How to make a binding closure for your journal

I love keeping a journal, but all the journals that had a binding closure were quite expensive! So I used a blank journal I had at home and got some embroidery thread from the pound shop!

Gather your supplied, you need three colours of thread... I couldn't decide at first which colours to use, lol.

You can use embellishments to finish off the journal if you like.

Take the entire thread length and fold it in half. Do this for all three colours you have chosen.

Tie them together about 20cm from the fold.

I used a paper clip to fasten the threads to a cushion.

Plait your threads together. Keep going till you have enough to wrap around your journal as many times as you like. (More than twice though, I would suggest, as this gives room for journal to expand.)

Tie a knot in the end. Not too tight as you may want to plait it more, as I had to...depending on how you want it to end.

Decide how to attach the plaited cord to your journal. I'm threading mine through the spine of the journal.

Pull the cord through the spine and pull enough through to enable to you tie a knot in the middle of the spine.

Tie the cord tightly and secure it to the spine with some superglue.

I created a loop that I could then use to close the journal.

If you like, use some embellishments to finish off your look. I used my initials and the year.

Wrap the cord around the journal to close it. The length allows for you to put things in the journal and still be able to keep it closed.

This cost me £11 all in, as I bought the blank journal from Paper Chase, which was £10, and the thread £1. I already had the superglue and embellishments, but you can get those cheap from Pound store,

So it won't break the bank! Lol. Also you could do this to any journal or notebook to give it a little something extra... I've done this to small notebooks for gifts too. Very effective. Enjoy!