DIY Minimalist Leather Wallet

I wanted to give a handmade wallet as a Christmas gift. I could not find a template that I was entirely happy with, so I took pieces from here and there and designed my template. It’s a minimalist wallet with two card slots and a pocket in the middle for some cash. You can download the free template here.

I printed the template and cut out the template pieces.

I taped the template pieces to the leather with paper tape. It’s translucent, so it’s easier to cut out the parts.

I wanted to stamp a logo on the leather. I used 3D printed stamps.

The other side in my design is bicolour. I applied the red dye to it first.

Next, I applied the black dye to all the parts. I made a custom brush from rolled cotton fabric for the red piece. I used it to paint black gradually over the red.

I burnished the edges that would be impossible to do at the end. I used a hand burnisher and Tokonole burnishing gum.

I then glued the card side together using contact cement.

I made the sewing holes to the open edge of the wallet.

Then I sewed the open edges from the back and front piece. This sewing is just decorative.

Then I glued the back and front pieces together, and the wallet was in one piece for the first time.

I rounded the edges and sanded them clean. I already rounded the corners earlier but could have done it here. I had to refine them here anyway.

I dyed and burnished the rest of the edges here.

Then I saddle stitched the whole wallet. I don’t have a stitching pony, but the bench wise worked too.

As a final touch, I protected the wallet with Resolene.

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