Minimal Leather & Wool Wallet

This is a guide on how I made this simple minimal leather and wool wallet. For a detailed video, please check out my YouTube Channel.

For this you will need;

· Rectangle of leather Veg Tan 1.5mm

· 100% wool felt

· Leather Dye

· Contact Cement

· Waxed Thread

· 2 x leather needles

· Grover Tool

· Knife

· Edge slicker

· Hole puncher

I started with a large sheet of Veg Tan leather, this is 1.5mm thick. I made a template in Adobe Illustrator. I wanted to keep the wallet as small as physically possible so measured all the cards I wanted to fit in. As as general rule I don't carry any cash, most places I go accept card, or contactless on my phone.

Cut the rectange of leather, I made mine;

140mm LONG x 95mm WIDE

I used a very sharp blade for this, taking the template I very lightly scored the leather, then using a set square to get a perfect straight cut, went all the way through the leather.

Next we move onto the wool, this is some 100% Wool felt, I love the look of this and it feel amazing. Cut sizes of this are;

45mm HIGH x 95mm WIDE

I marked this up using a dress makers pencil and cut out using some very sharp fabric scissors.

I use Feibing Waterbased dye, on this wallet I used the Dark Brown. Start by giving the bottle a little shake, then taking a wool dauber I stirred the dye a little as well. I wanted to make the wallet have an already aged and worn look so I applied the dye in random directions.

Then I worked my way around all the edges using the same dye, and flipped it over to get the back, or flesh, side of the leather. Taking a rag, I buffed off any excess dye left on the leather.

I took one of the cut pieces of wool, and made a small mark on the leather with it to know where to start the groove. Using a groover, I cut the grooves for the stitching to sit in. This helps give you a beautiful straight line, and lets the thread sit just below the surface of the wallet.

Next I took my hole puncher, I used one with 6 forks which makes the whole processes a lot quicker. I started at one corner, and worked my way round. I always put the end two forks back into the previous two holes, this again helps to get a nice straight line. I put a scrap piece of wool under the leather to protect my cutting board.

I used some strong contact cement, and very carefully using a rectangle of card as a guide, put glue on both sides of the leather and the wool where I was going to stitch. The guide just helps me not to get any of the glue where it shouldn't. It's very messy stuff and I have already messed up one wallet getting some on the front face! Let that cure for about 5mins, and carefully line the two up and stick together.

I used some cream .6mm waxed thread. I measured out 3 x the length of the area where there wool meets the leather. I threaded the needle and wool, and saddle stitched the two together.

That's it. Enjoy! This wallet can comfortably hold up to 6 cards. It is really hard wearing, and will only get better with time as the leather ages naturally.

What's really great about this design is you can change and customise it to suit your style. In the picture you can see I have done one dyed black with red thread, and left one completely undyed and let the leather get a natural patina.

For a more detailed instructions check out my YouTube video for this wallet.

This is a big list of all the materials and equipment used.

Materials

Veg Tan Leather

Leather Dye

100% Wool Felt

Waxed Thread

Equipment

Edge Slicker

Leather Hole Punch

Groover Tool

Cutting Matt