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	Leather Pouch or Case

  

See the Leather Chapter for more instructions, hints, tips, and ideas.

Read the page on instructions and hints on lacing and instructions for sewing on loops before you start.

• Cut out a rectangular shape from the leather. Remember that you need one piece of leather big enough to make the front, back and flap. If you want a pouch that is 3" wide by 2" tall, you would need a piece of leather 3" wide by 6" long (front + back + flap). You may want the flap a little smaller. The flap does not have to go all the way to the bottom of the pouch, but you want enough flap that items won't easily fall out of the pouch. By making it as long as the front, you can trim it to the desired size when the pouch is complete.
• Punch holes along edges for lacing - make sure the edges are lined up straight and even.
• Cut a rectangular piece of leather about 1" by 3" for the loop.
• Punch holes for loop and sew it to pouch. See Loops.
• Stitch the edges. See Lacing.
• Trim flap to desired shape and size.
• Sew Velcro onto flap.
• Close flap onto pouch and note mark where Velcro touches pouch. Sew the other side of the Velcro onto the pouch.

With a little bit more work, you can make nice looking 3-dimensional cases for things like flashlights, knives, PDAs, cell phones, GPS, ... Measure the height, width, and depth of the object.

Use a string or cloth measuring tape to help you measure around the width and length of the object. These are the circumference measurements. Add some extra to the length for a good size flap; you can always make it smaller. The width is a bit tricky. The small part on the template below should be the same as the width of the object and will be the back and flap. The wider section which is the front and sides is the width circumference minus the width. Add 1/4" or more for stitching. You may want to add a little more in the length and width to give you a little extra room in the pouch for a thumb guard for wood carving, business cards, etc.

Make a template on paper (see below) of the size of the leather. Then follow the instructions above. Make sure that you have the same number of holes on each side and the bottom.