Tutorial & Video - Leather coasters

THE NECESSARY EQUIPMENT

To complete this tutorial, you will need:

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

• 1 circular cutter from 1.8 to 17 cm NT Cutter - IC-1500P
• 1 pot of neoprene glue
• 1 jar of tokonole or other slice finish
• 1 abrasive sponge
• 1. Protective finish such as varnish, waterproofing, grease...

For saddle stitching:

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

For simplified sewing:

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

Full video tutorial

Option: dyeing natural vegetable-tanned leather

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

LEARN MORE ABOUT LEATHER DYEING

1. Cut out the different pieces

Cut two 10cm 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 piece of 30x40 cm.

*If you are using the circular cutter, do a preliminary test in paper to check that your diameter is correct.

Next, cut a 9.2 cm circle in the salpa using the circular cutter. Salpa is reconstituted leather (ground leather scraps bound with natural latex) and can be used to add texture or reinforce your creations.

For the simplified stitching version : the salpa is not required because the "domed" effect is much less pronounced than with the saddle stitch version. You can directly drill the 1 mm diameter stitching holes and glue the two pieces of leather together.

2. Glue the salpa and the leather

Apply contact glue to the back of one of the leather circles and to one side of the salpa.

Glue the salpa to the center of the leather circle.

Next, apply glue to the back of the second piece of leather and to the other side of the salpa. Apply a thin layer of glue and spread it evenly (right to the edge but without going over).

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

3. Highlight the rounded effect of the salpa

Using a smoothing tool, flatten the glue at the salpa's edge to create the "domed" effect.

4. Sew the coaster

There are therefore 2 techniques for sewing:

• Saddle stitch sewing
• Simplified sewing with holes

SADDLE STITCH SEWING

A. Draw the seam line

Using a dry-point compass, draw the seam line as close as possible to the salpa (approximately 3 mm from the edge) .

B. Scratching the leather

With a 2-pronged feed dog with a center distance of 3.38 mm: mark the stitch points on the drawn line.

C. Saddle stitch

Sew all around the leather circle with a saddle stitch.

SEE THE COMPLETE GUIDE

SIMPLIFIED SEWING

A. Drill the holes

Punch the 1 mm diameter holes if they were not drilled in step #1.

B. Sewing with a simplified stitch

Sew all around the leather circle with a simplified stitch - with holes.

SEE THE GUIDE

5. Hammer the seams

Flatten the seams with a smoothing tool or a joiner's/rivet hammer. If the coaster is convex, it will be easier to use a smoothing tool.

6. Work the slices

Work on the edges of the coaster. Sand with an abrasive sponge, apply Tokonole and smooth with a smoothing tool.

SLICING WORK GUIDE >

7. Fill in the alphabet

Lightly dampen the leather and mark it with alphabet letters.

SEE THE GUIDE

8. Put on a protective cover

Apply your chosen protective product to shield your coasters from drips. We recommend first applying a grease, then a waterproofing agent or varnish (e.g., Fiebing's Resolene). Allow the grease to soak in for 24 hours.

Here, we applied 1 layer of seal grease and 2 layers of Resolene.

Make a clip for the coasters

To attach and store the coasters together, make a simple fastener with scraps of leather.

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

Wrap one of the straps around the coasters and take the measurements. The strap 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 strips of 27 cm.

Create a decorative border on both strips using a scraper or a forming tool.

Using double-sided tape, stick the two strips together, one on top of the other, forming 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 3 mm diameter hole on all 3 ends at the previously marked location.

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

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

You're done!