Papercloth Journal

Papercloth tutorials are all over the internet with a lot of ideas to try.  I wanted to share my version using Artistcellar stencils and my carved stamps.  I use papercloth primarily for making journal covers, although there are other uses for this fun product too.  I have another papercloth tutorial here.

I started by cutting a generous piece of muslin.  It really depends on your end use, in deciding how large a piece of papercloth to make.  I always make a pretty big piece so that I have a lot on hand.  The process takes a while, so it makes sense to make a bigger piece.  I laid the muslin onto a plastic bag, or other piece of plastic.  You want to be able to peel it up later from the surface.

Next I took tissue paper, or other thin papers, and stamped images randomly onto the tissue paper.  I used my hand carved stamps and StazOn Ink to add the images. I tore the tissue paper into smaller pieces.

Then I mixed white glue with water until I got a pretty runny mix.  It takes a bit to get the glue mixed into the water well.  I made up a small tub of this mixture.  I brushed the glue onto the muslin a section at a time and laid down the pieces of tissue paper and brushed glue over the top.  I kept layering until the entire piece of muslin was covered by the tissue paper.  It doesn't matter if the tissue tears a bit or gets wrinkled because this will just add texture.

Next I added color by dropping on acrylic inks in blues and greens.  I used some iridescent colors to add shimmer to the papercloth.  I gently blended the inks and spread them around until all the tissue had color.  I let the piece dry completely, which sometimes takes a couple of days.

I chose two of the TEXTures series stencils, Roadmap and Rivermap to add another layer to my papercloth.  I used the Rivermap stencil and blue and green acrylic paints to add texture randomly over the entire piece.  After that dried, I used the Roadmap stencil and black paint to add some pop to the piece.

After the paint dried I peeled it off of the plastic and cut it into smaller pieces.  I wanted to make several journals from the piece, so I cut different sized rectangles out.  I picked one piece that I had cut and added free motion stitching over the whole surface.  I used a variegated blue thread and added a loose pebble stitch.  The stitching adds strength and stability to the papercloth.  The more you work the piece of papercloth the softer it gets, because it starts out really stiff. By gently bending it, it will get more flexible.  You need the stitching to help the layers stay together.  It doesn't have to be free motion stitching, but I love the way that type of stitching looks.

I also satin stitched all the way around the outside edge.  I used strips of tear away stabilizer to make this process easier.  It also strengthens the edge of the journal.  After the stitching was done, I tore away the excess stabilizer.

I added the word possibilities in black thread with free motion stitching to one side. 

I tore sketch paper into the correct size and made four signatures with five folios for this journal.  I sewed them into the papercloth cover just like I did for my last journal tutorial. You can find that here.   I also added beads to the ends of the binding threads and a ribbon to keep the journal closed.  The finished size is about 8 1/2" x 11".

I hope that you enjoyed this journal cover tutorial and that you try making papercloth too if you haven't already. This journal is up for sale in my shop, so check that out if you would love to have this one for your very own.
Janelle