Making a wrap around American Flag wallet -- An Armadilloman "How I Did That" Photo Blog

One of the most popular designs I have come up with is the wrap around antique American flag wallet.  I have made and sold dozens of these.  I made another one this past week and photographed the process so that I can take you along the way to creating this wallet.

This wallet is always popular around Fathers Day.  By wrapping around the flag to produce a flip side I solved the design  problems (at least in my mind) of a conventional wallet and the American flag being different proportions.  The inside is hand colored and crafted.  I demonstrated how I made wallet interiors HERE so I won't go through that again today.  Check that out when you have the time.

It all starts out with a wallet back sized piece of 3-4 oz. vegetable tanned cowhide.  I cover the back with packing tape to keep the leather piece from stretching out of square as I tool it.  

I use a pattern made from a flag jpeg I downloaded, printed to the size of a wallet back and taped together with a flipped image to make the wrap around.  The leather beneath is dampened so that when I trace the pattern an impression will be left in the leather. 

Here is what the leather looks like after I have traced the pattern and used it to make a grid to position the stars.

Its a simple design but stupidly hard to get 50 stars lined up and in the right place without some leather prep.  I put a mark at the intersections of the grid lines so I know exactly where each star should go.

Then I just stamp the stars carefully at each spot marked on the leather.  

Then with a straight edge and a leather tool called a swivel knife I cut the stripes into the leather.

With a matting tool I mash down the leather in the red stripes.

And with a shading tool I texture the leather on the white stripes

Add the flag colors of blue for the star field, red for the stripes and some clear acrylic on the white strips to act as a resist so that dye from the next step will leave the white stripes a natural leather color.

The Hi-Lite stain is applied liberally on the wallet back, working it into every tooling mark and then the leather is set aside and allowed to dry.

When the Hi-Lite stain is dry, a wet paper towel is used to scrub off the excess and the color mostly comes off of the white stripes.

Stitching holes are punched into the back and interior.

And the wallet is hand stitched together

The edges are leveled with a dremel rotary tool sporting a sanding drum and then dyed.

The edges are burnished and finished with a dremel with a burnishing bit.

Clear coat of acrylic finish and the wallet is complete.

Want one of these flag wallets for your very own?  Send me a 100 Steem I will ship you one!

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