How to Make a Leather Holder for Your Headphones

Our favorite DIYs are easy to follow, inexpensive, and produce something that feels polished enough to give as a gift. (Though there's no shame in making things for yourself.)

Today: Laura Kaesshaefer shows us how to make an easy, elegant holder for your headphones, so your cords stay clean and clear.

Shiny new headphones fall victim to a messy bag in no time. We all know the feeling of wrangling with the contents of an overstuffed purse in order to pull a pair of tangled (now not so white and shiny) headphones from the depths. 

Enter this clever leather organizer made from just a piece of soft leather and a button stud closure. Make one or a few while waiting for water to boil (the entire process takes about 5 minutes) and you'll be well on your way to a more organized you. If you've got an extra 30 seconds, stamp them with a metal letter set to make sweet monogrammed gifts—and knock out your birthday presents for the whole year.

What You'll Need:

Leather trim sheets, heavy weight
3 1/2-inch circular vessel, for tracing, such as a biscuit cutter, cookie cutter, or circular glass
Scissors
Ruler
Cutting mat
Button stud closures
Japanese screw punch or leather punch (You already have one if you did Laura's leather catch-all DIY!)
Metal stamp set, if personalizing
Hammer, if personalizing

How to Make Leather Headphone Holders:

1. Cut out your organizers. Use your stencil and a pencil to draw circles on the back of the leather trim (the rough side), and cut out the shapes using sharp scissors. Make one circle for each headphone holder.

2. Make holes for the closure. Using a screw punch or leather punch set to fit the size of your studs, make a hole in two opposite sides of the leather circle about 1/2-inch away from the outer edge. Once you create the first hole, fold the circle in half and mark a dot through it to indicate where the opposite hole should be; this ensures an even half-moon shape.

3. Personalize. If you want to add initials to your organizers, place the long edge of a ruler one inch above the exact middle of the circle. Lay out letters on top of the ruler to gauge spacing. Using a hammer, swiftly stamp desired letters into the leather with one hard movement. Decorative metal stamps of any shape can be used to add fluorish all over the holder, so get creative if you desire a less simplistic design.

4. Add hardware. Screw both pieces of the button stud closure into one hole, making sure the longer knob side of the closure faces inward as you fold. Open and close the organizer by pushing the stud head through the opposite hole. 

That's it! Fold up your headphones to fit neatly inside the holder, then button it closed and toss it in your purse. It's easier to find than loose cords, stays closed until you want to pop it open, and keeps your headphones forever untangled and looking like new.

What other DIY project would you like to see on Food52? How do you keep your headphones clean? Let us know in the comments!

Photos by Corynne Pless