template because of how the stack curves.
How to build a pocket page into the middle of your signature — folding a scrapbook paper sheet in half, trimming it to size while it's sitting inside the signature, and either gluing or sewing it shut on three sides to leave a clean open top.
How to hinge two smaller pages together to make a full-size page, including:
- Overlapping the two pages and gluing along the join
- Overlapping and zigzag-stitching through both layers — which also adds a visible design element rather than hiding the hinge
- Folding the hinged page in half and binding it as a single signature page
Why pre-binding decoration matters — and what I do before the needle ever comes out: inking edges (especially on white pages and on smaller pages that will layer visibly against larger ones), stenciling with doily, butterfly, and floral stencils, stamping with archival ink in black and brown, and straight- and zigzag-stitching directly on pages at the sewing machine. All of this is far easier on a flat, loose page than on a bound one.
How to make a binding template and punch holes — cutting a scrap piece of paper to the same height as your pages, folding to find the center point, then folding again to mark the top and bottom holes. I mark the cover holes faintly (in case of mistakes) and use an awl to pierce through both cover and signature.
How to sew the three-hole pamphlet stitch with waxed thread, including:
- Starting at the center hole and working outward
- Using pliers to pull the needle through tight layers
- Going page by page on the return pass when a heavy signature won't let the needle through all at once
- Finishing with a knot and bow at the spine
How to embellish with a focus on writing space — rather than decorating every surface, thinking about where a reader will actually write. I show how to add a glued-on pocket using matching scrapbook paper, flip-up pockets with lace corners, belly bands across book pages, tags tucked into pockets, paper-clip journaling spots, hidden paper clips as bookmarks and tuck spots, envelopes, paper ruffles, die cuts, journaling cards, and postage stamps — most of which can be moved or removed as the journal gets used.
How to decide whether to add a journal closure — and the honest answer: sometimes a closure takes more away from a journal than it adds. I try one on this journal and take it off.
Tips & gotchas
Do all your stamping, stenciling, inking, and machine sewing before you bind. It sounds obvious but it's easy to skip — and once the signatures are sewn in, you're working around the spine bulk and nothing sits flat. Loose pages are the time to do it.
For a narrow spine, use only one signature. I had 19 pages ready and trimmed it back to 15 — better a tight, well-bound single signature than a spine that won't close. If your spine is around an inch, you can fit two or three signatures comfortably; in that case, space them evenly across the spine before marking your holes.
When marking binding holes on your cover, keep the marks faint. Mistakes happen — a faint pencil line rubs out, a heavy one doesn't.
The return pass on the pamphlet stitch (coming back through the middle hole after the bottom hole) is the trickiest part, especially with a lot of pages. Don't fight it. If the needle won't go through the whole signature at once, just work page by page. It takes longer but the result is the same.
Make your binding template from a scrap piece of paper cut to exactly the same height as your pages — not from the template you use for trimming. The trimming template tells you the width your pages can be; the binding template tells you where your holes go along the height of the spine.
When embellishing, think about what you're adding for the person who will write in this journal. Every belly band, pocket, and tuck spot is a small invitation. Pockets hold loose papers. Clipped journaling spots add writing surface to book pages that would otherwise be hard to write on. Die cuts and charms can move around. The more the elements can be used rather than just looked at, the better.
The two journals in the flip-through at the end of this video both came from that same process, just at different scales. The larger one has three signatures, 148 pages, an expanding back pocket, corner bookmarks, and layered pages throughout. The smaller cheesecloth journal has one signature, most of the same elements in miniature, and still manages to hold quite a bit. Seeing them side by side is a good reminder that the process scales — and that even a narrow-spined journal with a single signature can be genuinely rich to write in.
