I’ve created quite an extensive collection of animal bag charms over the years but I had never made an insect yet. Until now, and I’m really happy to finally share this new leather bag charm tutorial with you! This project comes with both the bee and its tiny hive, and they’re a fun mix of simple stitching and small details.
The pieces are easy to cut and the assembly is pretty relaxing. So grab your tools, unroll your piece of leather and let’s get started!
Although there are 4 different patterns in the Horror Movies bag charms pattern pack, some 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.
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.
Securing the pieces of the pattern on the leather
Roughly cut out around the different elements of the pattern and secure them to your piece(s) of leather with masking tape.
Punching the holes
Use 1mm stitching prongs or a 1mm hole punch to punch the stitching holes directly on top of the paper.
Use hole punches to punch all the other holes indicated on the patterns:
8mm for the two eye sockets on the face (element A on the pattern).
3mm for the rivet’s holes (on the strap M).
2mm for the slots of the wings (on the back F).
You can also use your hole punches to make it easier to cut the narrow curves of the wings.
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
I’ve used Angelus paints to paint all the pieces of the bag charm.
I mixed a touch of yellow with white for the wings. The body and the face is painted with a mix of yellow and little bit of orange. The door of the hive is brown and the hive itself is a mix of yellow, orange and brown. All the other pieces are painted with black.
Create a loop at the end of the O-ring strap (M) with a rivet. Use your rivet setter to set it up.
Gluing the eyes
Place the plastic eyes into their sockets on the face (A).
Add a generous amount of glue to the back to hold them in place, and let it dry fully.
Stitching it all together
Use a saddle stitch for all the stitching in this project.
The hive
Start by stitching the bottom of the hive door (F) to the back piece (E2). This part is stitched separately so the thread colour can match the door.
Stitch the overlapping pieces on the front of the hive together, layering them in this order: A1 over B1, over C1, over D1.
Don’t stitch the sides yet, only the overlapping stitching holes.
Start stitching D1 over E1 and add the door (F) underneath.
Repeat the process of stitching the different levels of the hive to each other on the backside: E2 under D2 under C2 under B2 under A2. Once again only the overlapping holes of the backside are stitched through.
Now stitch the edges of both sides of the hive together. Start at the bottom right corner of the door, making your way around the hive.
Stitch the folded hanging loop (F) at the top, between the two layers of the hive.
Add some polyester stuffing inside the hive to give it thickness before closing it.
The bee
Use a single needle to stitch the motifs on the bee’s largest wings (G1 & G2). Make sure to follow the sequence shown in the photos. This ensures that each segment is stitched twice, so all the holes are threaded on both sides.
Repeat the same process on the pair of small wings (H1 & H2) to complete the wings’ motifs.
Stitch the four black strips (two Cs and two Ds) to the front (E) and the back (F) of the bee.
Insert the ends of the wings in the slots on the back and stitch them in place.
Stitch the mouth onto the face (A).
Then stitch the two layers of the face together, placing A over B.
Start stitching both halves of the body (E & F).
Add the appendages (I2, J2, K, J1 and I1) between the two layers along the way.
Add some polyester stuffing inside the body to give it thickness.
Stitch the two layers of the head (B over L) together. It connects to the top of the body which is sewn between the two layers.
Add the hanging loop and the antennas (M) in between the two layers as you reach the top of the head.
Add some polyester stuffing before closing the head.
Final touches
Complete the bag charm by installing the carabiner O-ring to the hanging loop and adding the hive!
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 them 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:
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Tutorial
Honey Bee Bag Charm
4 hours
Easy
Common for leathercraft
I’ve created quite an extensive collection of animal bag charms over the years but I had never made an insect yet. Until now, and I’m really happy to finally share this new leather bag charm tutorial with you! This project comes with both the bee and its tiny hive, and they’re a fun mix of simple stitching and small details.
The pieces are easy to cut and the assembly is pretty relaxing. So grab your tools, unroll your piece of leather and let’s get started!
Requirements
Skills
Tools
Bill of Materials
Pattern
Honey Bee Bag Charm Pattern
₩4,300Walk-through
Although there are 4 different patterns in the Horror Movies bag charms pattern pack, some 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 the pattern
You can get the pattern here.
Print it on US letter or A4 paper depending on the version you downloaded.
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.
Securing the pieces of the pattern on the leather
Roughly cut out around the different elements of the pattern and secure them to your piece(s) of leather with masking tape.
Punching the holes
Use 1mm stitching prongs or a 1mm hole punch to punch the stitching holes directly on top of the paper.
Use hole punches to punch all the other holes indicated on the patterns:
You can also use your hole punches to make it easier to cut the narrow curves of the wings.
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
I’ve used Angelus paints to paint all the pieces of the bag charm.
I mixed a touch of yellow with white for the wings. The body and the face is painted with a mix of yellow and little bit of orange. The door of the hive is brown and the hive itself is a mix of yellow, orange and brown. All the other pieces are painted with black.
Setting the rivet on the O-ring strap
Create a loop at the end of the O-ring strap (M) with a rivet. Use your rivet setter to set it up.
Gluing the eyes
Place the plastic eyes into their sockets on the face (A).
Add a generous amount of glue to the back to hold them in place, and let it dry fully.
Stitching it all together
Use a saddle stitch for all the stitching in this project.
The hive
Start by stitching the bottom of the hive door (F) to the back piece (E2). This part is stitched separately so the thread colour can match the door.
Stitch the overlapping pieces on the front of the hive together, layering them in this order: A1 over B1, over C1, over D1.
Don’t stitch the sides yet, only the overlapping stitching holes.
Start stitching D1 over E1 and add the door (F) underneath.
Repeat the process of stitching the different levels of the hive to each other on the backside: E2 under D2 under C2 under B2 under A2. Once again only the overlapping holes of the backside are stitched through.
Now stitch the edges of both sides of the hive together. Start at the bottom right corner of the door, making your way around the hive.
Stitch the folded hanging loop (F) at the top, between the two layers of the hive.
Add some polyester stuffing inside the hive to give it thickness before closing it.
The bee
Use a single needle to stitch the motifs on the bee’s largest wings (G1 & G2). Make sure to follow the sequence shown in the photos. This ensures that each segment is stitched twice, so all the holes are threaded on both sides.
Repeat the same process on the pair of small wings (H1 & H2) to complete the wings’ motifs.
Stitch the four black strips (two Cs and two Ds) to the front (E) and the back (F) of the bee.
Insert the ends of the wings in the slots on the back and stitch them in place.
Stitch the mouth onto the face (A).
Then stitch the two layers of the face together, placing A over B.
Start stitching both halves of the body (E & F).
Add the appendages (I2, J2, K, J1 and I1) between the two layers along the way.
Add some polyester stuffing inside the body to give it thickness.
Stitch the two layers of the head (B over L) together. It connects to the top of the body which is sewn between the two layers.
Add the hanging loop and the antennas (M) in between the two layers as you reach the top of the head.
Add some polyester stuffing before closing the head.
Final touches
Complete the bag charm by installing the carabiner O-ring to the hanging loop and adding the hive!
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 them 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: