For several years I used pocket size Moleskine art sketchbooks for my everyday-carry notebooks.
The sketchbook series consists of 80 pages using 160 gsm cardstock paper. The smaller number of pages means that I haven’t lost too much if I lose a notebook. Plus, fewer pages means a thinner notebook. The sturdier pages are nice to accommodate various pens and markers without bleed through.
When Moleskines became too expensive for me, around $25 for one notebook, I decided to create my own, with the same number of pages and 163 gsm paper. I became interested in bookbinding in 2004 and have learned the techniques to bind books and journals by hand using traditional techniques.
Although I have found it helpful to keep a notebook with me for planning and brainstorming, I always had to take the notebook out of my back pocket to sit down. That means I needed to keep it in my chair, tuck it in my backpack, or place it on the table or desk. However, some times, I’ve wanted to meet with others without my notebook visible or an extra thing on a crowded table.
Field Nuts (Reddit Group)
While spending more time on Reddit, I started following a community for users of Field Notes. Field Notes are 48-page pocket notebooks that are stapled. Many users celebrate “staple day,” when they reach the middle of their notebooks.
Moleskine has a similar series called “cahiers” that contains 64 pages.
Seeing the various examples of people using booklet-style notebooks inspired me to think about it myself. I still wanted thicker paper (Field Notes pages 90 gsm and Moleskine pages 70 gsm), a back pocket, front pocket, and as many features as possible from my 80-page notebooks.
80 ➗ 3
Since I’ve been using one notebook every quarter, I calculated the number of pages I would need per month simply by dividing 80 by 3 (26.67). As books are based on 4 pages per sheet, I rounded up to 28 pages, 7 sheets folded in half.
July
In the middle of July I decided to create a booket-style notebook by sewing 6 sheets together as a test notebook.
It worked out well, and below is a video of my walkthrough. It is thin enough I can keep it in my front or back pocket while I’m sitting.
Another advantage of the booklet pocket notebook is that I can make one in about 10 minutes. As a result, I have already made several and am already set for the next few months.
