DIY leather projects can be incredibly simple with amazing looking results, such as leather cabinet handles, leather drawer pulls and leather sling shelves, and perfect for the DIY enthusiast who is looking to add some modern decorative touches to their home. Or, if you love projects that are just a bit more complicated and require special leather working tools, there are also many options. Either way, the world of crafting with leather is exciting and a great way to add some new skills to your repetoire! Best of all, many projects that utilize leather can be made with leather scraps which you can pick up inexpensively or even cut from leather goods found at a thrift store. Do try to upcycle leather when possible, and be creative about sourcing the supplies you need. I’ve put together a few ideas here to get you inspired, and sure would love to try some of them myself…..and I will certainly be on the lookout for leather items that I can re-use to make some amazing home accessories.

Above: photo via pattern n stitch blog’s post here.

DIY Cabinet Or Drawer Pulls

One of the simplest leather projects, that can even be made with precut leather straps. All you need to do is cut the desired length, punch a hole in each end and attach with the appropriate hardware, so simple!  You can find the DIY project pictured here, in the caption under the photo. Gorgeous right? And you can choose to stain your leather or leave it as is and let time darken it. Hmmm, so many great ways to use this idea!

Above: photo via burkatron.com and the DIY tutorial here.

DIY Leather Sling Shelves

Here is another incredibly simple DIY leather project with amazing results. Hang shelves with leather straps and voila! Of course, one has to be careful to secure shelves like these if there are small children within reach, and not to overload the shelf with heavy objects. Additionally, while slipping the shelf into the leather strap sling is simple and quick, you may want to conside securing the shelf to the leather on the underside of the shelf, for safety and shelf function. Just imagine all the possibilities with this one when you vary the strap length!

DIY Leather Coasters

When it comes to leather working, coasters are a great place to begin if you’re just getting started. They are among the many Cricut leather projects you can consider, and cutting leather with a cutting machine is certainly an exciting option.  Coasters are a fairly easy and quick project, and they’re small enough to make from scraps as you go. They also don’t require any advanced skills like chain construction or riveting. 

A coaster is simply a piece of leather cut to place under a cup, and can be a geometric or organic shape. So if you’ve got some scrap leather hanging around your workshop, put it to good use by making a coaster set! You could make a leather box to hold your coasters, or a leather strap to contain them. Consider stamping designs or painting the leather for more decorative results.

DIY Leather Bar and Drink Tags

If you don’t have large pieces of leather leftover after making projects like bags, you can create small items like drink and bar tags  and luggage tags with just a little bit of leather. There are unlimited design possibilities when it comes to these types of projects. If you are just beginning to work with leather and need some design inspiration, Pinterest is a great place to look for ideas. Just remember to actually do the project rather than save the idea for the future!

A DIY Leather Book Cover

A book or journal cover is simple to make, and requires just three pieces. One rectangular piece for the cover and two smaller pieces to make pockets on each end, which hold the book in place. Or, if light weight leather is used, one can simply fold and crease the leather to make the pockets on either end. One does need to attach these inner flaps to the front, which can be done with punching holes and lacing, or with sewing, you decide! A book cover stamped with a design is great looking and would be a big hit. You do need to invest in the leather stamps, but with a few basic shapes one can make a wide range of designs.

Above: Many kinds of leather can be cut with a craft knife or rotary cutter

A Picture Frame

If you have been toying with the idea of creating something out of leather, a great place to start is to recreate an item that needs replacing in your home. Simply cut a piece of leather as you would cut a matte from cardboard, using that as the front. Then cut a second piece from cardboard in order to sandwich the artwork between the front piece with the window, and the back piece with no window. The front and back pieces can be sewn or laced together, or attached at the corners with decorative leather hardware. Additionally, one can use leather to cover an existing worn, faded, or stained matt, within a standard frame, or using adhesive or even double sided tape one can adhere the leather to the cardboard and use that without a frame. Use your creativity for this one!

A Leather Wallet

There are so many different ways to make a leather wallet. You can create an entire wallet using the same piece of leather or you can use several pieces of leather and stitch them together. You can make a wallet using just two pieces of leather or you can make one using half a dozen or more. 

It is really up to you and what kind of look you want to achieve when it is all said and done. You can make an elegant leather bi-fold, trifold, or zip-around wallet. You can choose to use either vegetable-tanned leather or regular veg-tanned leather. 

The exotic leather colors on the market to choose from, so have fun with it, or opt to use leather scraps which will define the size of your wallet.

Small Leather Accessories

Making use of scrap leather can be so satisfying. After you make bags, belts, or other items from this material, you will still have lots of scrap pieces left over. So get those creative gears turning and make something new and unique from these scraps. One can make gift tags, tassels, book marks and more!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this introduction to the idea of working with leather, I surely have!