Mini Leather Book Earrings

As I mentioned in a few of my recent posts, I just returned from my annual trip to Canada. While there, I traveled to a wool and sheepskin store called Egli’s, which was a few towns over from where I was staying. Egli’s is known to locals for their gloves, moccasins, and other wool and leather products. As I entered, I had a feeling I was not going to be able to afford much in the store, as it was all extremely high quality with many handmade items. But then, right in front of the door, I saw a sign above a bin with large bags of fabrics in it. The sign said, “Scraps 1.50.” SOLD! I picked out one with a bunch of different colored fur, and another with different colored suede. I didn’t weigh it, but I must have left there with about 20lbs of the stuff…for $3!

I immediately texted my friend Meg about a leather bound journal I was going to make with my new find. “I want mini book earrings!” she texted back. And just like that, I had a craft project to make with some of my suede.

 

What you need:

Thin suede or leather

One piece of printer paper

Two jump rings

2 Earring fasteners

6 inches of waxed chord or embroidery floss

Needle

Thread

 

First, I chose a piece of suede large enough for two earrings so the coloring would be consistent. Then I cut out two identical pieces each about 1 1/2 inches x 3/4 of an inch.

 

 

Next, I cut out my paper. I took half a sheet, and kept folding it until I had about the right size. When I cut, I ended up having 8 pieces. You need two of these 8 piece groupings for each book, so four total. I then cut a few millimeters of the width of two of the groupings (these will be the internal pages, it is necessary that they are a little shorter, so when the book folds they don’t stretch out farther than the external pages or the cover.

 

 

 

 

I then opened the folds and put the middle sections on top of the outer sections, and placed the outer sections on top of the piece of leather.

 

 

Laying them flat, I then used a needle and thread to sew the book binding, using only two holes, evenly spaced about a third of the way from the top and a third of the way from the bottom. I stitched this three times for each book, just to be sure it was strong enough, making sure my ends were in the middle of the book. I then cut as close to the knots as I could, to eliminate extra thread.

 

 

I then used the needle to poke a hole near the top of the book to attached the jump ring and earring hook.

 

 

Finally, I took a piece of waxed chord about 3 inches long, folded it in half, and tied a knot at the 2 inch mark. I could have just made a simple know or a bow, but I decided to make it more like a latch. I cut the ends off close to the knot, wrapped it around the book, and slipped the knot through the loop end. It is necessary to make sure it is tight enough, otherwise this will come apart.

 

 

And there you have it. Book earrings! They are not only adorable, but also functional (if you can write as tiny as a mouse). Just beware, they aren’t waterproof (duh). Be the envy of all your book nerd friends and make a pair for yourself!