I stumbled upon Jujumade a little while ago whilst perusing one of my favourite blogs, and immediately fell head over heels in love with her gorgeous nude leather bags adorned with handmade ceramic beads (as well as her ceramic barrettes made in collaboration with Brook + Lyn). I’ve always wanted to know more about how the experts work with leather – I was aware that it’s not such an easy thing to do – and so you can imagine how excited I was when Juju herself agreed to show how it’s done by making a simple mini pouch for us. Take it away Julie!
You need:
- leather
- 5mm leather cord or rope (150 cm)
- bead with a hole large enough to thread overlap of the leather cord (Julie made this one herself).
- knife blade
- waxed nylon
- rawhide hammer
- leather hole punchers
- 2 leather needles
- ruler
How to:
1. Start with a paper pattern, this will be the guide to cutting the leather
2. Cut out the leather with the paper pattern and punch holes for the straps
3. Punch the stitch holes, which should be 5mm offset along the edge of the leather. Using the 4 in 1 puncher will keep the stitch hole spacing consistent.
4. Thread each end of the waxed nylon thread to a leather needle
5. Start stitching on one end of the leather, stitch back and forth with both needles.
6. When you reach the end, stitch backwards to get both ends of the thread on the same side. Cut short and burn to secure.
7. Now you’re finished the pouch part, time to add the strap.
8. Loop leather cord through holes and thread both ends of the cord through the bead.
9. Split 20mm on both ends of the leather cord.
10. Knot both ends, this will secure the bead in place. (If you use a rope instead, tie a knot on both ends of the rope to secure)
All finished!
