Reclaimed Leather Binder Clip Padding

This is an instructable to adress a problem we DIYers face with binder clips.

They are cheap, convenient, quite strong... But leave unsighty marks on the workpieces (wood, paper, leather...) So there is a solution that can even be taken off in case you need the clips by themselves.

Step 1:

Necessary materials:

Leather (I used some old ripped upholstery leather I had)

Paper clips

Stuff to sew: Thread (I used polyester 000, from Gütermann) , needles, awl

Contact cement helps in the process

Some time to spare (In order to make 8, I spent 2 hours)

Step 2:

First you need to figure how big your clips are, and so, how big the padding needs to be.

With some fiddling, I reached the conclusion that, for 4cm wide clips, I would need it to be 6 cm wide, and for 3,3cm, I would need 5 cm of width.

It needs, in length, to cover the whole inside of the binder in order to use it all, and the fold itself in order to be kept on.

Step 3:

After cutting all pieces, and testing for fitness, it is time to sew.

The stitching clearance is about 3mm from the edge, and used a standard saddle stitch.

Step 4:

The finished product.

It might not look best (these will never exit the workshop), but it sure works;

Hope you found it inspiring, or at least interesting; ohpe to read you soon!