Was linked to this community so I figured I should share some of my favourite leather pieces that I’ve made in the last year or so as I’ve been learning. I won’t go into detail but I’ll link each one to post that has more pics and details on it in case there is additional interest. There are a few extras in the thumbnail pic too but I’ve not gone into detail for the sake of brevity.
All my work is done in scrap veg tan leather that I get in bulk. Some of my older pieces use flat, waxed polyester thread but I’m trying to move to a natural ramie (“linen”) thread.
I’m a little obsessed with using contrasting and complementary colours in both the leather as well as my thread, so any more natural looking “brown” leather is kind of rare for me… It may not be visible in just the thumbnails but I do have a “signature” thing in most of my work which is to adjoin two pieces of leather, edge on, with an x-stitch. Sometimes it will be to close a loop but more often than not I will be attaching two dissimilar pieces in order to both create a contrast and to avoid needing really large contiguous pieces of leather (remember I mostly work from scraps).
I also draft all my patterns myself, I usually start on some paper to get an idea or to get rough dimensions before using a 2D CAD to create proper dimensioned drawings then print these out, stick them to card and trace them onto the leather. I can then store them away in case I want to re-use them in the future.
So yeah, I like making stuff from leather, its a really fun hobby and I’m enjoying improving my skills. I had a hiatus for a while but with a few birthdays recently I’ve been enjoying making targeted presents for friends (the top two in the list were both presents).
Needle case (Warning, this one is in a women’s only community so read rules if you plan to comment…)
Lego tool holder
Ginkgo leaf bag charm
Wallet
Tiny purse
these are all great! the ginkgo leaves are especially lovely, really nice colour choices & that little bit of detailing, just super pretty!
These were actually really special as well. I made that for a friend last year, shes a palaeobotanist/artist and the focus of her PhD is to do with ancient ginkgos, but the still living one is her favourite plant. The shape of the leaves were actually from one of her own scientific drawings which I downloaded and scaled so I could trace and cut them out. I picked the colours to represent the dramatic leaf colours that ginkgos go through. It was a really simple piece but honestly one of my absolute favourites. Glad you like it!
Your stitching is immaculate! I’ve been fooling with some leather work for a couple years and it still confounds me. Your stuff looks fantastic.
Thanks! I find the trick is to just be as consistent as possible. Line up the stitch lines as best as you can and when stitching make sure you always keep to the correct side (e.g. pull the thread down to the left on the “reverse” side and you will always get that same diagonal stitch coming out on the front. I mostly stitch by holding the piece rather than using a clam or any other kind of aid, I find it much easier to be consistent with what side is what and which needle you are using when you don’t actually hold the piece symmetrically.
Oh damn, I’ve done some leatherwork before, and it’s so impressive to see someone who can actually do it well
The small purse is beautiful
Thank you! That one is definitely one of my all time favourites, it was the first one where I really tried to go for good quality and neatness as a priority (as I bonus I found it the other day and it had some money in it I had forgotten about!)
Top middle looks exactly like my wallet that I’ve had for 20+ years. Best wallet for someone with only a few cards.
The reverse of mine has a cutout spot placed horizontally for your license or id.
If I was to try another one I’d definitely have a backing to the whole pocket section so that there would be two horizontal spaces behind them (i.e. the opening would be where those two middle vertical stitch lines are. I think for that one I mostly wanted to practice the “t-pockets” that make up the wallet rather than biting off what I could chew.
Very nice work! That bifold wallet looks really well done, I could never get the dimensions right on them and always ended up pivoting to the card holder style instead.
Do you have a maker’s mark stamp? I wasn’t fussed about it until my (ex)partner pushed me to get one, and it does make the work look more polished for very little effort
Thanks, that one was quite tricky, didn’t help that the leather I picked is really weird to work with. I made a few mistakes but was quite happy mostly, just a few bits of wonky stitches as I made a few mistakes with coming up with the order of assembly.
As for makers mark, not yet, I had been toying with the idea of my friend (the one I gave the gingko bag charm to) helping draw one for me but I kind of stalled out, I’m tempted to follow up again actually. Its a good reminder though, thanks!
These are beautiful. I especially love the ginkgo leaf. How do you get such clean edges?
Thanks! I have a few different knives I use, sometimes I have some more “traditional” tools like clicker knives etc. but, if I remember correctly, for that one I just used a standard cheap hobby/craft knife. I always make sure to replace the blade every project to make sure it always cuts perfectly. I then use an edger to take the edge off the top surface to round it off a little.
The main trick is to just get in there with the sandpaper to make sure there are no rough edges or little cuts and really spend some time on it. I normally use a little sanding block to help but also will just wrap it around pencils for rounded areas or, for really tight spaces, just fold it and use it by itself. After the sanding I then go and make sure to burnish it all, I prefer using gum tragacanth myself.
I had no idea you could use gum tragacanth with a burnisher. I’m going to give that a try today. Thanks!
You can even just use water. Lots of people swear by Tokonole but I’m not the greatest fan of it personally. I do have some black tokonole I use if I want to do a kind of black edge stain to give more contrast. Edge painting is the other thing I want to try at some point, along with “finished” edges but I’m still working my way up to those.
Gum tragacanth I find gives a really happy medium between water and tokonole burnishing and it has served me well on most of my stuff so far.
I like the look of your stuff. Right now I just give it a light sanding and an edge stain to hide my shit sanding job. I didn’t know we were supposed to use other stuff with the burnisher.
Aaaah right. Well yeah, you will find it makes a huge difference. Water actually has the best result (generally) but it needs a hell of a lot of work put into it. But it results in a really nice, glossy edge. Gum trag is second and needs a bit more work but can help with less wax-heavy leather. Tokonole is the easiest to use and doesn’t need much effort and works well on things like veg re-tan leather which can be hard to burnish.
One thing to take into account is that the ‘heavier’ solutions can mark the leather if you get any overspill and can be really hard to remove (partly why i dont like tokonole much).
I really want to get into keeping but I have a few hobbies already on the pile of shame. What is the minimum equipment you’d recommend to get started? I have xacto knives and regular sewing stuff already.
So for leatherwork you can be a bit silly and go very basic but a realistic minimum would be something like:
- Super sharp craft knife (as you already have)
- leatherwork needles - you don’t want regular sewing ‘sharps’ as we aren’t actually piercing the leather with the needle (more on this later). Leather needles (specifically saddler harness needles) are blunt and have an eye just big enough to take the thread (you dont ‘tie’ the thread onto the needle, just held with friction). John James needles (at least where I am) are easy and cheap to buy and are kinda the ‘gold standard’
- Thread - you want 0.8-1mm thick thread ideally, its much thicker and stronger than regular sewing thread. You can get some chinese flat, waxed thread pretty cheap. Its much easier to thread and work with than linen or ramie thread (and you can melt the ends to secure it)
- Stitching chisels - these are probably the most specialised thing you need. They look like sharp metal forks and are used to make the holes in your work which you then sew. Diamond shaped point chisels are usually easiest (and harder to mix up with ‘pricking’ tools which aren’t designed to go all the way through, just mark). You can usually find them in a set with something like a 9, 5 and 2 prong chisel. You can in theory just use an awl to go through the leather but keeping your stitches even and neat is significantly harder, and the aesthetics of the stitch can be really amazing on a finished piece, its one of the main attractions for me.
- Contact adhesive - you need this to attach parts of the leather together before stitching. In theory any cheap contact adhesive will do but I now use a water based one thats like super sticky PVA.
- Mallet - to hammer your stitching chisels in. You dont want a metal hammer as it will damage your tools. A round nylon mallet or a wooden mallet are both good options. You can also a flat faced one for setting your contact adhesive.
- Poundo board - a thick rubber board you place under your work when using stitching chisels or punches to prevent damage to your work surface and the tools. Technically not entirely necessary but I would never attempt without it.
- cutting mat - normal self healing craft mat to cut your leather on
- scratch awl - surprisingly versatile tool for marking out your leather (e.g cutting and stitching lines) and also good for enlargening stitch holes etc.
- cork backed metal ruler - for marking and cutting lines. Make sure it is cork backed or diy it by attaching some foam or fabric as it will damage the leather if you arent careful. You could also use a crafting ruler (plastic with one metal lined edge). Basically you dont want to keep cutting into it with your knife, you have to apply a lot of pressure when cutting.
- sandpaper - to prep your edges for burnishing
I’d say thats all you need to start with. Other ‘nice to haves’ (which are essential later on) will be a burnishing tool, gum tragacanth or tokonole, dividers (for quick stitching line marking) and a bone folder. But those ones I listed above I see as the most important things and most can be bought pretty cheap online from chinese sites.
I find it a rather fun hobby that is rather niche with the general population so you get a lot of questions and appreciation when you show your work. And its a great skill for making gifts like I do!
If you have any questions im more than happy to help!
This is tremendous advice, I really appreciate you writing it out. I’ll let you know if/when I give it a try!
