Indulge your love for all things feline with our captivating Cat Face Coin Purse tutorial, a delightful addition to our series of cat-themed projects.
Crafted with precision and infused with charm, this tutorial builds upon the success of our cat bag charm and cat catchall tray tutorials. Not only will you learn how to create a functional and stylish coin purse, but we also have a treat for you.
Print it on US letter or A4 paper depending on the version you downloaded and roughly cut around all the pieces of the pattern to separate them.
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.
Taping the elements of the pattern to the leather
Secure all the pieces of the pattern to your pieces of leather with masking tape.
Making the zipper alignment tool
This DIY tool will make the process of setting-up the zipper much simpler and allow us to position it perfectly.
To make it, glue the template to a piece of thick cardboard (about 6mm thick).
Then glue the first piece of cardboard to a second one to increase the thickness to about 12mm.
Finally cut-out the shape with an X-acto or utility knife.
Punching the 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.
Use your 2.5mm hole punch to punch the holes for the snap buttons.
Cutting-out the pieces of the project
Using your X-Acto knife, cut-out all the pieces of the project.
Bevelling the edges
Bevel the edges on all the pieces of the coin purse, except for the flaps (elements denoted I on the pattern) and the gusset of the liner (element G).
Skive the sides of the exterior shell’s gusset (E).
Dyeing the leather
Dyeing can be achieved through different methods. I will refer you to this Youtube Playlist in order to learn more about the subject from much more qualified craftsmen than I am.
I used blue for all the pieces, adding some white dye to make the color lighter for the liner, the paws, the nose and the zipper’s tab.
Since the leather has been dampened during the dyeing process, use this opportunity to crease the two inner accordion flaps (I).
First fold them down the middle – top grain on top grain, rough side face outward.
Then fold the two additional creases. You want the little depression at the middle of each stitch line to be level with the the crease in the middle.
Once the leather is completely dry, apply a coat of oil to re-hydrate it and protect the dye.
.
Try to be swift in your motions once the oil is on the leather to avoid creating darker spots. If this happens not to worry though, just leave it half an hour under the sun (rough side up so that the top grain doesn’t tan). The heat will help the oil spread out evenly in the fibers of the leather.
Setting-up the snap buttons
Use your snap button tools to set-up the two snap buttons on the paws (C) and the face (A).
Stitching the whiskers and the nose
Stitch the nose (A) to the face (B).
Then stitch the 3 decorative whiskers.
Stitching the paws
Start by gluing the two inner paws (C) on the back of the head (D).
Sand and burnish the edges of the two paws.
Stitch around the perimeter of each paw.
Preparing the elements of the head for stitching
Glue the front (A) to the back of the head (D).
Be careful not to glue it the wrong way around. You wanna make sure to glue rough side to rough side.
Sand and burnish all the edges that you bevelled earlier before moving on to the next step.
Stitching the gussets
Stitch the exterior shell’s gusset (E) to the top of the two parts of the coin purse (A+D and F).
Stitch the liner’s gusset (G) to the two parts of the liner (H). If you have a look at the pattern, you’ll notice that this gusset is a tad shorter than the other one so it skips the first hole of the ear, thus starting and ending on the next (holes denoted 5, 6, 7 and 8 on the pattern)
Gluing the zipper to the liner
Apply contact cement:
around the edges of the rough side of the liner.
on both ends of the gusset (about 1.5cm going inward).
along both edges of your zipper, leaving an area about 12.5mm wide free of contact cement in the middle (this is the part that will be visible). The contact cement has to be applied on the side where the zipper’s pull tab is not facing you.
Position the cardboard template between the two sides of the liner, rough side facing out.
Use a clamp to hold it in place (it doesn’t have to be comically large like mine. But it happened to be the most well suited I had on hand).
Start by securing the end of your zipper (the part without teeth) to one end of the gusset. I found it simplified things to open up the zipper by a few centimetres.
Once one end is secured you can position the zipper around the entire liner by pulling it around the the cardboard template and progressively gluing the sides to the edges of the two liner’s pieces and the end of the zipper to the gusset just like how we started-off.
Leave the corners for last though and use your awl to carefully make little folds in the zipper’s fabric (have a look at the playlist in the footnotes for more details about that step).
When your zipper is glued in place, open it and remove the cardboard template. Use your awl to open-up the holes through the zipper’s fabric – it will make the next step much easier.
Stitching the liner and the accordion flaps to the exterior shell
The outer shell wraps around the liner. The first stitching hole we will go through is the top-most hole of the ear on the cat’s face (A+D) and the liner (H) which is also the first hole (1) of the exterior shell’s gusset (E).
Down two holes (9), you’ll need to add the accordion flap.
When you reach hole 11, you need to stop stitching A+F together in order to leave an opening for the credit card. From then on until hole 12, only D + the zipper + H are being stitched.
You can then resume stitching A+F + the zipper + H, and add the second accordion flap (I) from hole 13 to hole 14.
Your stitch line will be complete once you reach the tip of the ear opposite from where you started (2).
Finally stitch the other side of the outer shell (F) to the other side of the liner (H), connecting the two accordion flaps (I) along the way when you reach the holes 15 to 16 and 17 to 18.
Setting-up the zipper’s tab
Apply contact cement to the back of the zipper’s tab (J).
Insert it in the hole of the zipper’s pull and glue both halves together.
Sand and burnish the edges of the tab.
Stitch the few stitches securing the two halves of the tab together.
Finishing touches
Apply the conditioning product of your choice on your creation and rub vigorously with a cotton rag to polish it and give it a nice shine.
I use a leather balm that I make by gently melting together “au bain-marie” 1 part beeswax and 6 parts olive oil. It’s great for nourishing and waterproofing.
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:
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Tutorial
Cat Face Coin Purse
5 hours
Advanced
Common for leathercraft
Indulge your love for all things feline with our captivating Cat Face Coin Purse tutorial, a delightful addition to our series of cat-themed projects.
Crafted with precision and infused with charm, this tutorial builds upon the success of our cat bag charm and cat catchall tray tutorials. Not only will you learn how to create a functional and stylish coin purse, but we also have a treat for you.
As a bonus, we’re providing a free cat cable organizer pattern to help keep your cables tangle-free and organized.
So gather your leatherworking tools, select your preferred leather, and let’s bring this adorable cat face coin purse to life!
Requirements
Skills
Tools
Bill of Materials
Pattern
Cat Themed Patterns Pack – 4 Projects – Coin Purse – Bag Charm – Tray – Cable Organizers
Walk-through
Printing and cutting-out the pattern
You can get the pattern here if you haven’t already.
Print it on US letter or A4 paper depending on the version you downloaded and roughly cut around all the pieces of the pattern to separate them.
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.
Taping the elements of the pattern to the leather
Secure all the pieces of the pattern to your pieces of leather with masking tape.
Making the zipper alignment tool
This DIY tool will make the process of setting-up the zipper much simpler and allow us to position it perfectly.
To make it, glue the template to a piece of thick cardboard (about 6mm thick).
Then glue the first piece of cardboard to a second one to increase the thickness to about 12mm.
Finally cut-out the shape with an X-acto or utility knife.
Punching the 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.
Use your 2.5mm hole punch to punch the holes for the snap buttons.
Cutting-out the pieces of the project
Using your X-Acto knife, cut-out all the pieces of the project.
Bevelling the edges
Bevel the edges on all the pieces of the coin purse, except for the flaps (elements denoted I on the pattern) and the gusset of the liner (element G).
Skive the sides of the exterior shell’s gusset (E).
Dyeing the leather
Dyeing can be achieved through different methods. I will refer you to this Youtube Playlist in order to learn more about the subject from much more qualified craftsmen than I am.
I used blue for all the pieces, adding some white dye to make the color lighter for the liner, the paws, the nose and the zipper’s tab.
Since the leather has been dampened during the dyeing process, use this opportunity to crease the two inner accordion flaps (I).
First fold them down the middle – top grain on top grain, rough side face outward.
Then fold the two additional creases. You want the little depression at the middle of each stitch line to be level with the the crease in the middle.
Once the leather is completely dry, apply a coat of oil to re-hydrate it and protect the dye.
.Try to be swift in your motions once the oil is on the leather to avoid creating darker spots. If this happens not to worry though, just leave it half an hour under the sun (rough side up so that the top grain doesn’t tan). The heat will help the oil spread out evenly in the fibers of the leather.
Setting-up the snap buttons
Use your snap button tools to set-up the two snap buttons on the paws (C) and the face (A).
Stitching the whiskers and the nose
Stitch the nose (A) to the face (B).
Then stitch the 3 decorative whiskers.
Stitching the paws
Start by gluing the two inner paws (C) on the back of the head (D).
Sand and burnish the edges of the two paws.
Stitch around the perimeter of each paw.
Preparing the elements of the head for stitching
Glue the front (A) to the back of the head (D).
Be careful not to glue it the wrong way around. You wanna make sure to glue rough side to rough side.
Sand and burnish all the edges that you bevelled earlier before moving on to the next step.
Stitching the gussets
Stitch the exterior shell’s gusset (E) to the top of the two parts of the coin purse (A+D and F).
Stitch the liner’s gusset (G) to the two parts of the liner (H). If you have a look at the pattern, you’ll notice that this gusset is a tad shorter than the other one so it skips the first hole of the ear, thus starting and ending on the next (holes denoted 5, 6, 7 and 8 on the pattern)
Gluing the zipper to the liner
Apply contact cement:
Position the cardboard template between the two sides of the liner, rough side facing out.
Use a clamp to hold it in place (it doesn’t have to be comically large like mine. But it happened to be the most well suited I had on hand).
Start by securing the end of your zipper (the part without teeth) to one end of the gusset. I found it simplified things to open up the zipper by a few centimetres.
Once one end is secured you can position the zipper around the entire liner by pulling it around the the cardboard template and progressively gluing the sides to the edges of the two liner’s pieces and the end of the zipper to the gusset just like how we started-off.
Leave the corners for last though and use your awl to carefully make little folds in the zipper’s fabric (have a look at the playlist in the footnotes for more details about that step).
When your zipper is glued in place, open it and remove the cardboard template. Use your awl to open-up the holes through the zipper’s fabric – it will make the next step much easier.
Stitching the liner and the accordion flaps to the exterior shell
The outer shell wraps around the liner. The first stitching hole we will go through is the top-most hole of the ear on the cat’s face (A+D) and the liner (H) which is also the first hole (1) of the exterior shell’s gusset (E).
Down two holes (9), you’ll need to add the accordion flap.
When you reach hole 11, you need to stop stitching A+F together in order to leave an opening for the credit card. From then on until hole 12, only D + the zipper + H are being stitched.
You can then resume stitching A+F + the zipper + H, and add the second accordion flap (I) from hole 13 to hole 14.
Your stitch line will be complete once you reach the tip of the ear opposite from where you started (2).
Finally stitch the other side of the outer shell (F) to the other side of the liner (H), connecting the two accordion flaps (I) along the way when you reach the holes 15 to 16 and 17 to 18.
Setting-up the zipper’s tab
Apply contact cement to the back of the zipper’s tab (J).
Insert it in the hole of the zipper’s pull and glue both halves together.
Sand and burnish the edges of the tab.
Stitch the few stitches securing the two halves of the tab together.
Finishing touches
Apply the conditioning product of your choice on your creation and rub vigorously with a cotton rag to polish it and give it a nice shine.
I use a leather balm that I make by gently melting together “au bain-marie” 1 part beeswax and 6 parts olive oil. It’s great for nourishing and waterproofing.
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: