Fabric Journals

I tried my hand at fabric journal when I took an online course with Sue Bleiweiss of Three Creative Studios.  She guided us through a variety of fabric journals and I loved every minute of it.  I had a bit of experience sewing but the instructions were quite clear and you didn't need a fancy machine to accomplish the task (which is a plus for me because I don't have all the bells and whistles on mine).

You can see in the picture above that beads were added to the long stitch on the journal spine for decoration.

This journal was done in a faux suede cover with a patterned cotton lining. The suede is also used to make an inner pocket.  Each signature is wrapped in decorative paper and the signatures are attached to the spine with a long stitch binding.  A metal clasp is used to secure the journal.

I also repeated this style of journal using bold prints with elastic closures (they were actually fuzzy headbands from the Dollar Store).  I used a large, decorative shell button as the catch.  These journals were popular with my nieces.

You can see that the covering paper for the signatures picked up the bright colours from the fabric cover.

Both journals have a fold over flap that keeps the journal and it's contents protected.