Cricut Project: DIY Suede Keychains and Bookmarks with Iron-on

Every time we think that we’ve exhausted all the projects we’d like to try with our Cricut machines, a new idea always comes to mind. Perhaps crafting really is a gift that keeps on giving! Speaking of presents, we’ve made these DIY suede leather keychains and bookmarks for friends and family a few months ago. We even customized them with symbols and names using iron-on htv (heat transfer vinyl). Today, we’re sharing how we did it so you can make some for yourself too! Enjoy!

Tools & Materials

• suede/leather
• split ring or swivel hook
• rivets
• wooden ring
• iron-on vinyl (HTV)
• Cricut Maker (Joy or Explore Air 2)
• Cricut Rotary Blade
• Cricut Premium Fine Point Blade
• Cricut Standard Grip Mat (Green)
• Cricut Weeder Tool (optional)
• Cricut Scraper & Spatula (optional)
• Cricut Applicator & Remover Kit (optional)
• Cricut Essentials Tools Set (optional)

Cricut Project: DIY Suede Keychains and Bookmarks with Iron-on

Step 1: Prepare your materials! Make sure you have all the things you need with you before you start your project.

Step 2: Create a new project on Cricut Design Space and upload the PNG or SVG file for your keychains and bookmarks. You may also create shapes on the console itself!

Step 3: To cut your suede or the base part of our keychain and bookmark, install the Cricut Rotary Blade on your Cricut Maker.

Step 4: Place your chosen suede/leather on a Cricut Standard Grip Cutting Mat (green).

Step 5: Load mat into the machine by pressing the button on your Cricut Maker.

Step 6: On your Design Space console, click “make it”.

Note: You can adjust the size of the keychains and bookmarks depending on how big and small you want them to be. 

Step 7: Choose a material setting. We went for “suede” but do remember that leather and suede brands and suppliers differ in quality so it is always best to do a test cut first. Depending on your material, you may have to adjust the pressure and passes via the “custom materials setting”.

Step 8: Click cut and let the machine do its magic!

Step 9: When the cut is complete, unload the mat and carefully remove the material. You can do this with your hands but if you have any of the accessories/tools available, they’ll really make your life easy.

Step 10: You can choose to stop at this point but we wanted to personalized these bookmarks and keychains so we added names and designs using iron-on (heat transfer vinyl)!

We previously wrote an entire post about working with iron-on vinyl. Click here to read all about it.

Step 11: After cutting and weeding out your iron-on design, you can now press it to your suede cutouts. You can choose to do this with a mini press or a regular clothes iron. For this project, we used the latter.

Step 12: Add your chosen hardware. You can pick between a split ring or swivel hook for your keychain. For the bookmarks, we added wooden rings instead.

Step 13: To fasten the two sides of the suede together, you can either use leather glue or some rivets. 

That’s it and now you have some personalized suede keychains and bookmarks! Have fun experimenting with different colors of suede/leather and varying hues and/or textures of iron-on vinyl.

No Cricut Maker? No problem! You can also cut suede and leather using a handheld rotary cutter or precision cutter. Just print out the template and use it as a guide to cut.

Don’t have the tools to cute suede or leather? No worries! We’ve made these suede keychain blanks available too for you to customize! Click the button below to shop them.

Where to Get Cricut Machine + Accessories

Don’t know where to get a Cricut Joy, Explore Air 2 or Maker, accessories and materials in the Philippines? Our shop delivers nationwide! Click below to browse.

If you decide to create these DIY Suede Keychains and Bookmarks with your Cricut, feel free to show us! We’d love to see what you make. You can find and tag us on our various social channels: Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Tiktok and Instagram. Got any Cricut related questions? Check out our Cricut Basics: Blades, Mats and Machine Differences post or see our other Cricut Projects here.