cross-posted from: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/45002872

Over a year ago I posted a needle pouch I had made, I still use this all the time but there were always a few elements I wasn't overly keen on. So when my friend's birthday was approaching I wanted to make her something and she is a keen cross stitcher, so I thought about making her a case like mine which she had seen and liked before.

So I set about making my own variation on the original pattern, it is mostly subtle, mostly just tweaking a few measurements but also to add a closure to it.

I also took the opportunity to add my favourite design feature, the X stitch that I use to combine two different pieces of leather to create a bit more visual interest.

The straps were a new idea for me, I could have done a standard snap closure like I've done a million times before, or I could have attached some straps and snaps directly to it but I do like making some sightly odd features sometimes and I liked the idea of a strap that loops around and attaches to itself. This meant I only needed one rivet to attach the strap to the body and the snaps could both be added to the strap. One benefit of this, with the time pressure I was under to finish it, was that had I messed up installing the snaps, I wasn't going to damage the otherwise finished case. I also didn't have to design and plan for the attachment points during the process. Is it the most practical closure? No. But do I like it as a bit of a quirky thing? Absolutely. One funny effect of this is that it ended up looking like some weird creature, particularly when open with the straps extended!

It all came together pretty easily, nothing exactly complicated in the construction other than some really awkward stitch spacing on the pockets, I really need to start designing things with the stitch spacing in mind - my 3.8mm chisels are just a bit awkward in that sense...

So yeah, very pleased with the outcome and she was really happy with her gift!

Over a year ago I posted a needle pouch I had made, I still use this all the time but there were always a few elements I wasn't overly keen on. So when my friend's birthday was approaching I wanted to make her something and she is a keen cross stitcher, so I thought about making her a case like mine which she had seen and liked before.

So I set about making my own variation on the original pattern, it is mostly subtle, mostly just tweaking a few measurements but also to add a closure to it.

I also took the opportunity to add my favourite design feature, the X stitch that I use to combine two different pieces of leather to create a bit more visual interest.

The straps were a new idea for me, I could have done a standard snap closure like I've done a million times before, or I could have attached some straps and snaps directly to it but I do like making some sightly odd features sometimes and I liked the idea of a strap that loops around and attaches to itself. This meant I only needed one rivet to attach the strap to the body and the snaps could both be added to the strap. One benefit of this, with the time pressure I was under to finish it, was that had I messed up installing the snaps, I wasn't going to damage the otherwise finished case. I also didn't have to design and plan for the attachment points during the process. Is it the most practical closure? No. But do I like it as a bit of a quirky thing? Absolutely. One funny effect of this is that it ended up looking like some weird creature, particularly when open with the straps extended!

It all came together pretty easily, nothing exactly complicated in the construction other than some really awkward stitch spacing on the pockets, I really need to start designing things with the stitch spacing in mind - my 3.8mm chisels are just a bit awkward in that sense...

So yeah, very pleased with the outcome and she was really happy with her gift!

Was linked to this community so I figured I should share some of my favourite leather pieces that I've made in the last year or so as I've been learning. I won't go into detail but I'll link each one to post that has more pics and details on it in case there is additional interest. There are a few extras in the thumbnail pic too but I've not gone into detail for the sake of brevity.

All my work is done in scrap veg tan leather that I get in bulk. Some of my older pieces use flat, waxed polyester thread but I'm trying to move to a natural ramie ("linen") thread.

I'm a little obsessed with using contrasting and complementary colours in both the leather as well as my thread, so any more natural looking "brown" leather is kind of rare for me... It may not be visible in just the thumbnails but I do have a "signature" thing in most of my work which is to adjoin two pieces of leather, edge on, with an x-stitch. Sometimes it will be to close a loop but more often than not I will be attaching two dissimilar pieces in order to both create a contrast and to avoid needing really large contiguous pieces of leather (remember I mostly work from scraps).

I also draft all my patterns myself, I usually start on some paper to get an idea or to get rough dimensions before using a 2D CAD to create proper dimensioned drawings then print these out, stick them to card and trace them onto the leather. I can then store them away in case I want to re-use them in the future.

So yeah, I like making stuff from leather, its a really fun hobby and I'm enjoying improving my skills. I had a hiatus for a while but with a few birthdays recently I've been enjoying making targeted presents for friends (the top two in the list were both presents).

Needle case (Warning, this one is in a women's only community so read rules if you plan to comment...)

Lego tool holder

Ginkgo leaf bag charm

Wallet

Tiny purse

So I've had quite a long hiatus from any significant projects (nothing serious but I cut my thumb and found it uncomfortable to sew then life got in the way) but a friend's birthday was coming up and I wanted to get him a present...

He is very much into his lego but buying a lego set is tricky - he either already has it or doesn't want it. So I instead thought about making something that is lego-adjacent... Then this idea came into my head and I couldn't shake it, a proper little leather tool pouch to hold the brick separator! It seemed like such an absurd little project but a lot of fun and wouldn't take too much effort.

So I started off by measuring the tool and drafting it in paper to check for dimensions etc. before moving onto an initial simple proof-of-concept version. This came out so well that I felt encouraged to continue (this is the red one in the below pictures).

I'm aware that there are far more "efficient" ways of constructing this but I'm utterly obsessed with that X stitch, it features prominently in nearly everything I make, so I just had to get it front and centre on this one.

For the next (and final) iteration I added a few features - the belt loop of course, which is riveted on, and I extended the top "tab" and added cutouts to fit a split ring.

I gave it to him today and he is really very pleased with it and is planning to have it on him at the big Lego con in Denmark later this year. I've actually had feedback from a couple of people now all saying that it is actually fairly practical for those really into lego, a far cry from the kind of "pointless" vibe I was going for. Apparently he literally has these things stashed everywhere around the house so actually having something like this isn't actually as silly as it seems!

I hope this isn't against any rules but I have to preface this by saying that this was a little non-lego (but lego-adjacent) project I was working on for a friend's birthday present. He is really, really into lego, and whilst I do enjoy building the odd set, I'm not really into it as a hobby per-se, so something lego related seemed obvious.

I was thinking what to get him and it is no use buying him a set because he either already has it or doesn't want it...

So I decided to use my own hobby and skills to make him something, and then I got an idea in my head that I just couldn't shake - the idea of a proper little leather tool pouch, with a belt loop, for a brick separator just seemed like such a perfectly silly idea...

So I went about taking measurements of the only separator I could find, utilised CAD (cardboard aided design) to make little mockups in paper to work out dimensions then constructed a proof-of-concept piece to check for fit etc. This version (the red one in the below pictures) has no belt loop and only a simple hole punched in the top to work as a keyring.

So when designing the final version I made some changes, I of course added the belt loop with two rivets but also elongated the top "tab" so that I could fold it over to make a channel for a split ring.

And I'm really happy with the result! I gave this to him today and he is incredibly happy with it and plans to bring it and show it off in a con in Denmark in September. Far from being just silly little project he, and some other people I've shown this to during the initial development, have said that actually this might be weirdly practical... Either way, I had a lot of fun making it and I've made somebody happy so just wanted to share my silly little project.

So I've got a bit obsessed with a brand recently which seem to fit me really nicely and is really flattering but I have to admit my terminology on clothing isn't the greatest so I'm never quite sure what keywords to use when trying to find more.

the common features of the dresses I really like are:

• Fitted bodice and a mildly structured bust
• A band that runs around the body, under the bust but is structured band with the skirt starting from the bottom of it
• Knee or midi length, waist length, unpleated, gently flared circle skirt
• Generally rather structural or heavy fabric, not flowy and loose.

I have at least two that fits this description generally although with very different bodice styles - one has elbow length sleeves, a v-shaped back and a high neckline where the other is capped sleeves, a full back and a lower neckline.

They have elements of skater dresses (which I also really like) and tea dresses but don't seem to be exactly those... I think tea dress is by far the closest I've been able to use, at least for the light blue one. I think the brand categorises similar items as knee or midi dresses but not much beyond those broad categories (and these ones aren't sold any more from what I can see).

I'm using pics from the vinted listings as they are better pics than I've managed to take of them (and I'm still a bit scared of posting pics of me online...). Annoyingly they look pretty awful on hangers and in these photos but look great when worn...

I've asked friends but not really come up with a great word for them that we all agree on.

I attended a masquerade themed event last night and I thought it would be good fun to break my crafting dry spell and make my mask myself out of leather. Was a fun a simple little project and I think it came out quite nicely.

I have a masquerade ball tonight and I thought I'd break my crafting dry spell and make my mask for it. Was a fun little mini project.

Left a big long ribbon length to make a big ol' bow and just hot snotted the flowers and feathers on. The stitch was a happy accident, I was going to just do a decorative stitch around the edges or something but I must have printed the pattern at slightly the wrong size as the eye holes were too far apart. So I took a big strip out of the middle and stitched the two halves back together with my favourite stitch that I love putting on most things I make.

And here is the base mask before I finished it and added the extras.

This was a fun and simple little project. It was my friend's birthday the other day and I hadn't got her a present yet. She is a rather accomplished palaeobotanist/artist and ginkgos are her favourite thing. So I actually downloaded one of her own pictures of some leaves, scaled them correctly to life size and printed them out. I then traced them onto leather, finished them a little and made a quick leather thong to string them onto (the clip and split ring are just there to give her options).

Really quick and fun little project and I'm rather pleased how it came out.

So this is a project I've been putting off for a while because I'm still bad at skiving and reducing the thickness of the t-pockets is kind of needed so it doesn't become super chonky.

I kind of like it? I made a bunch of mistakes, one side "pulled" a little after gluing and when I make my holes it was no longer properly aligned and ended up going through in such a way that it cut through the edge of the top layer meaning the stitching went a bit odd. I also didn't think through the assembly fully and made life harder for myself in a few ways putting it together.

Whilst I really like the look of the leather, I'm not sure how good a decision it was for this project - I feel that the natural unevenness of it looks great on a large panel but on something as small as a wallet the top edges where it is just a single layer look a bit rough and wonky.

This was also my first project using a new type of thread, I used a round waxed ramie thread rather than the normal flat waxed polyester thread I normally use. A real pain to thread onto the needle but it gives a really nice look I feel. I'd like to try a groover one day to make it possible to sink the thread into the surface a bit more.

So yeah, I'm relatively pleased, the pattern I made works even if I made mistakes in construction. If I was being fancier I could add an extra card slot or an extra wide pocket, a coin pouch or make it so that there is a pocket behind each card holder.

A remarkably quick and easy project I wanted to get done in a short amount of time. I got to use a piece of purple leather I had been saving. Inside is a single card slot and a bigger space behind it.

Very similar to the wristlet bag I made recently but tiny, I really just wanted to focus on polish and execution for this one rather than trying anything crazy.

Happy with how this one turned out, I love the colours and, whilst I thought the leather I picked was too thick, it is pleasingly chunky and sturdy.

Also gave me an exuse to do my favourite little design accent which is to stitch a different piece of leather on, edge to edge, with that satisfying joining, crisscrossing, stitch (if anyone knows the technical name please let me know, I just made it for a different project, it seems to work and I love the look of it).

This was a smaller project after my last one, I wanted to make something relatively simple that could have a pouch with some ability to expand. I ended up reworking how I would make the expanding gussets a bunch of times, settled on attaching them to the front section by gluing then turning them in on themselves and stitching the fold, which has kind of worked but not my favourite technique there by a long shot.

I need to get some more, thinner, leather, I'm struggling with the thickness of some of the pieces I have at the moment, this one ended up rather on the chonky side because of it.

As ever, plenty of mistakes but overall still pretty happy with how it came out.