leather book cover

Friday, February 6, 2015

This project has been floating around my house for quite some time. Frankly, the idea of sewing leather was scary to me, so I hemmed and hawed a lot, but eventually I got through it! I had a swath of green leather from years ago, waiting for an interesting project so when my friend asked to make a book cover for her to keep records of her weaving endeavors, I decided now was the time.

leather_book_cover_1

I had the feather inspiration from Maureen Cracknell Handmade, and used hers as an outline. My version is intentionally not as delicate as hers with the idea that the chunky-ness would work well with the leather. Now that it is done, I am not so sure, but I would rather not copy someone else’s work exactly anyway.

leather_book_cover_2

My first hang up was cutting the leather itself. See, as I mentioned, this was stored in my closet for years, so it wound up with some creases and wrinkles. Can you iron leather? I am not sure – the internet says yes and no, so I tried a few methods on some scrappy edges and just couldn’t tell if it was working or not. Another problem is the nature of the leather itself – there are parts of it that just do not lay flat because that was not how the leather grew… I did have enough of it where I could cut a fairly flat piece out, so that is what I did (it was not the way I would cut if I was trying to get the most out of my yardage, if you know what I mean!). I will say it cut like butter, though:)

leather_book_cover_3

I used my rectangle hoop to stitch the feather onto the leather after I had embroidered it. I delayed here for a long while also because I was not sure how I wanted to do the outline. I tried a few methods on a scrap piece, and settled on using an outline stitch that I had just properly learned for the Zelda crest mug rug I recently made. I did vary between six and three strands, but you can’t really tell. I am still learning embroidery, you know. Plus, I could not find a hand-sewing leather needle that was straight. Mine was not only gently curved at the tip (a feature I actually fell in love with and will search for embroidery needles of like kind) but also had a 90 degree bend before the eye. That made the motions a bit trickier, as you can imagine.

leather_book_cover_4 leather_book_cover_5

Then, I delayed even longer yet because I was not sure my machine would appreciate sewing through leather. I did buy heavy duty needles, but since they did not specifically state “for use with leather”, nor did they have a cutting shape to their point, I was concerned – but it was all I could find at the store. Lucky for me, my leather was very thin and supple, so as long as I went slowly over where the leather was folded, it sewed great! I used my little clothespins to hold the layers together. Since both the leather and fabric was thin, I used a heavy-weight stabilizer to make it feel sturdy, and a brown ribbon for the marker.

leather_book_cover_6

I used my quick & dirty method so I only had to sew two straight lines, adjusting for the size of the notebook obviously. I only chose this method because I didn’t want to put my machine through any more torture than necessary.

leather_book_cover_11

I included a standard composition book; in the event she fills one up and needs to add another, it will be easy for her to find a notebook that fits.

leather_book_cover_9 leather_book_cover_8

It feels really nice in your hands! The leather gives a nice grip but is so very soft!

leather_book_cover_10

And now, I embark on another hexagon project! Yay! This was the first time I have ever cut squares in bulk – I felt like a quilter. While cutting, I asked myself if I would like to quilt yet – my family all does it so maybe I should join them. But the idea of having to cut more than this tiny stack (which felt monstrous while cutting) still has me holding off on that venture… for now.

fabric_stack

 

See more posts related to:

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Looking for more cases of the Crafties?
Stitch Club: Norbury

Stitch Club: Norbury

As part of TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club, Ruth Norbury tasked us with making a textural mixed media peice and I chose Hubert Robert’s La Fontaine painting as my subject.

read more
Stitch Club: Steel-Jessop

Stitch Club: Steel-Jessop

As part of TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club, I made a map of Guy Gavriel Kay’s Sarantium (by Martin Springett) following Bridget Steel-Jessop’s workshop.

read more
Hexie Dreams 16

Hexie Dreams 16

I have a total of 107 flowers ready for my fussy-cut EPP Hexie Dreams quilt and am moving on to planning how to arrange them.

read more
Stitch Club: Goodwin

Stitch Club: Goodwin

As part of TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club, I followed Valerie S. Goodwin’s workshop to create a map of one of my favorite places.

read more
Hexie Dreams 15

Hexie Dreams 15

For my fussy-cut EPP Hexie Dreams quilt, I’ve so far stitched together fifty seven flowers.

read more
Ukrainian Whitework

Ukrainian Whitework

In 2020, my embroidery guild offered a class on Ukrainian whitework: the Summer Lace pattern in all white by Terri Bay. Of course, this was well before the war occurring now. My friend, then, had recently gone to Ukraine to meet her father's side of the family for the...

read more
Hexie Dreams 13

Hexie Dreams 13

All the hexies are prepped now for my Hexie Dreams fussy-cut English Paper Piecing quilt.

read more
Hexie Dreams 12

Hexie Dreams 12

Thirty more hexies have been prepped for my Hexie Dreams fussy-cut English paper piecing quilt. I’m either ready to start piecing them together, or just a few more to go – time will tell what I decide!

read more
Stitch Club: Pattullo 2

Stitch Club: Pattullo 2

As part of TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club, I followed Mandy Pattullo’s workshop to create a textile collage bird.

read more
Hexie Dreams 11

Hexie Dreams 11

I’ve added 141 more hexies to my Hexie Dreams fussy-cut English paper piecing quilt, putting me well over the original goal.

read more
Stitch Club: McVetis

Stitch Club: McVetis

As part of TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club, I created an abstract motherboard using techniques from Richard McVetis.

read more
#52tagshannemade 52

#52tagshannemade 52

I am participating in Anne Brooke’s #52tagshannemade #sew4thesoul slow stitch challenge for 2021. Week 52’s theme is making a little tree.

read more
#52tagshannemade 51

#52tagshannemade 51

I am participating in Anne Brooke’s #52tagshannemade #sew4thesoul slow stitch challenge for 2021. Week 51-s theme was to create a wreath.

read more
#52tagshannemade 50

#52tagshannemade 50

I am participating in Anne Brooke’s #52tagshannemade #sew4thesoul slow stitch challenge for 2021. Week 50’s theme was to add some circles.

read more