Upcycling Leather

I was at New2U recently and came across a few old leather bags, belts and even leather jackets. Yes, I know, what would anyone be doing with a leather jacket in our extremely hot and humid climate? Plus, leather does not keep very well in this weather either, it becomes sticky, moldy and changes colour. But still, I do see this material pop up quite regularly at the thrift store.

So, can we upcycle leather? Yes, we can! I have seen some really good projects with the item being given a complete makeover. Are you ready to see some of my favourites? Do you have any you would like to share?



My Poppet turned a fashion disaster leather jacket into a lovely polka dot bag!

Picture from My Poppet

If you have a lot of leather belts, you could use them to breathe life into your dining chairs. This is what Sally did at her blog SallyGoodin.

Picture by Sally Goodin

  
And then there is Peter of Male Pattern Boldness. He turned the leather of part of his old sofa into a cap!

Picture from Male Pattern Boldness

I have always wondered about sewing leather - you need a really good machine with the correct sewing needles, and a Teflon presser foot. But if you want to try sewing by hand, check out this very detailed tutorial by High on Glue.