Discussion Forum > Loose-leaf vs bound book compromise -- Midori Traveler DIY
I did something like this with two Moleskine Volant books. I would just attach them with a rubber band and some scotch tape. Worked great whenever I needed to start a new notebook but wasn't done with the material in the older notebook.
If you use Field Notes notebooks, it feels even more like a Midori. The notebooks are thinner, and you can mix and match lined, graph, and blank. But personally I don't like that size -- too small for me.
If you use Field Notes notebooks, it feels even more like a Midori. The notebooks are thinner, and you can mix and match lined, graph, and blank. But personally I don't like that size -- too small for me.
January 11, 2017 at 0:03 |
Seraphim
Seraphim
I just bought a moleskein chapters notebook. Same shape and size as the Midori traveler calendar I was using. What I like is that it lays flat. I use the chapters, just a colored divider, for big projects.
January 11, 2017 at 3:36 |
Erin
Erin
Cricket: can you show pics of your booklets?
January 13, 2017 at 15:21 |
Pavel
Pavel
When I was using a paper based system I bought Atoma notebooks. One can take out pages and put new ones in. Available in different sizes, colors and materials...
January 18, 2017 at 10:08 |
Christian G.
Christian G.
Pavel, they're not worth pictures. Just several sheets of blank paper, folded in half to make a booklet. The binding method varied a bit. These days, I carry some on a small clipboard around the house, and a cardboard folder in my purse.
The pages vary. I like a 1/4 inch dotted grid best for most pages. That's a bit smaller than college rule, and suits my handwriting. It's just enough guidance to keep my lines straight, both on the line, and when doing columns.
I took a class on bookbinding last weekend. We tried to learn two-needle Coptic. My book looks good if you don't know what to look for. My instructor's looked more like this:
http://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwix1b6ZntnRAhULxYMKHbeVAyUQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Frusticosartesanal.blogspot.com%2F2015_04_01_archive.html&psig=AFQjCNHjioTA1eB-3Z8yz8P6I-t6QrF11A&ust=1485294168500508
The pages vary. I like a 1/4 inch dotted grid best for most pages. That's a bit smaller than college rule, and suits my handwriting. It's just enough guidance to keep my lines straight, both on the line, and when doing columns.
I took a class on bookbinding last weekend. We tried to learn two-needle Coptic. My book looks good if you don't know what to look for. My instructor's looked more like this:
http://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwix1b6ZntnRAhULxYMKHbeVAyUQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Frusticosartesanal.blogspot.com%2F2015_04_01_archive.html&psig=AFQjCNHjioTA1eB-3Z8yz8P6I-t6QrF11A&ust=1485294168500508
January 23, 2017 at 21:44 |
Cricket
Cricket
For sure, dotted notebooks look very unusial. By the way, are there any ideas what it the purpose of such design?
As for me, dots can serve instead of lines to structure the information.
I use the notebook like number 5 (https://onplanners.com/notebooks/best-pocket-notebooks#paragraph-11), at it looks eco-friendly. "Craft-like" paper looks better than coloured glossy, but it is more about personal preferences.
As for me, dots can serve instead of lines to structure the information.
I use the notebook like number 5 (https://onplanners.com/notebooks/best-pocket-notebooks#paragraph-11), at it looks eco-friendly. "Craft-like" paper looks better than coloured glossy, but it is more about personal preferences.
January 27, 2019 at 12:43 |
John
John
John:
<< By the way, are there any ideas what it the purpose of such design? >>
A dotted notebook is basically a squared notebook with the lines removed and only the points of intersection left.
So you can use it for such things as:
- writing across the page using the dots in place of lines (as you do)
- writing lengthwise on the page using the dots in place of lines
- using it for accounts, graphs and other mathematical work
- drawing boxes, triangles, circles, etc, using the dots as a guide
- lining up columns
- freehand drawing using the dots as a guide
- any combination of the above
<< By the way, are there any ideas what it the purpose of such design? >>
A dotted notebook is basically a squared notebook with the lines removed and only the points of intersection left.
So you can use it for such things as:
- writing across the page using the dots in place of lines (as you do)
- writing lengthwise on the page using the dots in place of lines
- using it for accounts, graphs and other mathematical work
- drawing boxes, triangles, circles, etc, using the dots as a guide
- lining up columns
- freehand drawing using the dots as a guide
- any combination of the above
January 28, 2019 at 11:32 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
I think the other advantage of a dotted page is that there are no extraneous lines such as on ruled or gridded pages (what Tufte might call "chartjunk"). The dots provide just enough guidance for drawing straight lines or writing in a straight line, leaving a page featuring mostly your creation. Some journals' ruled or gridded lines are so heavily inked that they can distract if your pen nib is very fine or you're drawing something that breaks the linearity of the page.
January 29, 2019 at 0:33 |
Mike Brown
Mike Brown
Cricket -
I've seriously looked at Traveler's style notebooks for a lot of the reasons you mention, and my first few trials didn't go very well because I found the (bought) notebooks horrible to write in.
I was putting 2 or 3 notebooks into a bought cover, and I found the whole thing to be a bit lumpy and uneven - there was always a hump of paper behind what I was trying to write on, or under the facing page, inhibiting my hand.
Do you think that you are just not bothered by that, or is it that your booklets are small and don't have the problem? Or is there a trick I haven't figured out? I love the idea, and I'm discouraged by how much I hated it the first time around.
I've seriously looked at Traveler's style notebooks for a lot of the reasons you mention, and my first few trials didn't go very well because I found the (bought) notebooks horrible to write in.
I was putting 2 or 3 notebooks into a bought cover, and I found the whole thing to be a bit lumpy and uneven - there was always a hump of paper behind what I was trying to write on, or under the facing page, inhibiting my hand.
Do you think that you are just not bothered by that, or is it that your booklets are small and don't have the problem? Or is there a trick I haven't figured out? I love the idea, and I'm discouraged by how much I hated it the first time around.
January 29, 2019 at 1:59 |
R.M. Koske
R.M. Koske
I stopped using the method shortly after describing it. I rarely need more than the calendar on my phone and my small notebook when not at my desk.
I printed a few more to start this year, but haven't actually used them. It's been one of those months. There's one booklet with month pages, one with week, and one with day, so I can see each level when planning the one below.
This time I'm not bothering with the elastic. It didn't hold them firmly enough, and it was too much hassle to take the books out when I want to see them all at once. It doesn't matter if they fall out since I usually use them at a desk. I keep them together in a coloured folder, though, so they're easy to find on my desk.
How is the hump of paper in this system different from a normal notebook?
I printed a few more to start this year, but haven't actually used them. It's been one of those months. There's one booklet with month pages, one with week, and one with day, so I can see each level when planning the one below.
This time I'm not bothering with the elastic. It didn't hold them firmly enough, and it was too much hassle to take the books out when I want to see them all at once. It doesn't matter if they fall out since I usually use them at a desk. I keep them together in a coloured folder, though, so they're easy to find on my desk.
How is the hump of paper in this system different from a normal notebook?
January 31, 2019 at 21:21 |
Cricket
Cricket
Much less expensive than MoleSkine or Lecturne, with more flexibility.
Like bound books, the pages stay in order, and I can easily see an entire spread. Like spiral-bound, I can fold the pages back so they take less space when open.
Like loose-leaf, it's easy to add pages in the middle (if a section grows faster than expected). Just add a booklet. I can also spread them out, so I can see my todo list, habit diary, burndown charts for projects, and dated planning/log page at the same time.
(Stapling the corner of looseleaf, even half-size, requires page flipping rather than turning. It just doesn't feel smooth to me. Grit in the system.)
I prefer 4-6 sheets per booklet. That's enough for a page per day for a week, with a few for overflow, but not so many that I'm upset at the waste, If I don't like the layout, only a few sheets are wasted. They're small enough that I can carry several in one cover. (At home, I don't have use a cover. Just a stack, and a pen with a clip.)
It's easy to create and print forms. I like 31 numbers down the side of a grid for habit chains, and 1/4" dotted grid for most other things. Normal graph paper, if you can find it these days, works if the grid is light, and several websites will generate custom grids for printing.
Pre-printing more-detailed forms, such as time ladders or weekly todo lists, doesn't work for me. Once I create the template, I want something different, no matter how many times used the layout before committing. The exception is month grids: 31 numbers down the side, room to write topics in the first row, and room for a page title. Very useful for habit chains and burn-down charts. 1/4" dotted grids are also nice;
Methods:
Hand-Sewing. Best results. I prefer lock-stitch with a sewing awl.
http://www.speedystitcher.com/speedy-stitcher-instructions/
The holes easily go exactly in the fold. Thread takes no space, so they fold over nicely. Only a few minutes per booklet. Smile when I think of a fellow-crafter noticing. Grandma's old cotton thread broke after a few day's of use, so I'll try newish polyester (the most commonly sold these days) for the next batch.
Stapler. Fastest, especially after I found and marked the perfect setting on the long-arm stapler, but it's not quite as accurate as sewing. Doesn't fold over as nicely due to staple shape.
Machine-Sewing: Least favourite, even ignoring the time to set it up, and the extra machine maintenance. (Home machines sew paper just fine, but paper is dusty and dulls the needle.) The holes are so close together the paper might tear. I'm not good with the machine, but it seemed harder to keep a straight line, so there's more stress on the seam when I fold the pages over.