Necklace Leather

This instructable will show you how to make fashion accessories by taking advantage of material combinations such as, leather and wood.

I am a designer who enjoys to look for new alternatives and material combinations in order to make innovative objects by using what others may consider waste.

This design idea came up from seeing the waste generated when fabricating bigger pieces. So the objective is to take the most out of the remaining leather pieces by putting them together with other materials like wood.

I hope you enjoy this instructive, I am really excited to make it for you. I am also making it as detailed as I can in order for anyone to be able to follow it.

Even though this document only shows one design with different combination possibilities, the idea is to inspire others to develop more designs by applying the lessons learnt through this instructive.

MATERIALS:

1. Leather scraps

2. Goatling or calf leather scraps

3. Wood contrast screen

4. Glue (yellow or white)

5. Fomi (Optional)

6. Ink (the color of leather)

7. Link chain with snap closure

8. Small metal rings

TOOLS:

1. Cutter or laser cutter

2. Craftool Scratch Awl or silver mine

3. Sandpaper (No. 400)

4. Awl

5. Microporous

6. Cold cuts and tweezers

7. Cautin (Optional)

NOTE: You can make all the cuts with a laser cutter but if you don’t have access to this machine no problem, You can also make all the cuts manually, the important thing is to have the cutter very sharp.

You should have the template of the design that we want to fabricate. In this case this square design is what we going to make so we can make the template in two ways:

1. Download the vector, print it and hand cut as shows the picture.

2. Download the vector and doing the laser cut in cardboard.

Is always important to make the template before in other material so we can verificate that the design will be perfect.

Having the template you can proceed to make the leather cut, for this you can use the cardboard and trace on the leather with the aid of a silver mine or craftool Scratch Awl. Preferably stick the template with tape to the leather to avoid movement. Or cut the leather in the laser cutter directly (Don’t worry about the burned smell , it disappears by leaving it outside overnight )

Cut the wood contrast screen as shown in the attached image. This will give us the support of the design. On the back stick leather and then cut the excess with the cutter. This goatling or calf leather is going to give our skin preventing us scrape wood contrast screen.

Cut the goatling or calf leather in the diamond shape to insert into the hollow leather. If you wish to enhance the goatling or calf leather you can stick fomi behind it and then you can make the cut. If you want to design don’t protrude simply cut the goatling or calf leather alone.

You can also cut diamonds leather similar to the edge (like coffee leather image).

After having all the cut pieces you can stick the leather on the wood contrast screen and then stick the internal parts of the design (diamonds). Depending on the glue you use touch you let it dry for a while before gluing the two sides.

Apply ink at the edges and let dry. For best results you can apply the ink and allow to dry for 15-20 minutes and then sanded, after then sanded; this procedure 3 times. And finally if you want a better finish on the edge you can spend cautin carefully.

Using the awl and the microporous open a hole on each side where insert the Small metal rings for the chain.

In case you have a continuous chain of links using a cold cuts you can cut it in half so as to insert a ring half and half on the other.

Now you can proceed to place your necklace and perform different types of combinations in your new creations.