While recently laid up in bed I finally lost patience with my cheap mobile and ordered something more modern and supported.
Problem is; the old mobile’s best feature was a really nice wallet case that I’d engraved myself and actually drew compliments. The new phone just came with a rubber bump case; I can find wallet cases for it online but none of them appeal to me.
So; needing a project I punted 16Eur on a 1kg leather grab bag, and similar for a basic leather-working toolkit. This, combined with the laser etc should translate to a new case built around the supplied Bump-Case.
I was really pleased with the leather bag, various weights of nice supple leather, and proper off-cuts, not scraps. The toolkit is reasonable, my current sewing kit is minimal so I needed the correct tools.
I’ll be using OpenSCAD to generate the SVG’s, cutting leather and plastic stiffeners on the laser(*), gluing and stitching by hand, then engraving patterns, and adding closures etc.
Next step is to cut this out of card and test fit. The critical bit being the camera cutout, I very much doubt if this will be correct just from measurement.
I’ll then build out the various pieces in SCAD and then work on how to layer it up. Basically leather inside/out, plastic plates to stiffen. This will have a split back plate so I can prop it up. Also card slots inside cover, a magnetic closure and lanyard point.
Gives me confidence that I can do all the cutting on my diode machine. and cut the stitching holes too. Perhaps the best advice is in the first video; covering the material in masking tape when cutting to avoid staining the piece with fumes and smoke.
I’ve also watched a bunch of more traditional Leathercrafting videos, which have given me some hints on what I need to do, how I should plan, stitch and prepare the leather etc.
I’m going to make a couple of practice pieces first; card holders and keytags.
