This blog has been a lot over the years. In the beginning it was a place for me to put all my thoughts on what I thought about the world, the going ons in my life, the craziness that evolves around us all. Then it became a University English Literature project. The only thing that changed was that I was suddenly being graded for my thoughts and how well I articulated them. Then the posts were all removed and you all were left in silence for some time before I thought it was the appropriate time to tell you all about a single significant event that had happened in my life that I thought some stressed out dog owners might be grateful to hear about. And now I am molding this blog into my leatherworking story where I will post pictures of what I create, along with some knowledge I have obtained.
If you are new to this blog you should know now that I am by no means a master leatherworker. I am cataloguing this journey from the very beginning; the very first hide I purchased and all the "things" I made from it, and mistakes I made.
For those of you returning, the 100 of you, welcome back. I'm sorry I left you, I hope my leatherworking journey will give you some entertainment.
Here's my very first creation: A leather satchel made from 5-6oz Veg Tanned Leather.
I made a lot of mistakes but I learned a lot. In this photo you can see there's a circle around the paw print I stamped. That's because when you stamp the leather you actually wet it first, and then stamp it so that it "takes". It is recommended that you let the leather dry for about 8 - 12 hours before dying it however after maybe 1 hour I thought "That looks and feels dry" and well.. it wasn't.
So I learned that even if leather looks and feels dry, you should wait the full 8 - 12 hours. I've also heard you should wet the entire piece, even if you're only stamping (or forming) a small section. I imagine this would make the dye more uniform also.
The bottom right corner there is a bit of a miss. At some point in the measuring and cutting and sewing process I made a mistake, so the right side panel was too long for the front panel and stretches past it. That's okay- the bag still holds things. I'll just need to be more careful in future projects.
So let's talk a little bit about my process. As I stated, I started with a 5-6 oz veg tanned hide. I purchased a half hide from Tandy for about $130.
- A single Heavyweight Natural Cowhide Leather Strip (72 inches long)
- Eco-Flo Leather Dye in Bison Brown
- Fiebing's Acrylic Resolene
- A 10 pack of glovers needles (DON'T DO THIS)
- A 1oz block of beeswax
- And some fun stamps with a stamp handle (sold separately apparently)
- First I made a "prototype" out of some cardboard. Boy do I wish I had photos but I don't... but I'm told this is how most leatherworking projects start- with some cardboard, and some tape.
- I then traced the pieces of my prototype onto the leather and cut it using a stenciling knife that I had purchased many moons ago for making cosplay costumes out of EVA foam.
- I cut grooves into each edge I would be sewing and then burnished the edges with a wood edge slicker and some water
- I wet and formed the flap, then wet and stamped the front paw print (the leather needs to be wet to form)
- After about 2 hours I checked the leather which looked dry, then applied a coat of Eco-Flo Leather Dye (Bison Brown) to each piece, front and back. This is when I learned that just because the leather looks dry, doesn't mean it is. I should have waited longer.
- I waited a day for the dye to dry and then applied a coat of Fiebing's Acrylic Resolene. The Resolene should add a nice protective sheen and is supposed to be water resistant but I beg to differ (I have been using the bag for about a month now and it has water stains on it
- I waited a day for the Resolene to dry and then punched the holes for my thread.
These guys punch the holes. You line them up in the ditch you made with the groover and smack it with the mallet. It is great fun. - I then hand sewed each piece together, working on the bag itself first, then adding the buckle and strap. Next time I will add the buckle prior to assembling the box as reaching into the bag to find the holes for the needle to go through wasn't ideal
- I completed the piece by applying a coat of Aussie Leather Conditioner as the leather was quite stiff... I'm not sure if it helped