Leather Candle Holder Instructions
1 - Check you have everything in your Candle Holder kit:
- Pre-cut and Punched Leather Pieces
- 3 x Canvas Cloth for burnishing & protecting
- 2 x Binder Clips to help you stitch
- 2 x Colours of Handmade Waxed Thread
- 2 x Keyring Loops
- 2 x Sewing Needles
- 2 x Beeswax Table Candles
You will also need:
- Small pair of scissors
- A little pot of water
- Your quality time, 3-4 hours
2 - Measure the thread.
Your Candle Holder has 10 stitching sections, so you will need to cut 10 x 25cm lengths of thread for each holder. Start by choosing the thread colour that you would like to stitch with, then measure and cut the 25cm piece of wax thread repeat this until there are 10 lengths of thread.
3 - Burnish the edges.
Burnish the middle sections of each leather piece (in between the inner stitch holes and a little beyond, see diagram) do this on both sides.
Image Candle Holder 3 pt 1 to be found and inserted
Do this by dipping your finger in a little bit of water and wiping it along the edge. Be careful not to get any liquid on the leather surface. Using one of the canvas cloths provided, rub the outer edges until smooth and shiny.
-Top Tip-
Use a cotton bud for extra precision when wetting the edge so as not to damage the leather surface.
4 - Thread the needles.
- A. Thread the eye of the needle with the 25cm piece of thread.
- B. Pull through 6-8cm of thread and then pierce the thread.
- C. Pierce the thread again at 1cm distance along the long piece of thread.
- D. Holding the needle tip, pull down the entire thread. This is called locking the needle.
- E. Follow steps A-D with the other end of the thread and second needle.
5 - Place pieces together
Place two pieces of leather with the smooth side facing out - line up the holes on the end and clip them together using the binder clips.
6 - Use saddle stitch
- A. Post the needle through the holes at the bottom corner of the leather.
- B. Pull the needle though so that there is an equal amount of thread on either side of the hole.
- C. Stitching towards yourself, take the left needle and pull it through the next hole, leaving a loop of thread about 10cm long on the side.
- D. Take the second needle and push it through the same hole as the first. Avoid piercing the thread as you do this and pull the other thread tightly to the side as this will help.
- E. Pull both needles away from the leather to form a tight stitch. Repeat this for every stitch hole on this line.
7 - Secure the thread]
When you reach the last hole stitch backward 1 hole to secure the thread.
8 - Cut the threads
Cut the thread as close to the hole as possible and tuck away any visible ends with the back side of your needle.
9 - Re-thread the needle with the next length of thread.
10 - Move into the inner section and repeat the saddle stitch and secure process
11 - Repeat steps 5 to 13 with 4 more new strips of leather, joining them together as you go.
After the last one has been attached, join that one to the free end of the first strip you joined. You should then have a closed shape with 5 points.
12 - Final burnish of Leather
Give a final burnish to all the newly joined edges.
13 - Repeat steps 5 to 17 to make your second Candle Holder
Ta-daa! Congratulations - you have now finished your personally crafted .Ar:ti|sans Candle Holders. These will create the perfect table or mantlepiece display and when people ask, you will have the joy of telling them you made them yourself!
We would love to see your creation in your home! Share it with us and our crafting community so we can celebrate your leathercraft dexterity. Tag us @artisans.life on Instagram (using the hashtag #artisanslife), drop us an email or leave us a review on our website to tell us what you enjoyed most about the making experience.
P.S. Did you recognise our Keyring Kit wrapped in your thread? Now you can now practice your leathercraft skills further by crafting your very own leather keyring! Click here to access the Keyring Craft Kit instructions blog.
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