Crafting My Own Leather Lighter Case (2005)
I don’t smoke, but I often use a lighter to finish thread ends when working with leather, so I decided to make a leather case for it. If you buy one like this, it’s surprisingly expensive (around 2,500 yen), even though the structure itself is quite simple.
I tried making it both by hand-stitching and with a sewing machine, and although hand-stitching was more demanding, the result felt much nicer. The leather was given to me by a friend — I believe it is what’s commonly known as saddle leather.
Process:
- Cut the leather and stitch the edges.
- Soak the leather in warm water until it softens, place the lighter inside, and let it dry while it forms to the shape.
(This takes about a day, so it works well to shape it at night and use it the next morning.)
