Leather Magazine Holder

What to do:
1. First you’ll want to cut (or have the lumber store cut) your dowel rods and your wood sides to the appropriate sizes.

2. Take your small bowl and trace half the bowl at the bottom of the wood side piece. Trace the entire bowl 4" above the top of your bottom half circle and draw a straight line from the sides of the circle to the top of the wood piece.

3. Use a jigsaw to cut the shapes from your side piece. Make sure that your board is secure so it doesn’t move at all while cutting.

4. Once your shapes are cut, trace the finished side piece onto your uncut second side piece and cut those shapes out as well.

5. Then make holes for the dowel rods. Using a pencil, make a mark in each corner 1.5” from the top or bottom of the boards. Place a scrap piece of wood underneath and use a 5/8" paddle bit to drill a hole at each of those marks. Just drill until the point of the bit pokes through to the other side and then flip the board and finish drilling that hole from the other side (this will give you a cleaner edge).

6. Once your shapes are cut and your dowel holes drilled, sand off any rough edges and apply your stain evenly on all your wood pieces with a cotton cloth. Allow the stain to fully dry and add another coat if desired.

7. While the stain is drying, use a rotary cutter (or an X-Acto knife or fabric scissors) to cut your leather to the appropriate size.

8. Once the size is cut, make a paper template that is 6” x 8” and center it 2” from the end of each of your sides. Cut around this template with an X-Acto knife (you can use masking tape to keep it in place while you cut).

9. Place some fabric glue on the inside of the leather about 1” from the outside edges. Fold each side inward, lining up the cutouts, and allow the glue to dry (the glue helps keep the leather in place while you sew across the leather.)

10. Using a leather needle on your machine, finish your open pocket sides by sewing ½” from the inside edge of your folded piece. Now you have an open pocket on both sides of your leather that you can put your dowel rod through to hang the leather piece on your wooden frame.

11. Once you put your dowel rods through the leather pockets, continue to assemble the magazine holder by putting the dowels into the corresponding holes at each corner (with the dowels holding the leather at the top corners.) Pull each dowel slightly out of its hole and add a small amount of wood glue all the way around the dowel and put the dowel back into the hole to dry. Wipe off any excess glue with a damp rag and allow the glue to set.