Minimalist Leather Wallet/Card Holder

Here is a wallet that I made in order to satisfy my needs. Indeed, I had been looking for a wallet for more than a year now and couldn't find something that really suited me which is why I decided to make my own.
Convinced that I could make my dream wallet I started browsing on the internet to learn about leather crafting.

After scouring the internet for many days I finally bought everything that I needed both tools and raw materials and was ready to rock.

I will try to run you through the different steps of making my dream wallet but bare in mind it's my first time working with leather.

• Leather
• Cutter
• Mallet/hammer
• Needles and thread
• Edge Beveler
• Tokonole
• Leather glue
• Metal ruler
• Stitching Chisel
• Wood burnisher
• Cardboard paper (to make the pattern)
• Edge groover
• Scratch awl
• Cutting board

I wanted something that was both minimalist and elegant as well as practical in order to hold a few cards and bills.
The main idea when drawing the patterns is to make sure that your card will fit correctly.

Once I made sure everything seemed to fit correctly using cardboard paper I score the leather using my scratch awl.

Once the leather was scored it was time to cut the leather !
I was quite worried about cutting the leather but if your are focus and use a sharp cutter you should be fine.

In order to cut straight lines I used a metal ruler that I firmly hold towards the leather along my lines.

Once everything is cut you can use an edge beveler which helps make the corners look smooth.

In order to make sure everything fit correctly I would advise you to use paper clamps to pre-assemble the wallet.

Once I felt comfortable with the way it looked and fitted I went ahead and applied glue to the edge where I planned on stitching the pieces together.

Once it was glued I camped it and let it dry.

Make sure you don't put too much glue which might prevent you from putting cards in later on.

Time for stitching !
In order to make stitching easier I first used an edge groover in order to make a line where I wanted to stitch. (I did it 3mm from the sides)

Once my lines where traced, I used a Stitching Chisel and a mallet to pre-hole the leather

Here is a great tutorial that I followed in order to stitch leather :

In order to finish the wallet, I first used a light sand paper to sand the edges flush and remove any imperfection.
Then I used tokonole which is literally the best product to burnish any kind of leather edges. You can apply a small amount of tokonole with your finger all around the edge and then use a Wood burnisher and scrub the edge.

Once I had finished burnishing the edge it was pretty much done and I was ready to enjoy my new wallet

Hope you appreciated this modest leather project !