Embossed Leather Tags

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I have cut a lot of things with my Cricut but up until recently I hadn't tried leather. When I went to the Cricut Mountain Make-a-thon this summer and they talked about the Maker cutting leather and I started thinking about projects I could make. While there I also went to a class where we used the Cuttlebug and the person teaching the class mentioned that it would emboss other materials beyond paper and card stock, one of which was leather. I had never really used a Cuttlebug before and since I don't do a ton of paper crafting I hadn't ever really considered getting one. Then I had the idea for this project and decided I needed to get one.

I have seen a lot of people add wood or leather tags to their crochet projects. I thought, why not try to make my own. I used a deep cut blade on my Cricut Maker to cut out the tags. The knife blade is not out yet but it is supposed to cut leather really well too, I found that the deep cut blade worked pretty well. I had a couple of the holes that didn't cut all the way through but it cut enough that I was able to poke it through with a needle. I then used the Cuttlebug to emboss the tags.

If you want tags that have a logo or other very specific desgn then this method may not give you what you want but I thought it added a fun little addition to a simple crocheted hat. It makes it look a little more professional and finished. I made several different sizes. Some that could be folded over the edge  of a hat or blanket, some that can be sewn on flat. I also used several different embossing folders as I made the tags. There are some that had all over patterns and others that had a single embossed image, like a heart.

I tried some other materials, like faux leather and faux suede, to see if you could get a similar effect but, although they cut easier, they did not hold the embossing. I had the best results with the genuine and metallic leather.

How to Make Embossed Leather Tags

You will need:

• Cricut Maker (a Cricut Explore should work as well)
• Deep Cut Blade and Housing
• Strong Grip Mat
• Leather (I used Cricut Brand Genuine Leather in Camel and Metallic Leather in Bronze)
• Cricut Cuttlebug
• Embossing Folders (I used Mosaic,  Girly Girl, and Basic Shapes)

Instructions:

The first thing you will need to do is create your design. You can find the tags I designed HERE if you would like to use them. I just made rectangles in a variety of sizes with rounded corners. Then I sliced small circles to make the holes to sew the tags onto my crochet projects. 

Leather is a little bit more difficult to cut than other materials, you will need to trim your leather so that it is only 11 inches across. Then you will want to push the little white wheels on the machine all the way over to the right side. Place your leather smooth side down on on the strong grip mat so that the left side is lined up on the edge and the right side is one inch over from the edge. Press the leather down really well. You may want to use a brayer if you have one, or just make sure you press it down really well. Use the deep cut blade in the deep cut housing. Cut the tags. I had some trouble with all of the holes cutting through all the way but I was able to use a large needle to poke them open (they cut most of the way so I just had to help it along a little) another option would be to use an awl to poke the holes rather than cutting them with the Cricut.

Once your tags are cut you are ready to emboss. Choose the embossing folder you want and place the tag wher you want it. If you want the design in a specific place make sure you put it exactly where you want it. Use the same plates you would normally use for embossing, A, B, Folder, B. Then run it through the Cuttlebug. It does not go through super easy because the leather is thick, I was worried I would break it the first time I cranked it through but I have done it several time with no problems. After you get it all the way through the machine open up your folder and your tag should be embossed and ready to go. 

I made them so that the longer ones could fold over the edge and I sewed throught the front and back holes at the same time. The smaller squares I just sewed on the front.