One of my friends is about to embark on a journey that will see him sail from Vancouver to Mexico so I wanted to wish him good luck by making him something that he could carry along with him. This is how I set on to design and craft this leather sea turtle bag charm. I hope that you’ll enjoy the process and that you will be tempted to make one for yourself or as a gift to your friends and family!
Print it on US letter or A4 paper depending on the version you downloaded and cut-out the pieces of the project.
You don’t need both A pieces since the top and bottom of the shell are identical except for the fact that the top has additional stitching holes intended for the scales. I will be using the A piece I left uncut as a reference in order to help me position the appendages when we will be stitching 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.
Print on card-stock paper to make it easier to trace the shape on the leather.
Dyeing the leather
If you want to apply different colors/shades to the scales, shell and appendages then mark the areas of leather that you will need for each of these pieces and roughly cut them out.
We separate them like this now so that they can be dyed individually.
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 chose to submerge my pieces in a dye bath.
I tried to start from the same green base but added more lemon yellow for the appendages, more blue for the shell and some brown for the scales.
The underside pieces were dyed with diluted versions of the same color mixes.
All in all I wasn’t really satisfied by the lack of contrast between the upper and underside so I made another version that is showcased in the final steps.
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.
Tracing the outline of the pattern onto the leather
Using an awl, trace the outline of the pattern pieces onto the leather.
Some pieces of the turtle are symmetrical so the front and the back are identical. However for the elements that are not symmetrical the back is a mirrored version of the front. You will thus have to turn the pattern over to trace the pair matching the front.
Don’t forget to mark the positions of the holes that we will need to punch through later on.
Checklist of all the pieces to trace:
A x2 (1x with the holes for the scales, 1x without)
B x1
C x1 regular and x1 mirrored (pattern turned over)
D x1 regular and x1 mirrored
E x1 regular and x1 mirrored
F x2
G x2 regular and x2 mirrored
H x2 regular and x2 mirrored
I x1
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.
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 .
Stitching the scales to the shell
Start by sanding and burnishing the edges of the scales. This is optional, especially since the result is not always worth it with calfskin if it is very soft and fibrous.
Stitch the scales denoted B, C, D, E on the pattern to the top of the shell A.
Creating the eyes
To make the yes, punch twice through your black leather with the 2.5mm hole punch and retrieve the tiny pieces that were removed during the operation.
Punch two holes in the upper part of the turtle’s head (F on the pattern) where you want the eyes to be located.
Apply some glue to the side of the holes and insert the two black pieces you kept. Apply some glue to the back in order to secure them in place.
Stitching the appendages
Assemble each appendage by stitching together the symmetrical pair of pieces that corresponds to them (referenced on the pattern as F for the head, G and H for the fins).
Now that the pieces are stitched we can clean-up the edges with some light sanding and burnishing.
Then add some polyester filling inside each appendage.
Stitching the appendages to the shell
We can now finish assembling our turtle.
Start by stitching the upper part of the head to the corresponding part of the upper shell. After the last stitching hole of the head, start stitching the underside of the shell to its upper counterpart for two holes.
Then sandwich in the frontleft fin between the upper and lower shell.
Continue stitching along the shell and add the back left fin, then the key-ring tab (element I on the pattern).
Repeat the same process on the right side. Don’t forget to add some stuffing before you stitch too high up.
When you reach the head, stitch the remaining lower part of the head to the remaining stitching holes or the lower shell.
If you want to make your life a little bit easier you can simply stitch all around the shell and sandwich-in the head like the fins. I chose not to because I wanted the turtle’s neck to have some width. If you have a look at the other version I made you can see what it looks like when the neck is stitched flat.
Eventually you can clean up the edges of the shell with some light sanding and burnishing.
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:
Tutorial
Turtle bag charm
4 hours
Easy
Common for leathercraft
One of my friends is about to embark on a journey that will see him sail from Vancouver to Mexico so I wanted to wish him good luck by making him something that he could carry along with him. This is how I set on to design and craft this leather sea turtle bag charm. I hope that you’ll enjoy the process and that you will be tempted to make one for yourself or as a gift to your friends and family!
Requirements
Skills
Tools
Bill of Materials
Pattern
Turtle Bag Charm Pattern
Walk-through
Printing and cutting 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 pieces of the project.
You don’t need both A pieces since the top and bottom of the shell are identical except for the fact that the top has additional stitching holes intended for the scales. I will be using the A piece I left uncut as a reference in order to help me position the appendages when we will be stitching 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.
Print on card-stock paper to make it easier to trace the shape on the leather.
Dyeing the leather
If you want to apply different colors/shades to the scales, shell and appendages then mark the areas of leather that you will need for each of these pieces and roughly cut them out.
We separate them like this now so that they can be dyed individually.
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 chose to submerge my pieces in a dye bath.
I tried to start from the same green base but added more lemon yellow for the appendages, more blue for the shell and some brown for the scales.
The underside pieces were dyed with diluted versions of the same color mixes.
All in all I wasn’t really satisfied by the lack of contrast between the upper and underside so I made another version that is showcased in the final steps.
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.
Tracing the outline of the pattern onto the leather
Using an awl, trace the outline of the pattern pieces onto the leather.
Some pieces of the turtle are symmetrical so the front and the back are identical. However for the elements that are not symmetrical the back is a mirrored version of the front. You will thus have to turn the pattern over to trace the pair matching the front.
Don’t forget to mark the positions of the holes that we will need to punch through later on.
Checklist of all the pieces to trace:
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.
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 .
Stitching the scales to the shell
Start by sanding and burnishing the edges of the scales. This is optional, especially since the result is not always worth it with calfskin if it is very soft and fibrous.
Stitch the scales denoted B, C, D, E on the pattern to the top of the shell A.
Creating the eyes
To make the yes, punch twice through your black leather with the 2.5mm hole punch and retrieve the tiny pieces that were removed during the operation.
Punch two holes in the upper part of the turtle’s head (F on the pattern) where you want the eyes to be located.
Apply some glue to the side of the holes and insert the two black pieces you kept. Apply some glue to the back in order to secure them in place.
Stitching the appendages
Assemble each appendage by stitching together the symmetrical pair of pieces that corresponds to them (referenced on the pattern as F for the head, G and H for the fins).
Now that the pieces are stitched we can clean-up the edges with some light sanding and burnishing.
Then add some polyester filling inside each appendage.
Stitching the appendages to the shell
We can now finish assembling our turtle.
Start by stitching the upper part of the head to the corresponding part of the upper shell. After the last stitching hole of the head, start stitching the underside of the shell to its upper counterpart for two holes.
Then sandwich in the front left fin between the upper and lower shell.
Continue stitching along the shell and add the back left fin, then the key-ring tab (element I on the pattern).
Repeat the same process on the right side. Don’t forget to add some stuffing before you stitch too high up.
When you reach the head, stitch the remaining lower part of the head to the remaining stitching holes or the lower shell.
If you want to make your life a little bit easier you can simply stitch all around the shell and sandwich-in the head like the fins. I chose not to because I wanted the turtle’s neck to have some width. If you have a look at the other version I made you can see what it looks like when the neck is stitched flat.
Eventually you can clean up the edges of the shell with some light sanding and burnishing.
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: