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Design process

From sketch to pattern: how I design a leather piece

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Digital sketch of a bi-fold wallet with a bills pocket, three card slots, an ID and licence pocket and a coin pocket with a snap, drawn in two colour options: blue and brown.

Every pattern in the shop starts long before the first cut in the leather. Here are the steps I go through, from the first idea to the PDF you print at home. Knowing them will also help you when you start designing your own pieces.

The concept

It all starts with a need: what the piece must hold, how it will be used every day, which size it must fit. I write this list first, then I draw.

Sketch page for a cognac wallet. Notes list two bank cards with direct access, ID and other cards with indirect access, bills and tickets, and a coin pocket for four to five coins. Several views show the open wallet, its card slots and a coin pouch with a snap flap.

A concept page: the requirements on the left, then several views of the same wallet.

I usually draw on an iPad, which lets me try several proposals quickly: different pocket layouts, colour combinations, closures. The sketch at the top of this page compares two colour options for the same wallet.

The pattern

Once the design is settled, I move on to the pattern itself. This is where every measurement matters: the size of each piece, the stitching allowance, the order of assembly. The goal is a piece that is both strong and practical to use every day.

Printed pattern sheets for the French Identity Card Holder with 7 pockets. Each leather piece is outlined and labelled, such as Base, Pocket L1 or Pocket R2 with the number of copies to cut. A header lists recommendations: leather thickness 1 to 1.4 mm, stitching line at 2 to 3 mm, hole punch spacing 3 to 4 mm.

The printed pattern of the French Identity Card Holder, drawn in Illustrator.

Each piece is labelled with its name and the number of copies to cut, and the sheet lists the leather thickness, stitching line and hole spacing I recommend. A small test square lets you check that the pattern printed at true size.

The prototype

When a design is unusual, I first build a prototype in a cheaper material to test the shapes and the techniques before using good leather.

Two purses side by side on a cutting mat. On the left, a rough prototype in pink and turquoise material with visible hand stitches. On the right, the finished purse in brown and blue leather, open, showing inner loops and neat saddle stitching.

On the left, the prototype. On the right, the final purse in leather.

A prototype also checks the measurements against the real objects the piece must hold. For this purse, I even 3D printed a box with the same dimensions as the item it had to contain.

Making the piece

Then comes the actual making: cutting, preparing the pieces, finishing the edges and stitching everything together. Depending on the complexity, it takes between 1 and 12 hours. Many of these steps are filmed on my YouTube channel.

From my workbench to yours

When I publish a pattern, you get the result of all these steps: a tested design, printable templates, step-by-step instructions and, for many patterns, a making-of video. You can browse them by type of project below.

Available as PDF patterns on the Lord Leathercraft shop.