I’m always looking for quick craft project ideas to give to my friends. And what better gift than a handmade leather keychain. Following this train of thoughts I designed 6 different forest animal templates: a rabbit, a wolf, a fox, a deer, a bear and a horse. Enjoy!
Print it on A4 paper 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 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
Using an awl, trace the outline of the pattern pieces onto the leather.
Each keychain is composed of two pieces of leather stitched back to back. The corresponding element of the pattern will have to be traced twice. However 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.
Two options are available for the key-ring tab denoted A1 and A2 on the pattern. I initially only included A1 which accommodates for the dimension of a key-ring and added A2 after starting the project to accommodate for the smaller ring of a chain which I wanted to try out.
Don’t forget to mark the positions of the holes that we will need to punch through later on. You can use a bit of masking tape to hold the pattern pieces in place while you are marking the points.
Checklist of all the pieces to trace for:
Each keychain
A1 or A2 (see explanation above) x1
The Rabbit
B x1 regular and x1 mirrored (pattern turned over)
C x1
The Wolf
D x1 regular and x1 mirrored
E x1
The Fox
F x1 regular and x1 mirrored
G x1
The Deer
H x1 regular and x1 mirrored
I x1 regular and x1 mirrored
J x1
The Bear
K x1 regular and x1 mirrored
The Horse
L x1 regular and x1 mirrored
M x1
N x1
Punching the stitching holes
Use stitching prongs or a hole punch to punch the stitching holes for all the pieces.
Cutting-out the pieces of leather
Using a pair of scissors or an X-Acto knife, cut-out all the pieces of the keychain(s).
A reminder to make the cuts that will represent the mane for the horse (pattern element M).
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 used different colors for each keychain, ranging from black to different browns to orange for the fox and white for the rabbit.
I left the ring tabs natural to keep a reminder of the natural color of the leather on the final keychain.
Once the leather is completely dry, apply a light rub of oil to re-hydrate it and protect the dye.
Stitching it all together
We will use the saddle stitching technique to stitch the two opposite sides of the keychain together.
Have your keyring handy as we will have to set it up once the keyring tab is stitched between the two body pieces.
The pattern can also help as it indicates where to start the stitching line and where to add the different other elements of the keychain.
Add some stuffing as you stitch the perimeter of the animal.
The keyring tab and if applicable the tail or mane will have to be positioned in between the two opposite pieces of the body before being stitched in.
The same procedure applies to all the animals.
Burnishing the edges
Bevel the edges of your leather pieces with your edge beveler (size n*1 in my case).
Use ~200 grit sandpaper to smooth-out any irregularity, then use progressively finer grit to prepare the edges for burnishing. The finer the grit, the smoother the edges will be which will make the actual burnishing a lot easier and the result look a lot cleaner.
Dampen the edge you are working on with water before sanding. It will help you obtain a sleek result much faster than if you were working dry and it will minimize the amount of leather dust in the air
Burnish the edges using the method of your choice. I usually apply some tokonole to the edge and use a wood edge slicker to create the friction necessary for burnishing. You can also use a cotton rag and simply dampen the edge, it works quite well (often better than a low quality wood slicker).
Seal the burnished edges by vigorously rubbing some beeswax on them and then using a cotton rag to create some heat from the friction and melt the coat of wax evenly.
Never apply too much pressure on the edge during this operation. Indeed we want to prevent any mushrooming from happening especially when the edge is damp. It’s all about speed and friction to create heat, not pressure.
Applying leather balm
To finish your work, nourish and protect the leather by applying the conditioning product of your choice on the keychain and polishing it with a cotton rag.
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
Making leather keychains: 6 Forest Animals
1 hour / Keychain
Easy
Common for leathercraft
I’m always looking for quick craft project ideas to give to my friends. And what better gift than a handmade leather keychain. Following this train of thoughts I designed 6 different forest animal templates: a rabbit, a wolf, a fox, a deer, a bear and a horse. Enjoy!
Requirements
Skills
Tools
Bill of Materials
Pattern
6 Forest Animals Keychains Patterns
Walk-through
Printing and cutting-out the pattern
You can get the pattern here if you haven’t already.
Print it on A4 paper 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 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
Using an awl, trace the outline of the pattern pieces onto the leather.
Each keychain is composed of two pieces of leather stitched back to back. The corresponding element of the pattern will have to be traced twice. However 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.
Two options are available for the key-ring tab denoted A1 and A2 on the pattern. I initially only included A1 which accommodates for the dimension of a key-ring and added A2 after starting the project to accommodate for the smaller ring of a chain which I wanted to try out.
Don’t forget to mark the positions of the holes that we will need to punch through later on. You can use a bit of masking tape to hold the pattern pieces in place while you are marking the points.
Checklist of all the pieces to trace for:
Punching the stitching holes
Use stitching prongs or a hole punch to punch the stitching holes for all the pieces.
Cutting-out the pieces of leather
Using a pair of scissors or an X-Acto knife, cut-out all the pieces of the keychain(s).
A reminder to make the cuts that will represent the mane for the horse (pattern element M).
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 used different colors for each keychain, ranging from black to different browns to orange for the fox and white for the rabbit.
I left the ring tabs natural to keep a reminder of the natural color of the leather on the final keychain.
Once the leather is completely dry, apply a light rub of oil to re-hydrate it and protect the dye.
Stitching it all together
We will use the saddle stitching technique to stitch the two opposite sides of the keychain together.
Have your keyring handy as we will have to set it up once the keyring tab is stitched between the two body pieces.
The pattern can also help as it indicates where to start the stitching line and where to add the different other elements of the keychain.
Add some stuffing as you stitch the perimeter of the animal.
The keyring tab and if applicable the tail or mane will have to be positioned in between the two opposite pieces of the body before being stitched in.
The same procedure applies to all the animals.
Burnishing the edges
Bevel the edges of your leather pieces with your edge beveler (size n*1 in my case).
Use ~200 grit sandpaper to smooth-out any irregularity, then use progressively finer grit to prepare the edges for burnishing. The finer the grit, the smoother the edges will be which will make the actual burnishing a lot easier and the result look a lot cleaner.
Dampen the edge you are working on with water before sanding. It will help you obtain a sleek result much faster than if you were working dry and it will minimize the amount of leather dust in the air
Burnish the edges using the method of your choice. I usually apply some tokonole to the edge and use a wood edge slicker to create the friction necessary for burnishing. You can also use a cotton rag and simply dampen the edge, it works quite well (often better than a low quality wood slicker).
Seal the burnished edges by vigorously rubbing some beeswax on them and then using a cotton rag to create some heat from the friction and melt the coat of wax evenly.
Never apply too much pressure on the edge during this operation. Indeed we want to prevent any mushrooming from happening especially when the edge is damp. It’s all about speed and friction to create heat, not pressure.
Applying leather balm
To finish your work, nourish and protect the leather by applying the conditioning product of your choice on the keychain and polishing it with a cotton rag.
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: