Do-it-yourself leather passport cover. Step-by-step instruction

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:45

If we talk about making leather crafts, then the passport cover is one of the simplest options in terms of complexity. Sometimes it is worth starting with something easy to get a good result, then there will be a desire to continue to create further. Even if you have never had to make anything from this material before, but would like to try, then a genuine leather passport cover is just the right product to start with.

Pattern first

In order not to spoil a lot of pieces of leather, it is worth preparing the pattern correctly. The size should be sufficient to allow the passport to enter freely, but the product should be small and neat.

When making a leather cover for a passport with your own hands, you should take into account the features of the material with which you will have to work. When making a pattern, it is worth considering the thickness and making a margin for what will go to the seams. It is necessary to add additional millimeters so that the cover can be safely closed when there is already a passport inside.

Working with leather

When the pattern matches the specified parameters as much as possible, you can proceed to the next step. Suitable for work calfskin. A passport cover for men made of leather will look good in brown tones. This color always looks relevant and solid. The finished pattern must be applied to the skin and outlined with an awl, then cut out according to the basting.

There should be 3 parts in total - three rectangles. One will go to the front side, it is the largest, and two to the inner sides, they will naturally be smaller. It is very good for this job to have a cutting mat, it helps with marking. Visually, it may seem that the dimensions are maintained exactly, but in the work it emerges that the corner is beveled or the middle has gone in the wrong direction. And with such details, normal work will no longer work.

Think through all the details right away

If you want to add comfortable or decorative elements, then you should immediately think about where they should be. If the product is already completely done, then it is already impossible and inconvenient to add anything. These details include slots on the inside of the cover, you can put cards or notes with data in them, which should always be at hand.

If there is a desire, then make some inscriptions, burn ornaments right at this moment, then you get an extraordinary passport cover. Leather in handmade sometimes behaves unpredictably. After all, scraps of different thicknesses and different qualities are used, and eachtimes the result may be different. But a person with experience, seeing the material with which he will have to work, already knows approximately what nuances he should take into account.

Proper assembly of parts

Even if the cover will be sewn, the parts still need to be glued beforehand. Glue should be applied to the edge of the skin and left to dry. Leather adhesive does not dry instantly, and you have to wait for it to set before gluing the parts together. The parts need to be put together and the glued areas tapped with a shoe hammer, so the gluing will be more durable, and this is very important when working with leather.

Outwardly, the product already looks like a handmade leather passport cover, but it still needs work to achieve the ideal option.

Step by step work

The corners on the cover need to be rounded, for this you can use different methods. Use special cutters, but they are unlikely to be found in a person who first decided to make a leather product. You can work as an engraver if you first cut the corners. All sections must also be processed so that they do not crumple during further processing.

The next step in making a leather passport cover with your own hands will be marking the seam. To do this, it is convenient to use a compass with an indent of 3 mm. Instead of a stylus, you also need to insert a needle and push it a little further than the other.

It’s worth mentioning right away that a material such as leather will not forgive you a single mistake, any hole made in the wrong place or a scratch will remain, andit will be impossible to remove them. When the calculations have been verified several times, the extended needle must be rested against the edge of the skin, and the second one should be drawn along the skin with a straight line.

So the whole product will be marked 3 mm from the edge. According to the markings made with punches, you need to make holes. There are punches with 6 teeth, they are well suited for this job. On rounding corners, it is convenient to use punches with two teeth. It is better to gently push the dimples and make sure that they are exactly along the line, because then a seam is laid along them, if it is crooked, then such a defect will become the most noticeable.

For convenience, the punch should be stuck into the wax from time to time, then the tool will be easier to remove from the skin. It is better to put an unnecessary piece of leather under the product itself, then the teeth of the punch will not become dull so quickly. Each new handmade leather passport cover will be more accurate, errors will be reduced to zero.

Out of reality for an hour

It would seem that the product is small, but to flash it, you will have to spend at least an hour. Choose a thread for sewing, taking into account the color of the skin. Red thread goes well with a brown tint. With black leather, both black and brown thread look harmonious. Before work, the thread must be waxed, threaded into a needle and sewn.

When the passport cover is completely stitched, the seam should be tapped with a hammer, this will reduce the tension in the seams and the thread will not tighten the skin too much.

Mainthe work is done, but do not forget about the details. The corners of the product can be moistened and put under a press with a cliché. The ends need to be treated with chemistry and wax, and the skin - with a finish. The necessary compounds can be purchased at shoe repair shops.