Age Range: 10+

Time to Complete: 15-20 minutes.

Supplies Needed

• 6-8 sheets of plain paper, 8.5 x 11 letter

• 1 sheet of card stock or construction paper

• needle and thread

• piercing tool such as an awl, safety pin or needle

• scissors

• ruler, metal

1. Select the number of pages for your sketchbook and fold them in half in groups of two. Optional, use a bone folder to get a crisp fold.

6-8 pages is recommended, resulting in a 12-14 page skectchbook.

2. Open your folded pages and stack them.

4. Fold your cover in half as well, and add to the bottom of your stack of papers.

5. With your ruler and pencil mark the placement of the holes for your 3-hole sketchbook. One mark an inch from the top, 4.25 inches from the top, and 7.5 inches from the top.

6. Using your piercing tool, make holes where you have marked. Be sure to make the holes a bit wider than your needle for easy sewing. If this stage is difficult all at once, perforate your pages a few at a time.

7. Thread your needle. The bigger your needle, the easier it will be to grab and pull. A bigger needle is recommended for this project.

8. Start sewing your book, starting from the outside and middle hole.

9. From the inside to the outside.

10. All the way to the bottom.

11. And back out where you started.

12. Pull your thread taut so the pages aren’t loose and tie a knot around the thread. Cut off the extra thread, leaving a half inch of thread. Cutting too close to the knot can make the book fall apart later.

Congratulations! You’ve made your own pamphlet stitched sketchbook!

A pamphlet stitch is a basic book binding method to keep together a set of pages.

Pictured is a 3 hole pamphlet stitch.

Parents can trim the pages of the sketchbook with a ruler and an craft knife. A metal ruler is recommended.