Briefcase/wallet turned into notebook

Let's face it: LARPs are usually just one huge mystery/secret/crime/scheme to be uncovered and solved. And as we don't have the trained short-term memory our illiterate ancestors long ago tended to have, we need to jot down the odd name or idea lest we forget it when it might come in handy to solve the plot. In style, of course - no plastic pens and spiral-bound notebooks. So here's a short tutorial on how to turn a leather briefcase into a very pretty notebook in almost no time.

On a flea market I bought three (I know, one would have been enough, but I found them SO pretty and practical!) of those very nice leather wallets (rather large specimens) that even have a little pouch worked into one of the sections. Cut away the gruesome plastic in one section where I intended to put the booklet.

Measure the size of your briefcase you want to use, and cut the paper according to it. If you use thick paper, 12 layers will suffice, if you use something like normal printing paper, you could go up to 24 layers or so. Fold the stack of paper neatly in half and punch four holes in the fold with an awl or a thick needle. Now sew the sheets together with yarn: beginning from the outside, go in, out the next hole, in the following and out again the last one. To bring the ends of the yearn closer together and strengthen the whole binding, go in once again and out through the two centre holes. Tighten the thread and knot it at the back of the booklet.

Put the booklet in the place where you want it to be in the briefcase. Mark the place of the holes with your awl or needle and punch them.

Take a double length of yarn now for additional strength and sew the paper into the wallet the same way you bound the booklet. Knot and draw the ends through and behind the paper.

That's it!