Holiday Sewing: Simple Leather Christmas Ornaments Tutorial

I'm bringing Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom's Holiday Sewing Series to a close today with a super speedy tutorial:
I know, right? So easy I actually feel pretty guilty about posting it but but BUT I did some googling when I had the idea and surprisingly there wasn't anything too similar.  The tree and stars are complete no-sew, but the baubles require a tiny bit of sewing (although you could omit the detail and just use the outline).  You can download the templates for the three shapes here, but there are a tonne of Christmas clip art templates if you want to add more shapes... Reindeer? Stockings? Snowflakes? Candy canes? Leather ornament all the things!

Cut out your shapes and trace them on your leather.  Using sharp scissors, carefully cut around the outlines.  If you're going to sew the zigzag detail on the baubles, cut the zigzag from a second colour.  Use a glue stick to position the zigzag on the bauble.

After the glue is dry, put a heavy duty needle in your machine (specific leather needles are best but general heavy duty needles are fine too). To stop the leather from waving / distorting, I use a slightly longer stitch length of 2.8.  Start sewing close to the edge, stopping at the corners and with the needle in the down position, and pivoting to continue sewing around all the edges until you get back to where you started.

Use an awl or craft knife to make a hole at the top for hanging.  If you have the hardware, grommets would be pretty nifty too.

I used leather cording with a simple knot at the top for hanging.

And that's it!  They took me fourteen times longer to photograph than make and our tree looks (marginally) more classy so that's a result by all accounts.

Make sure that you check out the series for lots of Christmas sewing ideas, including yesterday's tutorial from Jamie herself with reversible holiday placemats.  There will be a linky party on Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom tomorrow for everyone to link up their recent holiday sewing, and there's a even a giveaway for a Brother 1034d serger closing tomorrow!

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The Two Tone iPhone

Hark, Rejoice! It's Friend Sarah's birthday!  But what to you make the girl who has already been the recipient of everything that's in my powers to make has everything?  Although I had my suspicions that a ten+ year friendship with yours truly was gift enough, I thought I should cover my back.

And her phone.  Coincidentally matching wrapping paper for the win!

I picked up both of these leather pelts at Edinburgh Fabrics earlier this year (forgetting that I already had royal blue at home) because my memory is short and orange and blue are irresistable together.  I played around with a lot of shapes for the design on the back and almost made a variegated triangle design  before settling on a chevron effect. So 2012, I know.

Both of the pelts are thin and supple but the orange proved almost too much so- it was almost stretchy.  So I made a last minute call to reinforce the strap with another layer of blue for stability.

And another triangular layer of orange to catch on the strap if it starts to distort and grow. Although Sarah has a long and illustrious career as a phone cover loser, I don't want her to also be a phone loser.

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Tutorial: Sew a leather iPhone cover with flap

Believe it or not, there are occassions when you don't want to dress your iPhone up like a cassette tape or lego-ise it. If it's kicking about in a handbag as dangerous as mine, it's good to protect the screen from knocks and detritus. So how about sewing it a leather cover with a flap? It's a super quick project (I estimate well under an hour) and you can knock them out for all your pals for Christmas. You'll need leather or pleather, some chalk for marking, and a heavy duty / leather needle. You can't pin leather because it leaves a hole, but if you want to you can paper-clip or quilt-clip it to stop shifting, or just hold it with your fingers. When I sew leather, I set my stitch length a bit longer (3 for me) and go s-l-o-w-l-y to make sure you don't skip stitches.  Front and back stitch a couple of times at the beginning and end. I use my normal foot, but you can use a teflon or walking foot, or even put some scotch tape underneath the foot to make it slide better. I personally don't find it necessary!

Okay, let's start off by downloading your file. Print it out without scaling and check your measurements. This cover is for a 4s, if you have a different model you might have to adjust the dimensions. It's a good idea to cut the front and back pieces out of paper or card, put your phone in the middle, and pinch round the edges to make sure it fits before you cut your leather. Does it fit?

Okay, let's cut the leather! Front with bit cut out of the top, a back, a flap and a strap.

With a pen or pencil, trace the strap and flap placements firmly onto the paper with the leather below. When you remove the paper, there will be slight indentations on the leather. Transfer these markings with chalk. Alternatively, cut the box and flap markings out of the pattern piece and transfer directly with chalk. You are the master of your own destiny.

All chalked up and ready to sew.

Place the flap onto the back matching the chalk marks. Sew along the top,making sure you catch both layers and that the flap doesn't shift.

When you get to the end, pivot and sew down toward the corner, pivot and sew to the opposite edge, pivot and sew back to where you started.  Then you can sew a boxed X through the middle of the rectangle if you like, I personally think it looks better and I am world-renowned for my good taste.

Put the back to the side and get the front and strap out.  Strap matches the marking and sew it on close to the edge.

Repeat on the other side.

Place the front and back together wrong sides facing at carefully match up the bottom edge.  Out come my paper clips.

Carefully sew along hte bottom close to the edge, catching both layers.  I match the inside edge of the oval window of my foot with the edge of the leather, it's scant.

This is what the bottom edge looks like sewn.

At this point I remove the paper-clips as I find they can distort the pieces; if you matched the bottom well the side's should be matching up too.  Slowly sew up the right side close to edge, right to the top.

Now, resist the urge real hard to sew the left side from the top to the bottom.  You really want to sew it from the bottom to the top as you did the right side, as if you sew one side top to bottom and the other side bottom to top you're risking slippage and distortion.  It can make the rectangle a bit more like a rhombus (ask me how I know).  So from the bottom to the top, sew the left side close to the edge.

Carefully prise your iPhone out of the mitts of your child, insist that it's yours, slip it into the cover and secure the flap.  Now take it to Norway*.

*Do you like how I casually slipped that in?  Steven and I are off to Norway tomorrow. Without children!

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The Best Kind of Scallops Leather Clutch

There were joint-birthday celebrations for me and Friend Sarah this weekend.  Having previously regaled her with everything in my sewing arsenal (a makeup bag, a smaller makeup bag, a phone cozy, a Kindle cover, a shirt, a glasses case) I was flummoxed with what to make her.  And then I remembered: about six months ago she looked at a leather clutch in a shop for at least fifteen seconds.  She probably wanted one.  A plan was hatched.

Looking through my Pinterest boards, I was immediately drawn to this scalloped leather clutch by Me Sew Crazy.   But with entirely different dimensions, the addition of a zipper and lining, snazzy contrast stitching and precisely zero hand sewing.  And by snazzy, I mean  questionable.

Because Sarah is very special, she was allowed to have some of my precious Liberty leather. Because she is also very gracious and tactful, she said she would use it for a wedding this weekend.  I will have to follow her secretly to find out.

In other birthday girl news, after only 32 months of pining, my in-laws made my life complete.

Stunning, flawless, flattering.

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Myopia Cornucopia

It required the full gamut of my leather stash (grey, maroon, blue, cherry red, and olive green) to make eyeglasses cases for my bespectacled friends and family.

Leather is interesting* to sew with because the texture, thickness and stiffness varies so much between hides.

The grey, for example, is very sueded and supple. The blue, however, is very thick and not very pliable.

By the way, if that post title doesn't entitle me to automatic band membership to Artic Monkeys, I don't know what will*.

*Interesting to me.
**Spectacle receptacle? Optical synoptical?

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Kindle Covers: Now 300% posher

I've been a busy bee making some more Kindle Cases with my leather stash. Some of you asked on my last post where I got my leather from. In the case of the blue: Ebay. But these two?

Hoo boy.... I was very lucky (my bank manager would disagree with the use of 'lucky') that I happened across these two hides in my local fabric shop . They are the most beautiful soft and supple Italian leather, originally intended for Liberty London. Honestly, they feel so nice that I'd you'd be tempted to cut it apart and rub it all over my your body. Warning: Please match up the striked pronouns, and then match up the non-strike pronouns. I don't want to rub the leather on your body. Much.

The interior has just been left natural suede because a) classy b) soft.

The dark brown is very nice too, and Steven is still weighing up whether he'd like to switch to this more subtle cover than his bright blue one.

Speaking of Steven's cover, I've also tried mixing it up with a constrasting closure. Does it work? I think I like it. This leather is thicker than the Liberty ones and therefore a bit more protective for people who don't hold their Kindles close to their heart as I do.

To answer more questions from last post, no, you don't need a super snazzy powerful machine to sew leather. You do, however, need to have heavy duty needles (I use leather needles) to punch through and they dull so fast. Get heaps, and change them regularly. You also need patience to go slowly and clips in lieu of needles. Once there is a hole in leather, it's there forevermore. Practice on scraps with tension, stitch length and foot pressure.

If you're interested, they are all in my shop :)

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The Posh Sleeve

It was Steven's birthday yesterday and I was determined that this year I would make him something he'd actually utilise. This is harder than it sounds as (in the nicest possible way) he is picky and likes to play it safe. No statement pieces for him, unless the statement is, 'I bought this in a mainstream shop that is probably upscale'.

So out came the leather stash. I took a bit of a gamble in using this gorgeous turquoise blue, and an even bigger gamble with lime green contrast stitching. The tab is pinched and pulled through the strap so it stays closed and secure. He opened this present first with a semi-bemused but grateful thank you, until the second present revealed its intent...

I will need to coax it out of him gradually and sneakily as to whether he wants me to make another cover in a more subdued brown leather. Thankfully, there's another Kindle user in this house who wouldn't mind the turquoise one bit.

Leather cases, yay or nay?

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This might constitute a manic episode

I think I've earned a first class degree in Masochism by deciding I'm going to make everyone a Christmas present this year.

In a week.

And I've been photographing everything I make.

Because, you know, I have plenty of time to write tutorials.

I am awash with spare time.

In between making All the People, All the Things.

Comment suggestions:

• General pats on the back for prolific output.
• Tales of how much you miss me generally (or in the evenings) because Virgin won't let me go on the internet.
• A frank discussion of how much I should be charging Steven to make things for his family. And by 'frank' I mean someone say 'heaps' and then everyone else agrees.

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