How-To: Golden Leather Leaves Earrings

Craft & Design

Banner Diy-Fashion

By Sonya Nimri
Everyone’s got a leather skeleton or two in their closet: be it a patchwork leather coin purse, worn-through ballet flats that you may never wear again, or a mistake of fashion past like a gold leather mini-skirt. Now you can take these long-hidden hides and repurpose them into something fab, like this fashion-forward pair of earrings. It takes so little leather, you can make many pairs with whatever doomed leather good you happen to find. Or, if gold leather is not in your wardrobe, leather scraps are readily available at fabric stores. Plus, these suckers are so small you may even be able to make a pair with nothing more than a free sample swatch.


Leatherleavesearrings Supplies
Materials
Brown Sharpie
5″ x 3″ scrap of gold leather
Needle and gold thread
Scissors
2 fishhook earrings
Fabric glue

Directions
Leatherleavesearrings Step1
Step 1: Cut approximately 16 golden leaves of varying sizes – two leaves in each size – so the earrings match. Mine are all 1″ long or smaller. I cut two 1″ leaves and a bunch of smaller ones to fan on each side of the larger leaves, then two more 1″ leaves for the top where the earring hooks attach. I didn’t make them all exactly the same because, as in nature, each leaf is one of a kind.
Leatherleavesearrings Step2
Step 2: Layer leaves starting with one large leaf at the bottom and overlapping smaller leaves in a fan.
Leatherleavesearrings Step3
Step 3: Stitch a knotted doubled golden thread through all of the leaves at the top of the grouping, reinforcing it a few times with multiple stitches.
Leatherleavesearrings Step4
Step 4: Add another 1″ leaf over the top of the grouping to cover the joining leaves. Stitch your thread through the bottom third of the leaf. Make sure this leaf is straight because this will also be the leaf that your fishhook is sewn into.
Leatherleavesearrings Step5
Step 5: Sew your fishhook to the back of the top leather leaf, making sure the top of the fish hook is near the top of the leaf. Sew up the length of the fishhook and make a secure knot, then trim.
Leatherleavesearrings Step6
Step 6: Outline each leaf with a brown Sharpie.
Leatherleavesearrings Step7
Step 7: Dab a little fabric glue to the backs of the leaves so they lay how you intend them to. Let dry and voila!
Leatherearrings Final
About the Author:
Author Sonya Nimri
Sonya Nimri lives and crafts in a little house in Venice Beach, Calif. She is the author of two books: Beadalicious and Just for the Frill of It. Visit her at www.sonyastyle.com for lots of project ideas.

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