Tutorial & Video - Leather coasters

MATERIALS NEEDED

To complete this tutorial, you will need:

• 1 piece of vegetable-tanned leather butt, dyed or natural, 30 x 40 cm (to make 4 double-layered coasters) and 1.5 mm thick
• 1 piece of Salpa synderme reinforcement - 30x40cm - 1 mm thick

 

• 1 NT Cutter - IC-1500P circular cutter, 1.8 to 17 cm
• 1 pot of neoprene glue
• 1 pot of Tokonole or other edge finishes
• 1 abrasive sponge
• 1 protective finish like varnish, waterproofing agent, grease, etc.

 

For saddle stitching:

• 1 precision stitching chisel - 3.38 mm - No. 8 - 2 teeth
• 1 card of 8m MeiSi super fine waxed linen thread M40 - Ø 0.45 mm
• 1 mini direct-reading compass - dry point

 

For simplified stitching:

• 1 round punch - Ø 1 mm
• 1 card of 8m MeiSi super fine waxed linen thread M60 - Ø 0.65 mm

 

Full tutorial video

Option: Dyeing natural vegetable-tanned leather

If you want to create your own colors for your leather coasters, you can select natural vegetable-tanned leather and dye it!

LEARN MORE ABOUT LEATHER DYEING

1. Cut the different pieces

Cut two 10 cm diameter circles from the leather using the cutting tool of your choice. Here, we decided to use a circular cutter (available on our website - reference TA571).

It is possible to make 4 coasters, i.e., 8 circles, from a 30x40 cm piece.

*If you use a circular cutter, do a preliminary test on paper to check that your diameter is correct.

 

Then, cut a 9.2 cm circle from the Salpa with the circular cutter. Salpa is reconstituted leather (shredded leather scraps then bound with natural latex) and is used to add relief or reinforce your creations.

 

For the simplified stitching version: Salpa is not mandatory because the "domed" effect is much less pronounced than with the saddle stitching version. You can directly punch the Ø 1 mm stitching holes and glue the 2 leather pieces together.

 

2. Glue the Salpa and leather

Apply contact cement to the back of one leather circle and one side of the Salpa.

Glue the Salpa to the center of the leather circle.

 

Then, apply glue to the back of the second leather piece and the second side of the Salpa. Apply a thin layer of glue and spread it well everywhere (going to the edge but not exceeding it).

 

 

Glue the second leather circle onto the Salpa, edge-to-edge with the other leather circle.

 

3. Mark the domed effect of the Salpa

Using a leather slicker, flatten the glue joint at the Salpa’s edge to emphasize the "domed" effect.

 

4. Sew the coaster

There are 2 techniques for stitching:

• Saddle stitching
• Simplified hole stitching

 

SADDLE STITCHING

A. Mark the stitch line

Using a dry-point compass, mark the stitch line as close as possible to the Salpa (approximately 3 mm from the edge).

 

B. Chisel the leather

Using a 2-tooth chisel with 3.38 mm spacing: mark the stitch points along the traced line.

 

C. Saddle stitch

Sew around the entire leather circle with a saddle stitch.

VIEW THE COMPLETE GUIDE

 

SIMPLIFIED STITCHING

A. Punch the holes

Punch Ø 1 mm holes if they were not already punched in step 1.

 

B. Sew with simplified stitching

Sew around the entire leather circle with simplified hole stitching.

VIEW THE GUIDE

 

5. Hammer the seams

Flatten the seams with a leather slicker or a jeweller's/riveting hammer. If the coaster is domed, it will be easier to use a leather slicker.

 

6. Finish the edges

Finish the edges of the coaster. Sand with an abrasive sponge, apply Tokonole, and smooth with a leather slicker.

EDGE FINISHING GUIDE >

 

7. Apply alphabet marking

Lightly moisten the leather and mark it with alphabet letters.

VIEW THE GUIDE

 

8. Apply a protective finish

Apply the protective finish of your choice to protect your coasters from spills. We recommend applying grease first, then a waterproofing agent or varnish (e.g., Fiebing's Resolene) 24 hours later, to allow the grease to soak in.

Here, we applied 1 coat of mink oil and 2 coats of Resolene.

 

 

Make a holder for the coasters

To tie and store the coasters together, make a simple holder with leather scraps.

Cut 2 strips 1.5 cm wide and approximately 30 cm long.

 

Wrap one of the strips around the coasters and measure. The strip should overlap by approximately 1.5 cm.
Cut off the excess and do the same for the second strip.

For example, for 4 coasters, you need two 27 cm strips.

 

Make a decorative line on both straps with a groover or creaser.

Using double-sided tape, glue the two strips onto each other to form a cross.

 

Place the coasters in the center of the cross and bring 3 ends of the straps together. Mark the center of these three ends.

Make a Ø 3 mm hole on the 3 ends at the previously made mark.

Then, screw in a collar button to hold the 3 layers together.

On the remaining end, make a Ø 3mm round hole with a punch and a 3 mm slit with a cutter to allow the collar button head to pass through.

 

You're done!