DIY leather patterns: make your own leather goods

LeatherCompass is a free catalog of patterns for people who make leather goods by hand: wallets, card holders, bags, backpacks, belts, shoes and accessories. We gather patterns from makers around the world in one place — with photos of finished pieces, difficulty ratings, video tutorials and links to the makers. The catalog has 216 patterns from 124 makers: 178 are free to download and 116 come with a video tutorial. By difficulty: 27 easy, 122 medium and 66 hard; 161 print on A4 paper at home.

216 patterns

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Tenar Belt Key Holder

mediumFree from the maker

Tool Pouch Sewing Case

Heavy boy leathercraft

Jaindiana leather works

Leather Pattern Story

medium

Vestin Tool Organizer

Flint Hunter's Document Holder

Brumel Car Key Wallet

Nevar Document Holder

Novara Notebook Cover

All patterns as a list (216)

Frequently asked questions

Are the patterns free?

178 of 216 are free to download right from the pattern page. The other 38 are on the makers’ sites: we don’t host them and link to the maker instead — free or to their shop.

Which pattern should a beginner start with?

Start with the easy ones: Tenar Belt Key Holder, Samurai Card Holder and Flint Hunter's Document Holder — 27 easy patterns in total. Small projects with few pieces are the easiest way to learn even stitching and edge finishing. All easy patterns in the catalog are in Easy leather patterns for beginners.

Are there video tutorials?

Yes, 116 of 216 come with the maker’s video tutorial, which you can watch right on the pattern page. For example: Levara Zip Wallet, Michaela Bag and Tenar Belt Key Holder. All patterns with video are in Leather patterns with video tutorials.

How do I print a pattern at actual size?

Paper sizes: A4 — 161, Letter — 22, A3 — 17, A0 — 3. Print at 100% scale (“Actual size”) with “Fit to page” turned off, and check the test square or a piece dimension with a ruler before cutting.

What language are the instructions in?

Instruction languages: English — 133, Russian — 14, Japanese — 2, Spanish — 1. Even without the language you can follow the drawings and video tutorial, and titles and descriptions on the site are translated into English, Russian and Spanish.

Where do the patterns come from and who owns them?

The catalog is built from public sources: patterns that makers gave away for free, attached to video tutorials or posted on social media. Rights belong to the makers — every pattern lists its maker and, where known, links to the original and the shop. More in About.