Hi pen people
I decided that for 2024 I’m dedicating Sundays to being a day of rest (or basically messing around with anything other than making pens).
I’d bought a nice side of high grade 5oz vegetable dyed leather a while back, in fact it’s so long ago that I can’t remember why I bought it.
So I decided I needed to use it and, as I have no real experience working with leather, I was looking for a simple project. These midori journal covers served the purpose well as there’s no stitching involved and I do have quite a few small notebooks lying around.
So I made two sizes, A5 and small notebook which fits the Field Notes brand of small pads that I use a lot. I made a template from 3mm ply that I could trace around and punch holes through (I had a feeling they’d be popular so I put in the extra work up front so I could repeat it without having to think too much).
I spent quite a bit of time finishing the edges and making them look worn in a bit as the leather colour was very blocky, so I sprayed a bit of denatured alcohol over them to lift out some of the colour. I also treated them with my beeswax & mineral oil lotion that I made a while back because I didn’t want the spine to crack. I’m not sure if that’s the right thing to do but it’s what I had lying around and it did a great job of loosening them up a bit without making them too floppy.
To finish them off I laser engraved some writing onto them, and used a piece of coloured elastic to hold in the pads and to keep the cover closed.
My wife liked them so much I made her one, and now the in-laws want them too.
Anyway I thought I’d share it as if you’ve got a bit of leather scrap hanging around, and you don’t have much leather work experience or many tools, then this is a nice little project. (You will need a leather punch or some other means to make the holes).
It’s one of those rare occasions where the finished item looks much better than the work involved would suggest. Plenty of YouTube videos showing how to make them. Just search for Midori journal covers.
Cheers
Ash
I decided that for 2024 I’m dedicating Sundays to being a day of rest (or basically messing around with anything other than making pens).
I’d bought a nice side of high grade 5oz vegetable dyed leather a while back, in fact it’s so long ago that I can’t remember why I bought it.
So I decided I needed to use it and, as I have no real experience working with leather, I was looking for a simple project. These midori journal covers served the purpose well as there’s no stitching involved and I do have quite a few small notebooks lying around.
So I made two sizes, A5 and small notebook which fits the Field Notes brand of small pads that I use a lot. I made a template from 3mm ply that I could trace around and punch holes through (I had a feeling they’d be popular so I put in the extra work up front so I could repeat it without having to think too much).
I spent quite a bit of time finishing the edges and making them look worn in a bit as the leather colour was very blocky, so I sprayed a bit of denatured alcohol over them to lift out some of the colour. I also treated them with my beeswax & mineral oil lotion that I made a while back because I didn’t want the spine to crack. I’m not sure if that’s the right thing to do but it’s what I had lying around and it did a great job of loosening them up a bit without making them too floppy.
To finish them off I laser engraved some writing onto them, and used a piece of coloured elastic to hold in the pads and to keep the cover closed.
My wife liked them so much I made her one, and now the in-laws want them too.
Anyway I thought I’d share it as if you’ve got a bit of leather scrap hanging around, and you don’t have much leather work experience or many tools, then this is a nice little project. (You will need a leather punch or some other means to make the holes).
It’s one of those rare occasions where the finished item looks much better than the work involved would suggest. Plenty of YouTube videos showing how to make them. Just search for Midori journal covers.
Cheers
Ash
Just a heads up tho, leathercraft is extremely addictive 
