I decided I'm going to try and make my own journal by cutting large watercolor paper and making one with coptic binding. If I can master that method, it would make my future watercolor sketchbooks infinitely less expensive, more customizable, prettier and more personal.
wow it's gotten hard to find watercolor journals! I have one in particular I wanted to use for my Japan journal, but it's either really expensive online, or shipping is really expensive. I looked at other brands in similar sizes and they are largely out of stock. tariffs I guess?
Rad! I have been making my own WC sketchbooks for over a decade, lemme know if you ever want any tips or help :) (I usually do kettle stitch books but Coptic is fun too! Japanese Stab is usually The Begenner One. Coptic is nice for opening really wide though.)
Oh that's great to know, thank you! I honestly just chose Coptic because it's what came up in my initial research, but I'm not attached to it, so I'll look into the other stitches too.
Feb 5, 2026 02:25no problem! I took bookbinding in college bc I thought it was a useful but somewhat dying art, spreading it has been one of my goals :) I'd say make some 'dummy books' out of cheap paper to practice and find your fav- major difference w wc paper is use less folios per soldier, or it gets cumbersome.
I keep looking at those instructions for making little tiny books on pintetest and plotting.
lol its definately a freeing thing, you can make better books for cheaper than you can buy usually. I'll have to do a thread on a basic wc sketchbook soon with cheap and available materials :)
