DIY Leather Heart Garland

by Tarnished Royalty

6 Materials

My favorite kind of crafty project are the ones that are quick and easy and inexpensive. And if I have most or all the supplies on hand already, even better. Whether you already have the supplies for this project or not, there are very few things needed. With Valentine's Day coming up (and being a lover of seasonal decorating) I went to work thinking up a simple project to celebrate the holiday. This DIY heart garland is what I came up with.

I wanted it to have an organic feel. So I dug around in my craft supplies, found a bunch of leather strips and knew they would be the perfect material to use.

STEP 1: For each heart, cut two strips of leather, 7 3/8" in length for the outer strip and 6 1/2" in length for the inner strip. The width of my leather ranged from 1/8-3/8".

Like any good hoarder... er um crafter, I also had a bunch of neutral fabric scraps and lace that would complement the leather and soften the design.

STEP 2: Cut strips of fabric (and leather lace if desired) to desired length for the "tails". They will be doubled over so you will want them to be twice the length to allow for that. My cut strips ranged in length from 12-20" and in width from 1/8-1/2". I used 2-3 per heart.

STEP 3: Find the center of each piece of leather and using your pliers pinch it to form the bottom point of the heart.

STEP 4: Fold over one end of the heart and glue a little further than halfway down on the other side.

STEP 5: Allow to dry then overlap and fold over the other piece, gluing in place as shown above.

STEP 6: Once that has dried glue one end of the second (outer) strip to the first heart at the top, center.

STEP 7: Allow to dry then glue the other end in the same manner.

STEP 8: Take the strips of fabric and/or leather lacing and attach each to the bottom of the heart with a slipknot.

This DIY is actually a two-fer. For my second, smaller garland I cut heart shapes out of an old leather belt. It was a little bit more work than the first one but I like the way it turned out.

STEP 1: Draw or print a heart shape in desired size (mine is approx. 1 1/2″ x 1 1/2″). Using the paper heart as a template, draw around it onto the leather to make five hearts.

STEP 2: Cut them out using heavy duty scissors or a razor knife. Don’t worry if the edges are ragged and uneven, the lace will cover that up.

STEP 3: Decorate each heart with lace, covering entire heart or using it as a trim around the edges. Glue lace in place and trim.

STEP 4: Cut a leather lace or strip 2-3 feet long. This will be your garland base.

STEP 5: Unless you happen to have grommets in your leather hearts, you will want to attach them by punching a hole at the top of each heart. You can use a nail and hammer to do this or a leather punch. After punching a hole in each heart, attach them to the leather garland base, tying them on with small fabric strips.

Love is in the air!

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Leather strips (craft store)
Fabric and lace scraps
Quick drying glue (hardware or craft store)
Scissors
Pliers
Optional for bonus project: leather belt or leather scraps (closet or craft store)

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1 question

Debbie Stewart on Jan 08, 2023

Really love both of these!!! I wonder if these other ladies saw you put 2 ideas on?? Loved the first but then the leather belt?? Love it

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2 comments

Brenda S. on Jan 30, 2017
Love this vintage look!!

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Thea on Jan 14, 2020

This is incredibly classy! Pity you didn’t get more likes because this is very stylish!

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