If you've ever finished binding a journal only to spot chunky holes, floppy signatures, or glue seeping out from under a pocket, this video is for you. Over 22 issues — things that come up again and again in handmade journal making — I go through what's going wrong, why it happens, and exactly what to do differently. I use real journals throughout, including ones I've purchased from other makers, pointing out the specific spots where these things show up so you can see them clearly rather than just imagine them.
What we cover
This is a troubleshooting guide for handmade books and junk journals. We work through binding problems (chunky holes, loose signatures, crooked spine placement, knotting technique), adhesive issues (double-sided tape, glue bleed, glues that stay tacky), construction decisions (pages per signature, cover reinforcement, thread weight), and usability concerns (closures, embellishments, writing space). All 22 issues are shown on real journals — not hypotheticals.
What you'll learn
How to avoid chunky binding holes, including:
- Choosing the right awl — the difference in hole size between a fine awl and a thicker poking tool is significant, and it compounds as you bind
- Going through the cover first, then the signature separately, rather than trying to push through both at once
- Keeping the awl in the hole until the needle is ready to enter, so everything stays aligned
- Using a fine, blunt needle — a chunky needle with thread through its eye will stretch even a well-made hole
How to navigate the needle through mixed-media signatures without stabbing through pages — working page by page when needed, using a finger on the other side to feel when the needle has come through, and never forcing when you feel resistance
Why pulling thread upward is the correct direction when tightening — pulling sideways stretches the hole; pulling up keeps it neat
How to finish binding with an S knot so knots don't stack on top of each other — a stack of knots creates height that can punch through to the other side of the page; the S knot sits alongside previous knots rather than on top, keeping everything flat
How to space and align signatures on the spine, including:
- Why odd numbers of signatures are easier to space symmetrically than even numbers
- Using a paper template the same height as your signatures to transfer hole positions accurately
- Marking dots before poking, then checking they're in a straight line and that they align across signatures before touching the awl
Why thread weight matters for larger journals — thin thread is fine for small, lightly embellished notebooks, but on larger journals with heavyweight pages it can rip through holes over time; going thicker (or even using yarn) prevents this
How many pages per signature holds up in use — eight to sixteen is the practical range, twenty is an absolute maximum; more than that and the journal is both harder to bind and harder to open flat
Why double-sided tape fails over time — it loses stickiness, and on thin pages it bleeds through and discolors the paper underneath; it can look fine for a year or two and then quietly fall apart
How to glue without leaving visible residue, including:
- Not going all the way to the edge when applying glue — it will spread when pressed
- Wiping excess immediately, wiping toward the glued piece rather than across the open page
- Tilting the page to the light to check for residue before moving on
When hot glue works and when it doesn't — hot glue bonds well to fabric but will pop off anything non-absorbent: smooth plastics, metal, glossy surfaces; for those, glossy accents or art glitter glue hold far better
How embellishment placement affects usability — bulky pieces in the center of a page make the journal hard to write in; placing them on the margins, or making them removable, keeps the page functional
Why closures need to be tested for actual use, not just photographed — a closure that looks gorgeous and films beautifully may knot, fray, catch on hardware, or require too many steps to open and close in daily use; the standard worth aiming for is: off quickly, back on quickly, no fiddling
How cover weight should match journal size — a single cereal box is fine for a small booklet; a larger journal with many pages needs a reinforced cover (two layers of cereal box or chipboard) or it will warp and bend out of shape
Why embellishments on the spine need to be movable — beads or chunky trim fixed permanently to the spine can prevent the journal from opening flat; designing them to slide or be removed entirely keeps the journal usable
Tips & gotchas
Use a fine awl — not just any poky tool — and don't push it all the way through. Making the hole is enough. Driving the full taper of a thicker tool into the page is exactly how holes get oversized before binding even starts.
When a signature's pages have shifted mid-bind and the holes aren't aligned, stop. Don't jab. Gently wiggle the pages back into position, or work one page at a time until the needle comes through where it's supposed to. The pages that end up with random stab marks in them are always the result of forcing rather than waiting.
Mark all your hole positions before poking anything. Once the marks are down, check two things: are they in a straight line, and do they align across signatures? Measure twice, cut once — this is that.
On thread: the strength of the thread is not the same thing as whether it's right for the job. Crochet thread is quite strong, but strong-and-thin will still rip through pages on a large journal over time. Match the thread weight to the scale of the book.
On glue that stays tacky — some sealants, and possibly Mod Podge in certain applications, will never fully cure in a way that stops being sticky. This is worth testing before committing it to a journal that will be handled or stored next to other books.
Flatten every brad and every staple on the back of the page before the journal is assembled. Sharp edges are easy to miss and easy to fix, but not once the journal is closed and in someone's hands.
Stamp and ink edges before binding. Once the signatures are sewn in and the book is assembled, you've lost the flat, hard surface that makes clean stamping possible. Ink edges first; bind after.
If you're using wire-edged ribbon anywhere in a journal, remove the wire. It's a loose, poky end waiting to catch someone's finger, and the ribbon works perfectly well without it.
For closures: test them by actually using the journal ten or fifteen times. A closure that works beautifully on a flat desk in good lighting may catch, tangle, or fray under normal conditions. Stretchy lace loops, simple elastic bands, or a single flat ribbon tie tend to hold up better in daily use than decorative multi-strand or heavily looped options.
On the sixty-percent rule for writing space — it's a guideline, not a mandate. If a journal is meant to be flipped through as an art object, none of this applies. But if it's meant to be written in, and most of the pages can't be written on, that's worth knowing before it becomes someone else's problem.
What I find is that once you know what to look for, the fixes are almost always simple — the right tool, the right order of operations, one less knot, one less layer. None of it requires starting over. It just requires slowing down and knowing which corner of the process is worth the extra minute. That's what this video is really about: not perfection, but the specific small decisions that add up to a journal that holds together, opens flat, and is genuinely good to use.
