The Room Journal: DIY Leather Drawer Pulls

It's back to the grindstone for me.

Christmas Break is over. I've spent two glorious weeks sleeping in, staying up late, hanging out with family and friends, thrifting, decorating and doing projects all day every day and now it's over. Boo.

So let's kick this week off right with a DIY project to help me adjust my attitude a little. I shared my chest of drawers makeover a while back over at Answers.com, but I kept it pretty short and sweet and I didn't go into very much detail about those little leather drawer pulls I made. Today I'm going to show you step by step how I made these little guys.

Supplies Needed:

Real leather remnants (I chose dark brown and I picked it up at a local craft/hobby store.)
X-Acto knife
Cutting board
Scissors
One machine screw, washer and bolt for each pull you plan to make
Drill
Drill bit the size of your machine screws

1. Cut your leather pieces. I made mine 1"x 3". Using the cutting board, I made the first cut with the X-Acto knife to make a nice clean cut in the smooth, shiny side of the leather. Then I went back over the cut with the scissors to cut the suede-y side of the leather.

2. Make a small hole where you want the screw to go through your pull. I had to puncture the leather with the X-Acto knife, then twist it around a few times to make a hole. Make a matching hole at the other end of the strip of leather.

3. Put a washer on the screw, then stick the screw through the two holes you made in the strip of leather. The washer will keep the leather from trying to slip over the end of the screw when you open the drawer.

4. Drill a hole in the drawer or cabinet door where you want the pull. I measured down 2 1/2" on my drawer and found the center. Put the screw through the hole and tighten the bolt on the back inside the drawer.

Good idea: Make sure the screw is pushed all the way through the drawer so it is on there really tight so your leather pulls won't spin around and be upside down on your drawers.

5. Repeat with remaining drawers or cabinet doors. Congratulate yourself for putting stylish pulls on all your drawers for way cheap.