Get ready to infuse the holiday spirit into your leathercrafting endeavors with our enchanting tutorial on crafting three whimsical Christmas-themed bag charms!
In this festive journey, we’ll guide you through the creation of a charming reindeer, a jolly Santa, and an adorable gnome wearing a hat embellished with a delicate snowflake embroidery – all meticulously crafted from leather, dyed, and painted to perfection. As a delightful craft project for the holidays and Christmas celebrations, these leather bag charms double as whimsical ornaments, perfect for adorning your Christmas tree.
Whether you’re a seasoned leather artisan or diving into crafting for the first time, this project promises to sprinkle joy and creativity into your festivities. Join us as we bring these delightful characters to life, adding a touch of merry magic to your holiday season!
Although there are 3 different patterns in the Christmas bag charm pattern pack, most of the steps to follow to create each bag charm are identical. Thus if only one bag charm is showcased to illustrate a step it means that the procedure to follow is identical for the other ones.
Since the assembly sequence is unique to each bag charm the stitching process will be detailed individually.
Print it on US letter or A4 paper depending on the version you downloaded and cut-out the different elements of the pattern with an X-acto knife or a pair of scissors.
Make sure that the pattern is not resized by checking your print settings. You can check if it was printed properly by measuring the reference found at the bottom of each page.
Keep the assembly diagram to help you position the pieces later on during the stitching process.
Print on card-stock paper to make it easier to trace the shape on the leather.
Tracing the outline of the pattern onto the leather
Using an awl, trace the outline of the pattern pieces onto the leather.
Some pieces have to be traced twice as one side is a mirrored version of the other. For those, turn the pattern element over to mirror the piece the second time you trace it.
Checklist of all the pieces to trace:
For Santa Claus
A x1
B x1
C x1 regular and x1 mirrored (pattern turned over). Do not mark the stitching holes for the face on the mirrored piece.
D x1 regular and x1 mirrored
E x1 regular and x1 mirrored
F x1
G x1 regular and x1 mirrored
H x1 regular and x1 mirrored
I x1
For the gnome
A x1
B x1
C x1
D x1 regular and x1 mirrored. Do not mark the stitching holes for the heart and the hands on the mirrored piece.
E x1 regular and x1 mirrored
F x1 regular and x1 mirrored. Do not mark the holes for the snowflake embroidery on the mirrored piece.
G x1 regular and x1 mirrored
H x1
For the reindeer
A x1 regular and x1 mirrored (pattern turned over). Do not mark the holes for the nose and the eyes on the mirrored piece.
B x1
C x1 regular and x1 mirrored.
D x1 regular and x1 mirrored.
E x1 regular and x1 mirrored.
F x1
Cutting-out the pieces of the project
Using a pair of scissors or an X-Acto knife, cut-out all the pieces of the bag charm.
Painting the leather
The Santa was painted red, white and gold for the strap using Angellus metallic paints.
I used the same paint for the gnome’s hat and heart, dyed the beard in a ginger tone and kept the nose and the hands natural.
I chose to dye the reindeer (with a red nose of course) to stay close to the natural aspect of the leather.
Punching the stitching holes
Use stitching prongs or a hole punch to punch the stitching holes for all the pieces using the marks that you left earlier as a guide to position them.
You’ll also need to punch two holes for the eyes on the face of the Santa and the reindeer.
Making the eyes and gluing them to the face
Punch in two dots in a piece of black leather scraps with a 3.5mm hole punch for the Santa and a 5mm hole punch for the reindeer.
Insert the two eyes into each eye socket of the face and apply some pressure with your mallet or else to level the eyes with the surrounding piece of leather.
Secure by applying glue to the back of each piece. Wait until the glue is dry before proceeding to the next step.
Stitching it all together
Santa Claus
Start by stitching together the beard (A), the face (B) and the belly (C).
Leave the stitch line at the top un-stitched as the band of the hat will have to be stitched there.
With the face and beard in place we can now stitch the features on top of it.
Start by stitching-in the eyebrows (G) and the cheeks (D).
Then stitch the nose (E) over the moustache (F).
We are going to stitch each half of the hat to their corresponding half of the body. The hat (J) is secured to the body (C) thanks to the hat bad (H).
Start by stitching the hat band on the top-most stitching line of the body (the one we left un-stitched earlier).
When you reach the last hole on the top of the body, go through one more hole and skip the next hole.
After the hole skipped, start stitching-in the hat and continue until you reach the last hole matching with the hat band.
For the back, the process is the same except that the strap (I) has to be stitched in between the hat band and the hat.
We now need to stitch both sides of the Santa together, as well as add the pompon to the hat.
Start stitching around the bag charm.
When you reach the tip of the hat, add the two sides of the pompon.
Add some stuffing as you progressively close the bag charm.
There you go, our cute Santa is all stitched up!
The Gnome
The first step consists in embroidering the snowflake. No special technique is needed here, simply make sure to cover all the segments of the shape.
The nose is created by folding the edges of the piece (A) under itself while it is being stitched to the beard (B).
The little protuberance thus created is filled with stuffing before being stitched closed.
I used a bamboo skewer to help with making the folds and pushing the edges inward between the stitches.
Now that the nose is complete we can assemble the lower body.
To do so, stitch the heart (C) to the beard (B) and the lower body (D).
Then add the two little hands (E) on each side of the heart.
I wanted to use two different colors for the hat and the lower body which led to a specific construction sequence. Have a look at the sequence used to stitch the Santa if you only use one thread color.
We start by stitching one half of the hat to the corresponding lower half. Then we go through both sides of the bag charm and stitch along the edge of the hat.
When the top of the gnome’s hat is reached, stitch the strap in between the two layers of the hat.
Then continue stitching along the edge and end by stitching the lower edge of the hat that is still un-stitched to the corresponding upper edge of the lower body.
Add some stuffing to the hat.
Stitch together both lower body halves along the edge, stitching the two feet (G) in between when you reach the bottom edge.
Add some stuffing to the belly before you close the bag charm.
The Reindeer
Start by gluing the center of the ears (C) in position in the ears themselves (D).
Then stitch the nose (B) to the face (A). Add some stuffing to accentuate it even more.
Start stitching the two halves of the face together.
At the top, stitch the ears, the antlers and the strap between the two layers of the face.
Add some stuffing and close the bag charm.
Final result
I hope you enjoyed following along this tutorial. Please consider posting a photo of your creation in the comments below. It would mean a lot to me to see my little projects out into the world as you make it your own.
Any feedback/question about this tutorial or project idea that you’d like to see posted here is and always will be more than welcome.
Happy crafting!
Footnotes
The following online content provided some assistance and/or inspiration during the making of this project:
Of course! Which part of the process would you like me to clarify?
The important thing to keep in mind while stitching the nose is that the top grain of the nose has to be stitched facing the top grain of the beard. If it proves to be a bit difficult, you could wet form the nose into shape beforehand and then stitch it in place.
Tutorial
3 Christmas Bag Charms
3 hours
Easy
Common for leathercraft
Get ready to infuse the holiday spirit into your leathercrafting endeavors with our enchanting tutorial on crafting three whimsical Christmas-themed bag charms!
In this festive journey, we’ll guide you through the creation of a charming reindeer, a jolly Santa, and an adorable gnome wearing a hat embellished with a delicate snowflake embroidery – all meticulously crafted from leather, dyed, and painted to perfection. As a delightful craft project for the holidays and Christmas celebrations, these leather bag charms double as whimsical ornaments, perfect for adorning your Christmas tree.
Whether you’re a seasoned leather artisan or diving into crafting for the first time, this project promises to sprinkle joy and creativity into your festivities. Join us as we bring these delightful characters to life, adding a touch of merry magic to your holiday season!
Requirements
Skills
Tools
Bill of Materials
Pattern
3 Christmas Bag Charms Patterns Pack
Walk-through
Although there are 3 different patterns in the Christmas bag charm pattern pack, most of the steps to follow to create each bag charm are identical. Thus if only one bag charm is showcased to illustrate a step it means that the procedure to follow is identical for the other ones.
Since the assembly sequence is unique to each bag charm the stitching process will be detailed individually.
Printing and cutting-out the pattern
You can get the pattern here.
Print it on US letter or A4 paper depending on the version you downloaded and cut-out the different elements of the pattern with an X-acto knife or a pair of scissors.
Make sure that the pattern is not resized by checking your print settings. You can check if it was printed properly by measuring the reference found at the bottom of each page.
Keep the assembly diagram to help you position the pieces later on during the stitching process.
Print on card-stock paper to make it easier to trace the shape on the leather.
Tracing the outline of the pattern onto the leather
Using an awl, trace the outline of the pattern pieces onto the leather.
Some pieces have to be traced twice as one side is a mirrored version of the other. For those, turn the pattern element over to mirror the piece the second time you trace it.
Checklist of all the pieces to trace:
For Santa Claus
For the gnome
For the reindeer
Cutting-out the pieces of the project
Using a pair of scissors or an X-Acto knife, cut-out all the pieces of the bag charm.
Painting the leather
The Santa was painted red, white and gold for the strap using Angellus metallic paints.
I used the same paint for the gnome’s hat and heart, dyed the beard in a ginger tone and kept the nose and the hands natural.
I chose to dye the reindeer (with a red nose of course) to stay close to the natural aspect of the leather.
Punching the stitching holes
Use stitching prongs or a hole punch to punch the stitching holes for all the pieces using the marks that you left earlier as a guide to position them.
You’ll also need to punch two holes for the eyes on the face of the Santa and the reindeer.
Making the eyes and gluing them to the face
Punch in two dots in a piece of black leather scraps with a 3.5mm hole punch for the Santa and a 5mm hole punch for the reindeer.
Insert the two eyes into each eye socket of the face and apply some pressure with your mallet or else to level the eyes with the surrounding piece of leather.
Secure by applying glue to the back of each piece. Wait until the glue is dry before proceeding to the next step.
Stitching it all together
Santa Claus
Start by stitching together the beard (A), the face (B) and the belly (C).
Leave the stitch line at the top un-stitched as the band of the hat will have to be stitched there.
With the face and beard in place we can now stitch the features on top of it.
Start by stitching-in the eyebrows (G) and the cheeks (D).
Then stitch the nose (E) over the moustache (F).
We are going to stitch each half of the hat to their corresponding half of the body. The hat (J) is secured to the body (C) thanks to the hat bad (H).
Start by stitching the hat band on the top-most stitching line of the body (the one we left un-stitched earlier).
When you reach the last hole on the top of the body, go through one more hole and skip the next hole.
After the hole skipped, start stitching-in the hat and continue until you reach the last hole matching with the hat band.
For the back, the process is the same except that the strap (I) has to be stitched in between the hat band and the hat.
We now need to stitch both sides of the Santa together, as well as add the pompon to the hat.
Start stitching around the bag charm.
When you reach the tip of the hat, add the two sides of the pompon.
Add some stuffing as you progressively close the bag charm.
There you go, our cute Santa is all stitched up!
The Gnome
The first step consists in embroidering the snowflake. No special technique is needed here, simply make sure to cover all the segments of the shape.
The nose is created by folding the edges of the piece (A) under itself while it is being stitched to the beard (B).
The little protuberance thus created is filled with stuffing before being stitched closed.
I used a bamboo skewer to help with making the folds and pushing the edges inward between the stitches.
Now that the nose is complete we can assemble the lower body.
To do so, stitch the heart (C) to the beard (B) and the lower body (D).
Then add the two little hands (E) on each side of the heart.
I wanted to use two different colors for the hat and the lower body which led to a specific construction sequence. Have a look at the sequence used to stitch the Santa if you only use one thread color.
We start by stitching one half of the hat to the corresponding lower half. Then we go through both sides of the bag charm and stitch along the edge of the hat.
When the top of the gnome’s hat is reached, stitch the strap in between the two layers of the hat.
Then continue stitching along the edge and end by stitching the lower edge of the hat that is still un-stitched to the corresponding upper edge of the lower body.
Add some stuffing to the hat.
Stitch together both lower body halves along the edge, stitching the two feet (G) in between when you reach the bottom edge.
Add some stuffing to the belly before you close the bag charm.
The Reindeer
Start by gluing the center of the ears (C) in position in the ears themselves (D).
Then stitch the nose (B) to the face (A). Add some stuffing to accentuate it even more.
Start stitching the two halves of the face together.
At the top, stitch the ears, the antlers and the strap between the two layers of the face.
Add some stuffing and close the bag charm.
Final result
I hope you enjoyed following along this tutorial. Please consider posting a photo of your creation in the comments below. It would mean a lot to me to see my little projects out into the world as you make it your own.
Any feedback/question about this tutorial or project idea that you’d like to see posted here is and always will be more than welcome.
Happy crafting!
Footnotes
The following online content provided some assistance and/or inspiration during the making of this project:
hi. i got the patterns but i dont understand how to make the gnome nouse like that can u help me?
Of course! Which part of the process would you like me to clarify?
The important thing to keep in mind while stitching the nose is that the top grain of the nose has to be stitched facing the top grain of the beard. If it proves to be a bit difficult, you could wet form the nose into shape beforehand and then stitch it in place.