Leathercraft journal with project plans, pattern grids and stitch guide

This leathercraft journal helps makers plan every wallet, belt and bag, keep hides and tools in order, and remember exactly how each item came together. Its 45 undated pages bring 12 project plans with matching logs, a leather guide with weights in oz and mm, an easy saddle stitch reference, notes on spacing and edges, lists for tools, hides and hardware, true scale grids for drafting patterns, idea pages and a costing worksheet. The US Letter and A4 PDF files download instantly, and nothing is shipped.

It is the calm, orderly workshop notebook you wish you had started years ago.

How a leathercraft journal improves every project

Every project spreads across two pages. First you plan: what you are making, how big it will be, which leather and thickness, a 1/4 in grid to draw the pattern, spacing, thread and where the stitches run, how you will treat the edges, color and topcoat, hardware and what pieces to cut. Then you log: as many as 10 sessions at the bench, what you used and spent, a 12 point checklist that starts with cutting and ends with conditioning, the hard parts, and changes you would make.

Template sheets come out true to scale with either 1/4 in or 5 mm squares and a bar to verify the print, letting you draw a card holder or key fob directly on paper. Your hides, tools, thread and go-to patterns end up recorded together, and the costing sheet shows the real price of making each item.

Made for these makers

• Beginners learning to saddle stitch who want a clear reference and somewhere to note what worked
• Hobby leatherworkers making wallets, belts, key fobs and bags who need to remember weights, spacing and finishes
• Makers who draft patterns of their own and want true scale grids to sketch on
• Anyone selling a few items at markets or to friends who wants to know the real cost of each piece

Design and printing

• Elegant, minimal look: white pages with soft blush pink details that use very little ink
• Generous margins, so home printing never clips the edges
• Portrait pages in A4 (210 x 297 mm) and US Letter (8.5 x 11 in)
• Undated, so any project in any year can be your starting point
• Grid pages come out at true scale when printed at 100%, with a check bar to confirm
• Only generic material and tool names, so it fits any leather, thread or tool kit
• Use it in a binder or on a clipboard, or get it spiral bound at a print shop
• Reference pages need printing only once. Run off fresh copies of pages 11 to 34 and the grid and idea sheets (35 to 40) as you use them, always at 100% or Actual size so grid squares measure correctly

Inside the leathercraft journal: 45 pages

1. 1Cover page and contents
2. 2A welcome and how to use it, why you love leatherwork, what you want to make this season, your style, colors and favorite leather, plus a safety box about sharp tools, dyes and finishes
3. 3Leather explained: vegetable tanned, chrome tanned, oil or wax tanned, suede and splits, and the different parts of a hide, followed by a weight chart from 1 oz (0.4 mm) up past 12 oz showing what each thickness suits, and a table for leathers you have worked with
4. 4Saddle stitch basics in four simple diagrams (mark and punch, thread two needles, stitch each hole, backstitch and finish), with your own stitching notes and common fixes
5. 5Stitching, edge and finishing notes: spacing from 2.7 mm up to 5 mm converted to stitches per inch, guidance on thread size and how much to cut, five steps to a smooth edge, five steps for dye and topcoat, and a table to save the settings that gave you good results
6. 6Tool list with 20 rows (16 everyday tools named, among them craft knife, pricking irons, stitching awl, wing divider, edge beveler and burnisher) showing size, have, need and notes, along with a sharpening log and a wish list
7. 7Hide inventory with 20 rows for leather, tannage, color, weight, size or area, cost, storage spot and reorder, plus a list of scraps and leathers to hunt for
8. 8Inventory for thread, hardware and finishes, with tables for thread, hardware (rivets, snaps, buckles, rings, zippers) and for dyes, finishes and glue including the date opened
9. 9Cost and pricing sheet with the formula, a worked sample, how to calculate leather cost per square foot, three piece calculations and a price list
10. 10An index for projects 1 to 12 and beyond, listing item, leather, kept, gifted or sold, a heart for favorites and page numbers, plus your proudest pieces and those to repeat
11. 11 to 34Twelve projects, each with a plan sheet and a log sheet. On the plan you record the name, the person it is for, what kind of item, finished width, height and depth, the pattern pieces, a sketch on 1/4 in grid, the hide's type, weight, color and any lining, stitch spacing, thread type and size, how much thread to cut, how far the stitch line sits from the edge, edge treatment, dye and topcoat, hardware, what to cut and five steps. On the log you note start and end dates, hours in total, leather consumed, ten sessions, a table of materials with costs, a twelve point checklist, the hard parts, changes for next time, a score out of 5 and the item's final destination
12. 35 and 36Pattern pages on a true scale 1/4 in grid with bolder 1 in squares and a 2 in check bar
13. 37 and 38Pattern pages on a true scale 5 mm grid with bolder 1 cm squares and a 5 cm check bar
14. 39 and 40Idea pages with 8 small grid boxes for item, leather and details
15. 41Ideas and inspiration: things to make, gift ideas, colors and leathers you love, details to try and notes on what inspires you
16. 42Sixteen skills to build, from cutting clean curves and skiving through to wet molding and setting zippers, each scored 1 to 5 with practice notes, plus the next skill on your list and practice pieces
17. 43A pattern library with 24 rows for pattern, item, pieces, leather and weight, where it is kept and times made
18. 44Finished piece record with 20 rows for date, piece, leather, recipient, gift or sold, price and notes, with totals
19. 45Lined notes

Your files

• Leathercraft Journal, US Letter PDF (45 pages)
• Leathercraft Journal, A4 PDF (45 pages)
• Read Me First, a brief PDF printing guide

How to download and print

• Check out with PayPal, a debit or credit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Your download page opens as soon as the payment goes through.
• We email the same private download links to you, so you can download your files again later.
• Open the PDF in a free reader such as Adobe Acrobat Reader and print at 100% or Actual size.
• Print only the pages you need, as often as you like, for your own personal use.

Good to know

• This PDF is meant for printing and is not a hyperlinked digital planner. You can import it into most note taking apps and write on it there.
• You receive a digital download. No physical item is shipped.
• On paper, colors can look a little different from the screen.
• Personal use only. Please do not share, resell or redistribute the files.
• Digital files cannot be returned, but if a file fails to open or print properly, email us and we will help right away.
• Leatherworking tools are extremely sharp. Cut on a mat and away from your body, keep tools away from children, and work with dyes, glues and finishes in a well ventilated space while following their labels.
• The reference pages give general guidance only. Test on a scrap of the same leather before starting.
• The pricing worksheet is a simple planning aid, not financial or tax advice.

How this was made

Designed and written by PetiteDiary. AI tools helped draft parts of the text, and some background scenes in the preview images were created with AI. Every page was designed, reviewed and checked before release.

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