Leather lawnmower grips

I'm proud of myself. I got this project done start to finish this afternoon, something I'd been planning to do for months.

This is my lawnmower, before I worked on it (that's an old picture, obviously; I forgot to take a new before picture). I've had it about three years now and really like it. Today I had just started mowing the lawn when a storm moved in fast; I hurried into the garage just as the sky opened up, so I was stuck there for a while unless I wanted to get wet. Then I realized I had everything I needed to try replacing the torn-up sponge handlebar grips with leather.

This is the tutorial I read originally and wanted to try. I couldn't find anything that resembled what that guy calls cotton tape, though. Eventually I gave up looking. But the other day I was in the Dollar General, poking around so it wouldn't look like I'd only really come in to buy a candy bar, and I found some of that rubbery stuff they sell for putting in the bottom of drawers.

Wait, I'm going to do this as a proper tutorial because the project turned out so well.

YOU WILL NEED: some fairly thick leather (most big craft stores sell bags of leather scrap for about $5 each), that rubbery stuff that goes in the bottom of drawers, embroidery needles (they're sharp but have big eyes JUST LIKE ME), upholstery thread or other strong thread, cheap scissors don't use your good scissors what is wrong with you (or an X-acto knife or rotary blade), awl. Not pictured: awl.

The drawer liner goes first, giving the grips some cushion and acting as a non-slip surface. Figure out what size you need and cut two pieces. I used masking tape to hold it in place while I wrapped each piece around the handlebar. I made my pieces long enough to wrap two or three times. Wrap firmly but don't be obsessive about it--this stuff stretches. Once it's wrapped, hold it in place with another piece of masking tape.

Now sew the drawer liner in place. I used a blanket stitch but whatever you want to use will work. No one will see this part. Make sure to pick up all the layers when stitching; you want to feel that needle slide off the metal when you stitch. Knot securely when you're done.

Next cut a piece of leather for each grip, making it just big enough to wrap around but not overlap itself. It's better to cut the piece a tiny bit too small than too big. Leather stretches and you can pull the ends together if you need to, but if it's too big it'll look messy. I used a scrap piece of drawer liner to measure what size piece I needed because it's a lot easier to cut. Then I used that piece as a template, placed it on the back side of the leather, and used tailor's chalk (what I had on hand; anything will work) to mark out the pieces. Then I used cheap scissors to cut the leather. I had to trim a bit to get the pieces just right, holding them onto the handlebars to see how well they fit before I put them in place. This is worth taking your time over.

Now you need an awl. As it happens I do have an awl, and I'm so pleased I finally needed it for something. I didn't measure this part, just eyeballed it, because I'm not obsessive about detail and I like stuff to look sort of homemade and organic. Also I was already getting bored. Just make sure you put the same number of holes in each long side and that they have about the same spacing. After I did one side, I folded the top over to use as a guide for the other side. I still had to add a hole while sewing later.

Now go over to that other guy's tutorial and read it, because he makes it way clearer than I do and also he did a better job with his grips. Basically, you have a very long (about a yard) piece of thread with a needle at each end, and you use those needles to seam the grips just like lacing a tennis shoe. I used a rubber band to keep the leather in place while I was sewing, so I would have both hands free. As you complete each new pair of stitches, pull the previous pair good and tight. You don't want any loose threads that could snag on anything and snap later.

Doesn't that look good? I'm so proud of myself. They're nice and comfortable too.

By the time I'd finished, it had stopped raining, so I took the mower into the driveway and used copper spraypaint to paint the orange discs on the sides of the wheels. The orange still shows through but it looks a lot better than it did. I'm very pleased with the result!

Of course I still need to mow the lawn.