| Time required | Complexity | Tools & Supplies |
|---|---|---|
| 4 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!
Please note: the coin purse design is not easy to put together due to the need to setup the zipper. It is only recommended for crafters who have previous experience with such a construction process.
Requirements
Skills
Tools
- 1x4mm stitching prong
- 5mm & 2.5mm hole punches
- Scissors and X-Acto knife
- Applicator for the dye
- 2 leather stitching needles
- Hammer or mallet
- Edge slicker
- Cotton rag
Bill of Materials
- 3/4oz veg tanned leather for the coin purse
- 2/3 oz calfskin or similar for the inner accordion flaps
- 1x 28cm zipper
- 2x snap buttons
- Leather dyes
- Leather finishing product
- Contact cement
- Oil
- Thread
- Beeswax
Pattern
The pattern PDF & Vector files are available for purchase on etsy.
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 cut-out the pieces of the project.
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.
Print on card-stock paper to make it easier to trace the shape on the leather.
You may notice a discrepancy between the pieces G as seen in the pictures compared to their equivalent on the pattern that you purchased. This is because a friend suggested to me to add such accordion flaps in order to improve the design of the coin pocket just when I was starting to make the final version used in this tutorial. I should have made another prototype first to try out this new addition to the design but I mistakenly chose not to. Which meant that I ended up having to “debug” this new design as I was making the final piece which involved modifying the flaps compared to the first version that I had in mind. I apologize if it creates any confusion.
Tracing the outline of the pattern onto the leather
Using an awl, trace the outline of the pattern pieces onto the leather.
The inner paws (C) and the accordion flaps (G) have to be traced twice.
Don’t forget to mark the positions of the holes that we will need to punch through later on.
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.
Use your 2.5 and 5mm hole punches to punch the holes for the snap buttons.
Cutting-out the pieces of the project
Using a pair of scissors or an 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.
Skive the sides of the gusset.
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.
For this project I mostly used a golden yellow for all the pieces, with a touch of orange for 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 (G) by folding them down the middle (rough side in the fold).
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.
Use your snap button tools to set-up the two snap buttons on the paws (C) and the face (B).
Stitching the whiskers and the nose
On the face (B), stitch the 3 decorative whiskers.
Stitch-on the nose (A) as well.
Stitching the paws
First glue 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 (B) 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 of the remaining edges.
Stitching the gusset
Stitch the gusset (E) to the top of the two parts of the coin purse (B+D and F).
Setting-up the zipper
This is where things get tricky. Since I added the inner accordion flaps without testing the construction process beforehand I ended up improvising quite a bit which explains the discrepancy between the written explanations that you’ll find below and the corresponding photos. When in doubt, trust the text. Even better: follow your own construction method if you have experience setting up zippers.
Fold and glue the two ends of the zipper onto themselves.
Prepare the coin purse by scratching a the perimeter of both pieces D & F.
Make a mark down the middle of both parts of the zipper as well as on piece D between the two paws.
Apply contact cement:
- On the scratched areas of pieces D & F.
- On each side of the gusset (E), going 2cm inward.
- On both sides of the zipper.
Start by aligning the middle of one half of the zipper to the centre mark on piece D. Press on both to secure them together.
Secure the left and right side of the zipper, leaving the corners and extremities loose.
Glue the corners last.
Repeat this operation with the other half of the zipper on the other side of the coin purse (F).
Remove the zipper’s slider from the zipper to turn the coin purse inside out.
Add the slider back and glue the two extremities of the zipper to the gusset.
Stitching it all together
It is now time to stitch both layers of the coin purse (D & F), the inner accordion flaps (G) and the zippers together securely.
Start on the first stitching hole of the gusset and piece D.
The inner accordion flap is added on the next hole. Pay attention to the positioning. The narrow end goes towards the gusset and the top grain goes towards the exterior.
Before I started to stitch everything, I made a pass with my awl in every hole to make the process easier.
Continue stitching inside the card slot.
Stitch on half of the second flap and complete that side of the coin purse.
Repeat the same process on the other side of the coin purse (F).
Setting-up the zipper’s tab
Apply contact cement to the back of the zipper’s tab (H).
Insert the tab in the zipper’s slider and press on both halves to secure them to each other.
Stitch the few stitches of the tab.
Finally sand and burnish the edges of the tab.
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: