Making Leather Pouches
- Sewing and crafting with leather can be a challenge due to the thickness and toughness of the material. You can make this easier by choosing a leather that's more supple, such as a suede or treated buckskin. Otherwise, you will need thick needles and possibly a leather awl. You will also need tough, thick thread; it's usually a very good idea to double or even triple-thread your needle. You can also use something especially tough, like dental floss, in place of thread, but you must be careful when using something like this because, if a lot of stress is placed on the sewing, the leather may tear instead of the stitches, making it much more difficult to repair.
When sewing two pieces of leather together, use a running stitch for seams that will be turned inside-out and invisible and whip stitches for stitching that will be visible on the outside of the pouch (see the link in resources if you're not familiar with different types of stitches). This is, of course, a matter of personal preference, but using these types of stitches in this way is traditional.
When sewing particularly tough leather, you can either make holes in the material with a tool--a leather awl, the sharp tip of a seam ripper or something similarly shaped--then thread the needle through the hole, or you can sew normally with a thick needle. The latter technique is more secure and creates smaller holes, but it can be difficult to get the needle through the leather and easy to bend or snap it. If you find yourself having this trouble, use a pair of needle-nosed pliers to grip the needle as you sew; grasp the needle close to the tip as you push it through the leather, then grip the tip of the needle from the other side and pull it the rest of the way through. - The easiest type of leather pouch to make is a gathered, round pouch. This technique involves using a circular piece of leather (for best results, use a perfect circle), weaving a drawstring through the edge, then tying it to gather the circle into a pouch. For this design, you will need a good, sturdy material for a drawstring, such as a length of leather cord or a shoelace. The cord should be about as large as the circumference of the circle, as this will allow you plenty of slack in the finished pouch.
Create holes around the edge of the leather circle. Use an awl or similar tool and try to make them a little bigger than the thickness of your cord. Avoid placing the holes too close to the edge, as this will make them prone to rip. Also, make sure to create an odd number of holes overall (you'll see why in a minute).
Once the holes are punched, weave the cord through them as you would if you were sewing a running stitch (over, under, over, under). Decide which side of the leather will be the inside of the pouch and start your weaving from the "outside" side. Having an odd number of holes will ensure that once the weaving comes all the way around, the tails of the cord will both be on the "outside" side (this is necessary for the proper operation of the drawstring).
Once the weaving is finished, you can turn the circle into a pouch by gathering the leather on the drawstring. You can then tie knots in either tail of the drawstring to keep the pouch from being able to open too far. - A more efficient leather pouch pattern is one that involves sewing together two matched front-and-back pieces. A pouch like this can be made in any shape you want, though it's good to start with a basic rectangle (this shape also has the advantage that it can be made from a single, folded piece of leather, requiring that only two sides be sewn).
To make this pouch, fold and/or pin the front and back pieces together. Attach them inside-out if you plan to turn the seam to the inside when you're done, and right-side-out if you want to leave the seam on the outside. Sew along the edges. Be sure to tie the strings in.
To make a secure bag closure, you can either create a drawstring on the top mouth of the pouch (see instructions above), or create a closing flap. A closing flap can be cut as part of one of your initial front-and-back pieces and simply folds over the top of the pouch. Sew a button to the pouch below the flap, then cut a slit in the flap to serve as a buttonhole (avoid making the buttonhole too big when you cut; you can always make it bigger if it's too small).
