Make Your Own Leather Drawstring Pouch

Keep your loose change or other small stuff safe inside this handy leather pouch.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

• About 24” of artificial sinew or strong waxed thread
• Glover’s needle
• Sharp leather awl
• Hobby knife
• Ruler
• Mallet or light hammer
• Rectangle of soft thin leather 5” x 6 3/4”
• Beeswax (if you use thread)
• 12” strip of soft leather 3/8” in width

WHAT YOU’LL DO

1. Cut out a 5” x 6 3/4” rectangle of thin leather.

2. Fold the leather rectangle so that the rough side is facing out and the edges are touching. Set the leather on a block of soft wood. This protects the point of the awl. Then, with the awl, punch holes 1/8” apart along the edges. Keep the holes 1/8” from the edge.

3. Wax a 24” length of thread or sinew and thread it into the glover’s needle so that the lengths are uneven. Twist the shorter length around the longer length; it is ready for sewing. (Artificial sinew is flat and comes prewaxed.)

4. Run the needle through the first hole. Leave enough sinew or thread so you can tie a square knot. Run the needle through the next hole. Bring the needle over the top and into the next hole, repeating these steps around the series of punched holes. The rectangle is now a pouch. When you reach the last hole, tie off as shown.

5. Once sewing is completed, turn the pouch right side out.

6. Make a series of 3/8” slits around the bag about 1” down from the top.

7. Thread the 3/8” leather strip through the slits until the ends are even. Pull tight to close. Your pouch is finished.