After searching many years for the perfect sketchbook, I finally gave up on the commercial brands and decided to make my own. For weeks I stayed up all night tearing paper, threading needles, poking holes in mat boards, and utilizing all kinds of gadgets, until finally I created the sketchbook I had been searching for. Here are the steps I used to make my favorite sketchbook.
1) Measure out and tear (using the side of a ruler) a full sheet (22" x 30") of Arches watercolor paper into eight, 7.5" x 11" sheets (a full sheet is actually 22.5 inches wide so the individual pieces will be 11.25" long including the deckle edge). Make sure the paper's front side is up (watermark is readable on front side). Repeat until 4 full sheets have been torn into a total of 32, 7.5" x 11" sheets.
2) Organize torn sheets so all the deckled edges are together on the right side.
3) Cut two mat boards 7.75" x 11.75".
4) Wrap 2" wide, book binding cloth tape lengthwise around the left side of each cut mat board, with approximately 1" on top and 1" on the bottom. This will give the binding more support.
5) Sandwich the stack of paper in between the two mat boards with the deckled edges facing away from the taped ends. Take the book to FedEx Office (or any other office supply store that has binding), and have it spiral bound along the taped side. I had FedEx Office spiral bind my sketchbooks but it's also possible to buy a spiral binding machine. Zutter's Bind-It-all and We R Memory Keeper's The Cinch*** are two products I’ve heard good things about and both have YouTube video demonstrations.
6) Once your book is bound, use an awl to punch two holes into the back side of the mat board. (It’s a good idea to put a couple of layers of cardboard behind the mat before making the holds so as not to poke a hole through anything else.) Using approximately 21" of elastic, push each end up through the holes and pull tight until the elastic is snug around the sketchbook. Overlap the two elastic ends and stitch them together with sturdy thread.
7) Finished!
****** I just purchased the We R Memory Keeper’s The Cinch today (Sept 11, 2012) to start binding my own sketchbooks. I’ll post my opinion of the machine after I’ve had a chance to use it.
(Update Sept 24) I received the Cinch last the other day and have since been using it to punch paper. The tool works quite well and easily punches through mat board. I purchased the 1" plastic spirals (it's the only size they make) and found them too large. Also the binding is looser than I'd like. I've ordered the metal binders in two sizes (3/4" and 1") and I'll post my impressions of them when I receive them.
seasidebear, timoliver1959, and 104 other people added this photo to their favorites.
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The Artist on the Road 15 months ago | reply
You're welcome Jeanette
!
trisharay 15 months ago | reply
Great stuff!
(So maybe the next book, after the wine one, will be "How to be an Artist on the Road"!
You already have some great instruction drawings!)
Kim Schuster 15 months ago | reply
Thanks!
The Artist on the Road 15 months ago | reply
Thanks Trish
! I think with as much as you have traveled around the world YOU should write how to be an artist on the road! : )
!
You're welcome Kim
sketchrboy 15 months ago | reply
Richard: I knew you would get tons of comments on this one. Well done! I'm going to make one following your instructions.
Richard, If I may reply to sbwatercolor's questions: The best stitch for pages to lay flat in spreads is probably the Coptic stitch. There are demonstrations on Youtube and you can also Google. If all else fails, send me a note (sketchrboy). As for how to determine which size for the coil bindings. Go to your nearest big office supply store and ask what sizes they have. I use 1/2 inch coils, but you can get larger ones. Hope this helps.
sbwatercolors 15 months ago | reply
Thank you to sketchrboy!
The Artist on the Road 15 months ago | reply
Susan
, sounds like sketcherboy has the details on that binding technique. Hope this helps!
noka_fr 15 months ago | reply
Perfectly clear and perfectly neat and beautiful presentation! Would love to make one right now!! ( I usually make the postcard size form the 30X22 which I always miscalculated!) Thank you.
martinesan 15 months ago | reply
merci pour le partage :)
The Artist on the Road 15 months ago | reply
Thank you Noka_fr
! I bet it would be nice to have a smaller one like you suggested too.
!!
You are welcome Martine
Tracey Travis 15 months ago | reply
Great info, I once took some wet media paper to Office Depot to bind but they only had the soft cover. Maybe I'll try this one day.
The Artist on the Road 15 months ago | reply
Thanks Tracey
! Yeah, I bet that flimsy paper they have wouldn't cut it. Mat board works great, so give it a go!
Thanks again everyone for the Fave stars!
Anne Watkins NYC 14 months ago | reply
Thanks for this Richard! I just carry Arches torn sheets in a little plastic book sleeve folder, so that I don't have the bulk of a sketchbook, but I love your dedication to this and the generosity with which you have shared the process and result. This is a perfect example of what I love about the Flickr community!
The Artist on the Road 14 months ago | reply
Thanks very much Anne
! I understand the simplicity of just using torn sheets of paper too!
3eCheval 13 months ago | reply
Quelle chouette idée de l'avoir dessiné! Merci.
The Artist on the Road 13 months ago | reply
You're welcome Suzanne
glad you like it!
rilegator 8 months ago | reply
Excellent tutorial - nice idea!
The Artist on the Road 8 months ago | reply
Thanks
! I love these sketchbooks. I'll be checking out the new binding machine I just purchased this week. I'll post my thoughts on is as soon as I can.
jpbaysideny 8 days ago | reply
Beautifully illustrated! A great idea to pass along and so nice to be able to package it in but a single post. Well done!
The Artist on the Road 8 hours ago | reply
Thank you John
, I'm glad you found this useful!