Leather flower candle holder

I had been looking for simple leathercraft projects that involved no sewing when I found an interesting flower candle holder concept while browsing Pinterest. The shape seemed quite simple to replicate so I should that I would give it a try.

While experimenting with shapes and measurements using paper models, I designed a different version from the one I was taking inspiration from. During this tutorial we will be reviewing how to make those two different designs. One is based on the juxtaposition of two crosses and based on a central square. I wanted to add some “roundness” to my personal attempt so I based it around a central pentagon instead.

Walk-through

Printing the patterns

Print the patterns on A4 paper and cut-out the pieces of the project.

Make sure that the patterns are not resized by checking your print settings. You can check if it was printed properly by measuring the test box on the pattern to ensure that its sides are 5cm long.

Print on thick paper to make it easier to trace the shape on the leather. 200g/cm2 and above is ideal (as long as your printer can handle it)

---

Tracing the outline of the pattern onto the leather

Use an awl to trace the outline of the pattern onto the leather.

Don’t forget to mark the positions of the holes that we will punch through later on.

One flower is composed of two identical parts so remember to trace 2 pieces for each flower.

---

Dyeing the leather

Dye your piece using the technique and colors of your choice.

I am doing a light gradient of red and fuchsia on both sides.

---

Cutting-out the 2 pieces

Use an X-acto knife or a pair of scissors to cut-out the two pieces following the outline traces earlier.

---

Punch-in the holes for the rivets

Using the marks that you made earlier from the pattern as a reference, punch-in the 24 holes around the two pieces.

---

Inserting the rivets

Place one cross in front of you so that it forms an X. Place the second cross on top of it so that it appears as a +.

Insert the male rivet from below the center segment at the 12 o’clock position.

Fold the tip of the segment to the left over and insert rivet. Do the same with the segment to the right and insert the rivet cap on the male rivet to close the loop.

Repeat with the 4 sides of the cross, then apply the same principle with the 4 remaining loops.

With the 10 loops version, the process is the same except that each loop is composed of 2 segments instead of 3.

---

Setting the rivets

Finally use your rivet setting tool to set the 8 rivets.

---

Final result

That’s it! I hope you enjoyed this project. Le me know in the comment if there is anything you think that I can improve about this tutorial.

Footnotes

The following online content provided some assistance and/or inspiration during the making of this project: