I have been working on bookbinding and made notebooks/journals with four different techniques as shown in the photo below: (left to right) Japanese stab stitch, coptic stitch, button hole, and accordion.
Here you can see the different stitch methods from the back: (top to bottom) coptic, button hole, Japanese stab stitch.
There are endless possibilities for what one can use as outside and inside covers. It is not necessary to go out and buy expensive materials. Gift wrap, paper shopping bags with pretty prints, maps, and pages out of old books are just a few examples.
andelieya 安德洌雅 (official) 
I like the Japanese stab stitch. Just yesterday I was in a bookstore that had an art book made like that and I almost wanted it just because of the binding… >_>
You can make such a book yourself, cavepainter. I am sure there are lots of tutorials online or at the library. Give it a try! If you like working with paper, there is a good chance that you’ll enjoy it.
Yes, books can be beautiful things, and a tactile pleasure as well as a visual one. Very nice work :).
Thanks, yizhivika!
Bookbinding is an art skill, all own its own. Very pretty and very nicely done!
Thank you, mydailyminefield!
I don’t know much about bookbinding, so I appreciate the names of the different stitches with visual examples. Beautiful work!
My pleasure! Thank you so much for commenting!