When Cyril Dragon arrived at Hazel Village, he brought along a special journal full of musings on his various adventures. The other animals were quite intrigued by this magical-looking book.

“What a neat binding!” Oliver Mouse observed. “Did you make it yourself?”

“Indeed!” Cyril replied proudly.

“Very well done,” said Lucy Owl. “If you’d show us your method, I will catalogue it for the Village archive.”

“I think I would like to have a journal,” mused Augustus Wild Boar. “It would be the perfect place to develop my sandwich recipes.”

“That is a worthy use for a journal,” said Cyril, nodding his approval. “I will teach you how to make one just like mine.”

“What, right now?” asked Augustus, so surprised that he almost dropped the sandwich he was munching on.

“No time like the present!” Cyril declared. “Besides, bookbinding always makes me work up an appetite, so maybe afterwards you could show me how to make your favorite sandwich.”

“I would love to!” Augustus replied, wiggling excitedly. “Although I could never choose just ONE favorite sandwich. You’ll have to tell me if you prefer sourdough or rye, butter or mustard, sweet pickles or sour…”

Chatting happily about sandwiches and books, the friends settled down to craft.

This blog post comes to you in two parts! In part one, we will show you how to make an easy printable DIY version of Cyril Dragon’s journal, Journeys & Musings. In part two, you will see how Cyril taught Augustus to make his own hand-bound journal using the old-fashioned coptic binding method. Huzzah!

 

Part One: Journeys & Musings DIY printable craft

We created a printable version of Cyril’s journal so that you can easily make it at home. This version doesn’t require fancy bookbinding, and is therefore much faster and easier to put together. Here is what you will need:

• Printable book PDF
• Scissors
• Glue
• A stapler
• Something to color with

First, print the PDF and cut out all the pages. Fold each piece in half as indicated. The cover page will need to be folded in 2 spots to accommodate the spine of the book.

The first five pieces are labeled with pages 1-10. Making sure they are in order, work your way through the stack and glue each blank side together. You will be glueing page 2 to page 3; page 4 to page 5; page 6 to page 7; and page 8 to page 9. 

Once the illustrated pages are glued, place them on top of the folded blank pieces and staple the stack together. Make sure you are stapling very close to the spine, like this: 

Lastly, glue the cover on top, fitting it around the spine, front, and back of the book. 

We just used a colored pencil to make the cover brown like Cyril's original journal, but you can get creative with coloring your version if you'd like. The illustrated pages even make it a little bit like a tiny coloring book! 

  

 Part Two: Making a Hand-Bound Book

Here is what you will need to craft this book: 

• Cardboard
• Paper 
• A pencil
• A ruler
• Scissors
• Glue
• An awl (or a pushpin) 
• An embroidery needle 
• Cord/string
• Beeswax (optional)

Bookbinding kits are available online and likely at your local craft store if you would like to purchase one, but it is not essential.

To get started, gather your materials. For the cover boards, look in your recycle bin for a piece of thin cardboard. For the pages, outer cover, and lining, you can use any paper you would like. We selected an antique-looking parchment for the pages and a similar paper in a green-brown tone for the outer cover. For the cover lining, we used some leftover scraps of decorative paper. 

Using your ruler and pencil, measure out all the pieces as seen below. Cut out each piece with your scissors.

TOP LEFT: Outer Cover, 3x3.5”, cut 2

TOP RIGHT: Cover Board, 2.5x3", cut 2  

BOTTOM LEFT: Pages, 3x5", cut 5 (or more)

BOTTOM RIGHT: Cover Lining,  2.75x2.25", cut 2 

Place one cover board on top of its outer cover paper, and trace around it. Trim each corner of the paper at an angle. Glue the cover board to the paper, wrapping the edges around as seen below. 

Repeat with the second cover. Glue the lining papers onto each piece to hide the cardboard. 

When making the binding holes, it is important to keep them evenly spaced. We recommend creating a little spacer from a scrap piece of cardboard. This piece should be the same height as your book (3 inches). 

Mark 4 holes in a line on your spacer, and use an awl or a push pin to poke through each one. 

Using your spacer as a guide, poke holes through one side of each cover. These holes should be placed slightly indented from the edge, as seen below. 

Next, fold each paper page in half. Bookbinding fact: a folded page unit is called a signature. This book has 5 signatures!

Using your spacer again, poke 4 holes through the crease of each signature. 

 Now all your book pieces are ready for binding!

You can technically use any string or yarn for this, but waxed cord will work the best. If you happen to have a beeswax candle, you can run the cord along the wax a few times to prepare it for stitching. If you don't have any wax, that is also ok.  

The length of cord we used to stitch this book was about 44", including a buffer for tying knots. Here is the helpful video we watched to determine this length: How to Measure Binding Thread

We found that the coptic bookbinding method was far easier to learn from a video than from photos, so we will not create confusion by attempting instruction here. Instead, we will direct you to this excellent video tutorial: DIY Step-by-Step Coptic Bookbinding. 

While we're at it, let us take this moment to appreciate all the marvelous crafting resources that the internet has to offer. Crafting stewards near and far, you have our heartfelt gratitude!

When you have finished stitching the binding, the only step that remains is filling your book with words and pictures. Augustus Wild Boar has been spending a lot of time thinking up sandwich recipes for each of his friends, so naturally he dedicated his handmade journal to the sandwich gifting practice. 

Augustus is planning to give each of his friends their special sandwich as a holiday gift on the longest night of the year, when the animals stay up all night long in the Lodge, drinking cocoa and singing songs. What a fine present! 

Thank you for reading, friend! Did you make this craft at home? Send us a photo or tag us on social media @hazelvillage! For any questions, please email us at hello@hazelvillage.com. 

Cyril Dragon and Augustus Wild Boar are limited-edition animals! Shop these friends now before they depart the Village for their next adventures elsewhere. 

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The Animals' Holidays and Festivities

Make a Sandwich Hat with Augustus Wild Boar

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