Return to Notebooks...

The first thing I’ll say that even though I’m sharing this book, it’s not for sale. That would be copyright infringement. But I was doing the project anyway for a friend, and thought I’d share the learning experience and what I can do.

I’ve loved the Harry Potter books since I was young, like many others, and I knew I wanted to try fandom-themed notebooks ever since beginning this bookbinding journey. I wasn’t sure how I would do it, but the first step was creating the interior pages with the Hogwarts crest. Once that was made to my liking, I began on the cover.

The front cover was the most important part, so I figured a single long stitch pattern for the spine would be a great start. Since stiff leather tends to bunch up around the spine, I decided to swap it out for black cardstock, which also adds a pleasant visual distinction. I chose a dark brown distressed leather, and with an additional piece, I scratched out the same Hogwarts crest design with my awl, then centered it on the front. Since it looked a bit plain all my its lonesome, I scratched a simple border along the outside edges of the front and back. I’m hoping to get some leather stamps in the future for more elaborate designs, but for now, I adore the plain and simple that I can make on my own.

This book has five signatures, so it’s 200 pages. Inside, the pages are lined, about 16pt apart, with, of course, the full-colour official Hogwarts crest in the bottom corner. I had a lot of fun making this project, and I look forward to making more of these scratched-leather designs in the future.