Monogrammed Leather & Canvas Dopp Bag Tutorial

If you’re looking for a handmade gift idea that feels both practical and personal, this monogrammed leather Dopp bag tutorial is a great project to sew. Combining canvas, leather accents, and a custom monogram, this DIY toiletry bag is perfect for travel, Father’s Day gifts, graduations, birthdays, or Christmas.

One of the best things about this leather Dopp kit sewing project is that it looks polished and professional while still being approachable for confident beginner sewists. The tutorial walks you through sewing with leather on a home sewing machine and includes tips for working with heavier materials, metal zippers, and leather details.

By combining leather with canvas instead of sewing an entire bag from leather, the project is much more beginner-friendly while still achieving that elevated, handmade look.

For Christmas this year, I felt like I made a MILLION zip pouches; in actuality, it was obviously not that many, but I felt like it!  I kept going back to the store to buy more zippers.  

I’ve had loads of fun sewing with leather this year. It’s been a bit of trial and error for sure (the all-leather handbag I tried was a giant FAIL), but I’ve had success using it as trim on smaller projects, like in the laptop case tutorial found here.

This year I challenged myself to make something for the Moms and Dads in the family…. duh duh duuuhhh… (that’s supposed to be spooky organ music, in case you were wondering). Yes, I sewed for grown men. I hope they didn’t mind. After my husband stole the necktie zip pouches I made, I was encouraged and thought I’d give sewing for guys another try.

I got my leather at my local Tandy Leather. They have a “scrap” pile, and I go through it, sorting out pieces I can use.

Okay, so on to the tutorial!

Monogrammed Leather Dopp Kit Tutorial

Melissa Mortenson

If you’re looking for a handmade gift idea that feels both practical and personal, this monogrammed leather Dopp kit tutorial is a great project to sew

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Equipment

• exacto knife or ecutting machine
• Leather Needle
• Teflon Foot for Sewing Machine
• Walking foot for Sewing Machine
• Zipper foot for Sewing Machine
• Sewing Machine (I recommend BERNINA or Bernette)
• Basic Sewing Tools

supplies

• 3 pieces of leather 9” x 4” plus 2 1” x 1” scraps. The best way to cut leather is with a dedicated rotary cutter so that it won’t dull your good scissors.
• 2 pieces of canvas 9” x 12”
• 1 9” metal zipper
• 2 pieces of fabric for the lining 9” x 12”
• Freezer Paper
• black fabric paint
• Heavy Duty Thread

Instructions

 

• To begin, use a fabric-safe pen to mark the centers of one of your canvas pieces.
  
• Cut out a monogram (less than 4” wide) out of freezer paper using an exacto knife or an electronic cutting device like a silhouette or Cricut. You could also use a metal die-cut alphabet like the ones from Lifestyle Crafts, if you don’t want to invest in an electronic cutting machine.
• Center the monogram on the canvas piece and iron it onto the canvas with the shiny side of the freezer paper facing down.
  
• Use black fabric paint to fill in the monogram. Let it dry completely, and don’t get too much paint on the fabric, or your monogram might bleed.
  
• Peel off the paper from the monogram. Using binding clips, clip 2 of the leather pieces to the two edges of the canvas. With a leather needle in your machine and a Teflon foot, Stitch using a stitch length of 4 down the edges of the leather. If your leather slides around too much, you can use a glue stick to hold it in place.
  
• Repeat for the 2nd canvas piece, the back of the pouch. Make sure that when the front and back pieces are lined up, the leather does not overlap. You don’t want to stitch through more than one layer of leather when you are assembling the dopp kit.
  
• Attach the 2 1” x 1” squares of leather to the ends of the zipper so that the entire zipper piece is 11” long. Stitch in place.
• Follow the directions on the Necktie Zip Pouch to finish the rest of the Dopp kit.
• Pair the Dopp Kit with one of the necktie pouches and fill them up with some goodies, and you’ve got a fun little gift!
  

Note the following:

• -Use a walking foot when sewing all of the layers of the case together
• -The lining is not lined with fusible fleece (as the necktie pouch is)
• -Curve the bottom corners of the case as you sew. Clip the curves before you turn it right side out.

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Love this tutorial? Get the behind the scenes on Instagram

This personalized travel pouch is also a fantastic scrap-friendly sewing project. You can customize the monogram, choose different canvas colors, or swap in alternative leather finishes to create a bag that fits any style. This DIY leather toiletry bag is a useful handmade gift that will get plenty of use for years to come.