How I Make My Sketchbooks: Favourite Materials and Tutorials

I love having different sketchbooks for various topics, ideas, and projects. There’s something so satisfying about crafting my own, and last weekend, I made two new sketchbooks! I wanted to share some moments from the process along with a few helpful resources I discovered.

Binding my own sketchbooks gives me complete control over the materials, allowing me to choose the perfect paper for my needs. Plus, it can be more budget-friendly (depending on the paper), and there’s something truly special about using a handmade sketchbook - it feels more personal and inspiring.

My Favourite Paper

For most of my sketchbooks, I use the Daler Rowney Smooth Heavyweight Cartridge Pad (220gsm). It’s incredibly versatile, handling everything from pencil sketches to gouache and even watercolour (though I don’t use it much). I also love its natural white tone, which feels more comfortable to work on than bright white paper.

For my smaller sketchbook, I used leftover Neenah Vellum Bristol Cardstock (147gsm). I bought this one for printing some greeting cards a long time ago, and it is good for sketches and writing. Though I wouldn’t choose it if I bought new paper due to its bright white colour but otherwise, it’s a good cardstock paper. In this case, the paper’s shade and texture weren’t as important because I created it for my knitting project, and it was just a great way to repurpose materials.

Stitching and Thread Choices

I usually use whatever thread I have on hand - embroidery cotton or cotton yarn. However, one lesson I learned is that yellow thread, while lovely on the spine, can be tricky if you plan to paint a double spread and it doesn’t match your colour palette. Moving forward, I think I’ll use an off-white thread for a more neutral look. Also, I read that linen is a great choice for binding, so I might try linen thread as well. I have only used the Coptic stitch technique so far, but I saw this lovely book the other day, so maybe I’ll buy it and try other techniques as well.

Cover Materials

I often repurpose the backing cardboard from paper pads for my covers. This time, I experimented with acrylic gouache for decoration, but I usually don’t mind a simple, raw grey cover. Also, I saw other artists’ sketchbooks that have fabric or decoupaged covers, so it’s definitely a large field to experiment with.

Helpful Resources for DIY Sketchbooks

If you're interested in making your own sketchbooks, here are some fantastic tutorials that helped me:

Coptic Stitch Bookbinding - A clear and easy-to-follow guide for this beautiful binding technique. I used it for all my sketchbooks, and it always worked perfectly!
Beginner-Friendly Sketchbook - A simple tutorial with a glued cover. While I didn’t love the process of glueing (for some reason, I always struggle with this), the result was definitely worth it!
Maru Godas’ Live Tutorial - A wonderful and inspiring tutorial by artist Maru Godas. It’s in Spanish, so it was a bit hard for me to understand it as I don’t know Spanish, and I finished my cover using the tutorial above. However Spanish speakers might find this tutorial very interesting and valuable.
Spiral Sketchbook DIY - I haven’t tried this one yet, but it looks like a great and easy method for making a spiral-bound sketchbook.
Simple Concertina & Zine Sketchbooks - Super easy tutorials for simple sketchbook formats. I used these for separate small projects, and it’s quite fun and easy to make.

Making your own sketchbook is such a fun and rewarding experience! I highly encourage you to give it a try if you haven’t yet, and I hope you'll love it as much as I do.

I hope you found this post helpful, and I wish you all a great weekend!

Anna