iPhone 12 Pro Cases in Leather & Wool Felt
Frequently Asked Questions
No. “Pro” on its own does not mean large. The variant with “Pro Max/Plus” in the name is for the big models. An iPhone 12 Pro would have too much room inside it.
No. Our CHESTER hardcase is not produced in this size. For the 12 Pro we make sleeves: KINGSTON in leather, KIRKBY in wool felt with a leather front, and SHETLAND in pure Merino wool felt.
With KINGSTON and KIRKBY, yes, both have sound holes at the lower edge. The SHETLAND in pure wool felt deliberately has no openings.
No. Merino wool felt is far softer than glass. The only thing that matters is that no grain of sand is sitting inside, so shake the sleeve out now and then.
Within the standard class, yes. It runs from the iPhone 17 back to the 12. If you move to a Pro Max or Plus you need the larger variant. If you are unsure, send us your model.
In our own workshop in Hamburg, Germany. Splitting, skiving, cutting, sewing, embossing and final inspection all happen here, and have done since 2011. The leather comes vegetable-tanned from Tuscany, and the Merino wool felt is mulesing-free.
It describes what the hide is preserved with: plant tannins from bark and wood rather than chromium salts. That takes weeks instead of hours and produces an uncoated leather that breathes and darkens over time. Our leather comes from Tuscany, where the process has been practised for centuries.
Not when dry. Vegetable-tanned leather can give off a trace when it is wet and then rubs against pale fabric. If the sleeve has been out in the rain, do not leave it to dry on a light-coloured cushion. This eases off after the first few weeks.
One question decides it: is your iPhone 12 Pro currently in a case you want to keep? If not, take slim. If yes, and it is a smooth, thin case, take wide. With a chunky case with rubberised edges neither width fits, so take the case off while you carry it.
A folio case stays on the device and folds a cover over the screen. It adds bulk permanently, and its hinge is the part that wears out first. A sleeve stays in your bag while you use the phone, the iPhone 12 Pro sits bare in your hand, and there is no moving part that can wear out.
The honest answer: it depends on how you use it. What ages first is not the seam but the surface, on leather as patina, on wool felt as a slight roughening at the thumb notch. Neither is a defect, both are use. Because we make to size classes rather than model names, a sleeve usually outlives the device it was bought for.
Because we work with two natural materials that will not take just any colour. Vegetable-tanned leather can be dyed in dark and light browns without coating the surface. We carry the wool felt in anthracite, red and white. Bright colours would either require a coating or fade after a short time.
Write to us with a photo. We sew in Hamburg ourselves, so we can look at a seam and tell you what can be done. And if a sleeve does not fit when you unpack it, the 30-day right of return applies.
The standard size. With KINGSTON “iPhone 17/16e/16/Pro + ältere bis 12”, with KIRKBY “iPhone 17/16e/16/Pro + ältere ab 12”, with SHETLAND “iPhone 16/16 Pro/16e + ältere ab 12”. The 12 Pro has the same footprint as the iPhone 12 and sits in this class.
No. The pattern is laid out so that the plateau goes in with the phone, and it then sits fully inside the Merino wool felt. That is one of the advantages over a hardcase, where the lenses stay on the outside.
Yes, that is what the KINGSTON in the wide fit is for. It takes a device in a smooth clear case or a thin leather case. The slim fit is for the bare device. Chunky outdoor cases do not fit.
Yes. KINGSTON and KIRKBY have a charging cable cutout at the lower edge. With the SHETLAND you take the iPhone 12 Pro out to charge it.
It is firm, and that is intended. A sleeve has to sit tightly without jamming, otherwise the device slides out when you bend down. After the first few weeks the material gives a little.
KIRKBY and KINGSTON come in a fine rigid box with a lift-off lid and a silver ribbon across it. We emboss the silver logo onto the lid ourselves, with heat and pressure.
Because more raw material and more work go into leather. We buy whole hides, split them to the thickness we need and skive the edges so the seam stays flat. Not every part of a hide is usable, scars and thin areas end up as waste. Wool felt arrives as an even roll and can be cut with almost no loss.
No. KINGSTON, KIRKBY and SHETLAND get by without magnets and without metal parts that could touch the iPhone 12 Pro. A sleeve needs no closure, because the fit holds it. So nothing magnetic sits against a card in the front pocket either.
No, and we do not claim it is. Leather and wool felt take a rain shower and dry again, but they are not a barrier. If you regularly take your iPhone 12 Pro into wet places, you need a different tool for that.
Both have a Merino wool felt body and a pocket at the front. The KIRKBY additionally carries a layer of Italian leather on the front and has sound holes and a charging cable cutout. The SHETLAND is pure felt, without leather and without openings, and is lighter and cheaper for it.
When dry, Merino wool felt smells neutral. When it gets wet it briefly takes on the typical wool smell, which disappears again as it dries. It is not scratchy, Merino fibres are fine, which is why they sit directly against the display.
Sometimes yes. What matters is not the manufacturer but the size. If your device is roughly the height, width and thickness of an iPhone 12 Pro, the standard size fits. Since we keep no measurement table for other brands, the safe route is a short message with the model name. We will tell you whether it fits.
The leather will be distinctly darker than on day one, glossy along the edges and a little softer where your thumb grips it. The wool felt will look almost unchanged, at most slightly roughened at the thumb notch. If you want a surface that stays exactly as it was when unpacked, natural materials are the wrong choice.
iPhone 12 Pro case: hardcase or sleeve?
An iPhone 12 Pro was expensive, and anyone still using one today has usually kept it on purpose. That changes the question about a case. It is no longer about protecting a new device until the next one arrives, it is about keeping a good device in good condition for as long as possible.
A hardcase clamps around the device and stays there. A sleeve holds the iPhone 12 Pro while you carry it, and you take it out to use it. For this size we make sleeves. Our CHESTER hardcase is not produced for the 12 Pro, so it is not on this page. The table still shows both principles, so the decision stays transparent.
| Hardcase (not made for the 12 Pro) | Sleeve: KINGSTON, KIRKBY, SHETLAND | |
|---|---|---|
| Principle | Stays on the device | You take the device out to use it |
| Material | Plastic, silicone or leather over a hard shell | Merino wool felt and vegetable-tanned cowhide leather |
| Camera plateau | Stays the highest point, rests on the table | Wrapped completely, touches nothing |
| Charging | Wireless with the case on | Charging cable cutout on KIRKBY and KINGSTON |
| Protection | Also when you drop it | Against scratches, keys and sand in your bag |
| Over the years | Goes brittle, yellows, loosens up | Felt and leather adapt to the device |
| Who it is for | People who use the phone often and quickly | People who put it away and protect it |
How it fits: leather and wool felt on video
Two short clips from the workshop: the KINGSTON in full leather and the KIRKBY in Merino wool felt with a leather front. Both come in the size that holds the iPhone 12 Pro.
The polished frame: why the 12 Pro in particular needs a sleeve
The iPhone 12 Pro differs from the iPhone 12 in one place that you only notice after years. The Pro has a frame of polished stainless steel, the standard model one of matte aluminium. On a matte edge, fine scratches disappear in the light. On a polished one they add up to a dull haze. That frame is exactly the surface that rubs along a set of keys in your pocket.
Inside a sleeve it rests in Merino wool felt. Not against plastic, and not against an edge that a case would only half cover anyway. Then there is the camera plateau, which stands out from the back and therefore always touches down first when the device is put down somewhere.
The third point is the age of the device. Hardcases for models from 2020 disappear from the shops, because new moulds no longer pay for themselves. Our size classes stay as long as we cut them, and the iPhone 12 Pro sits in the same class as everything up to the iPhone 17.
Leather sleeve for the iPhone 12 Pro: KINGSTON
The KINGSTON is the sleeve made of full leather. Vegetable-tanned cowhide leather from Tuscany on the outside, just under 2 mm thick, and 3 mm Merino wool felt inside. The leather carries the wear, the felt touches the display and the camera glass. The only decorative element is the contrast stitching running around the edge.
There are two colours, dark brown and light brown. Both darken over the years, because the leather is uncoated. If you want a sleeve that looks the same in three years as it does today, felt is the better choice. If you want one that looks better by then, take the KINGSTON.
And it is the only model we make in two widths. Slim for the bare iPhone 12 Pro, wide for one that is already in a thin case. More on that below.
KIRKBY: wool felt, leather and a pocket at the front
The KIRKBY combines a Merino wool felt body with a front of Italian leather, and that front holds a flat pocket for a card, a folded banknote or a ticket. It has sound holes, a charging cable cutout and the thumb notch at the top, so the same features as the KINGSTON, only in the mixed material.
It comes in dark grey-dark brown and light grey-light brown. For many people it is the practical middle road: the cushioning of felt against the device, the toughness of leather facing outwards, and a pocket that replaces the wallet for short trips.
SHETLAND: pure Merino wool felt
The SHETLAND is made entirely of Merino wool felt, 100 percent virgin wool, in anthracite, red or white. A pocket at the front, a thumb notch at the top, nothing else. No sound holes, no charging cable cutout.
It is the lightest and softest sleeve in this selection, and the cheapest. If you take the iPhone 12 Pro out the moment it rings, you will not miss the openings. And if the device now runs as a second phone or travels mainly as a camera, you do not need more than this.
| Model | Material | Features | Colours | Fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SHETLAND | Merino wool felt | Front pocket, thumb notch | Anthracite, red, white | slim only |
| KIRKBY | Merino wool felt with leather | Outer pocket, thumb notch, sound holes, charging cable cutout | Dark grey-dark brown, light grey-light brown | slim only |
| KINGSTON | Leather with Merino wool felt | Sound holes, charging cable cutout, contrast stitching | Dark brown, light brown | slim and wide |
Which size to select for the iPhone 12 Pro
At 6.1 inches, the iPhone 12 Pro has the same footprint as the iPhone 12 and therefore sits in our standard class. It is not listed by name in the size selector. It is covered by the wording “earlier 12-14” and “earlier 12-15”, meaning the older models down to the 12.
| Model | The variant you select |
|---|---|
| KINGSTON | iPhone 17/16e/16/15/Pro + earlier 12-14 |
| KIRKBY | iPhone 17/16e/16/15/Pro + earlier 12-14 |
| SHETLAND | iPhone 16/16 Pro/16e + earlier 12-15 |
“Pro” on its own does not mean large. The variant with “Pro Max/Plus” in the name is for the 6.7 inch devices and would be far too roomy for a 12 Pro, the phone could slide out when you bend down. If your device is an iPhone 12 Pro Max, you belong there. And not the mini size, that belongs to the iPhone 12 mini.
Sound holes, charging cable cutout, thumb notch
Three cutouts that decide whether a sleeve gets used every day or ends up in a drawer. KIRKBY and KINGSTON have all three, the SHETLAND has only the thumb notch.
- Sound holes. The speaker stays open, so you hear the ringtone while the iPhone 12 Pro is in the sleeve.
- Charging cable cutout. Plug the cable in without taking the device out. With a battery that has a few years behind it, this is the most used cutout of all.
- Thumb notch at the top. A cutout where your thumb finds grip. Without it you are pulling at a smooth edge, and that is where badly made sleeves give way first.
The wide fit: iPhone 12 Pro with a case inside the sleeve
An iPhone 12 Pro is often already in a case, and has been for years. Usually a clear case that has picked up a yellow tint by now, or a thin leather case nobody wants to remove because everything underneath is still intact. Carrying a device like that does not call for a second case, it calls for a sleeve that goes over the one you have. That is what the KINGSTON in the wide fit is for.
The result is protection on two levels. The case stays on the device and catches what happens while you use it. The sleeve goes over it while you carry the phone and catches what happens in a backpack or a bag.
Slim is for the bare iPhone 12 Pro, wide is for one in a smooth, thin case. Even the wide fit is not meant for chunky outdoor cases with rubber edges, which catch on the felt.
Leather or wool felt, how to decide
There is no better and no worse choice here, only two different ways of ageing.
Leather takes on what happens. It darkens, picks up a sheen along the edges and carries the traces of use visibly. Mechanically it takes more than felt, it wears through more slowly and forgives a key that once ran across it.
Merino wool felt hardly changes in appearance. It is lighter, softer, warmer in the hand and cheaper, but more sensitive to sharp objects. In anthracite it picks up pale lint, which a clothes brush solves in seconds.
With a Pro device there is usually one more factor: it is meant to stay longer anyway. If you run the iPhone 12 Pro for another two or three years and then buy a device of the same class, you keep using the same sleeve. Then leather pays off.
Why a sleeve has to sit tightly
A sleeve in which the device has room is a pouch. The iPhone 12 Pro slides out when you bend down, and that is exactly when it falls. So we cut tightly, with a few millimetres of tolerance, and that is why a new KINGSTON or KIRKBY feels firm for the first few days.
That is intended. After the first weeks the felt settles against the edges of the device and the sleeve runs noticeably more easily. From then on it stays that way. That tolerance comes from the cut, you cannot buy it, and it is the reason we can offer the KINGSTON in two widths at all.
Resale and handing the phone on
An iPhone 12 Pro still has value after years, and that value depends less on the software than on the condition of the back, the frame and the camera glass. Those are exactly the three surfaces a sleeve protects while the phone is being carried, which is where most scratches happen.
Handing the device on within a family produces the same effect without a price tag: a phone that does not look like three years in a trouser pocket is more likely to be used on than replaced. The sleeve stays in the household afterwards, because it fits the same size class as the current models.
Care and packaging
Leather needs as little as possible. Remove dust with a dry, soft cloth. If it gets wet, dab it, do not rub, and let it dry at room temperature, not on a radiator. Leather balms darken vegetable-tanned leather strongly, so when in doubt apply nothing at all.
Shake out the wool felt and brush it with a soft clothes brush, dab out stains with clear water, and do not wash it.
KIRKBY and KINGSTON come in a fine rigid box with a lift-off lid and a silver ribbon across it. We emboss the silver logo onto the lid ourselves, with heat and pressure.
From the raw hide to the last stitch
Splitting, skiving, cutting, sewing, embossing, hardware and final inspection all happen in our own workshop in Hamburg, Germany, and have done since 2011.
Because we cut the patterns ourselves, we decide how long a size stays in the range. For an iPhone 12 Pro that is the difference between “still available” and “no longer made”.
SEE OUR WORKSHOP AND OUR STORY →One sentence to the right sleeve
Three models, six situations. Find the sentence that applies to you.
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Designed for Apple
Handmade cases that fit like a tailored suit – for iPhone, iPad & MacBook.
