A SCOBY Leather Experiment: Lessons from a First Attempt

Upon learning that SCOBY can be made into leather, I was blown away! I couldn’t stop thinking about creating SCOBY leather.

I decided to use one of my larger SCOBYs for this project, as shown previusly in the vinegar scoby post.

I had some natural red dye and water on hand.

So, I mixed them together and poured the mixture over the SCOBY.

I let it soak for a few hours.

Once it was done soaking, I gently rinsed it and squeezed out the remaining liquid using a cotton cloth.

Use gloves if you don't wanna get caught red-handed :)

It was amazing how much liquid it had; this SCOBY became smaller in volume.

In hindsight, it might be better to let it drain naturally if you’re not in a rush. Since my SCOBY was quite thin, squeezing it caused some damage and created holes.

I noticed that the membrane became tougher after squeezing out the liquid.

I also discovered that you can patch the holes using excess material from the edges; it sticks nicely.

With that in mind, I attempted to make a simple phone sleeve.

I shaped the SCOBY as best I could using a phone box as a mould.

Next, I tried drying it in a dryer.
After 30 minutes, I checked on it and noticed that the SCOBY had started to change colour and shrink slightly. It was also thinner than I expected, so I realized it wouldn’t provide adequate protection unless layered. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough material to create layers, so I abandoned the idea.

Instead, I unfolded and refolded the SCOBY to make a thicker piece of leather.

I’ve now hung it up to air dry.

What should I create with this precious, small piece of leather?

Have a lovely day, everyone!

Mariah ❤️