Recent Activity

First I want to thank all of those who have check out this blog and my store over on Etsy.  I appreciate every one of you and thank you for your time.

I wanted to take a second and talk about what has been going on for the past few weeks.  I realized that I haven't been posting that much and felt I should try and recitify that.  Ironically the reason I haven't been posting isn't due to my lack of working with leather, it is due to overabundance of working with leather as of late.  One of my items, a leather cuff, has become quite popular and I'm having a hard time keeping up with the orders.  In addition to that I have begun to get some custom orders that are taking a lot of time.  What is really exciting though is that I'm learning something new with each project.  In fact I have really cool project I'm cooking up right now that I'm going to start talking about a little bit later.  (There is also a work related reason as to my absence as well, I have been moved to another position that doesn't have as much down time and therefore I can't devote as much time to the blog as I originally was able.)  The long and the short of it is I will post as often as I am able and I will try to have at least one entry a week.

So I mentioned a few entries back that I was putting together a leather box.  Let me tell you how that turned out:

It was a disaster.

My initial idea was sound and I did a really good job putting it together up until the riveting step.  Due to the nature of the project the riveting situation wasn't ideal.  I only have the anvil and driver for riveting so I had to try and rivet at an angle and it just didn't work.  (I'm sure seasoned leather crafters cringed at that sentence.  You NEVER want to rivet at an angle.)  I did some research and found a wonderful tool that will rivet perfectly every time.  Actually I found two tools, one you can only get from an upholstry website, and the other is from Tandy.  Granted neither is cheap.  So I have yet to get these magic rivet tools.  When I do I will be happy to try my hand at my initial riveted leather box.

Initially I was content to let that be the end of it for now but I have been wanting to retry the leather box for years now.  It kept nagging at me.  One day a few weeks ago I was putting together one of my leather cuffs.  (I'll do an entry on those soon.)  I had just received some buckles and was attaching a buckle to a cuff using the saddle stitch method.  Then it hit me.  Do the box, set up in the same fashion, but instead of rivets use the saddle stitch method to keep it in place!  So I'm working on that now  I will let you know how it goes.  I'm just about to stain it.  I hope you like it!

That's all I have for today.  Thank you again!  Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Before You Start a Project Part I

Originally I was going to have this be one entry about transferring a pattern onto leather but I decided I wanted to talk about the lead up to the project.  From the idea to right before you pull out your knife to cut the leather. To many this might seem like the boring part.  This is the part that many people skip.  That is a bad idea.  The lead up can be the most important part of the project.  And if it is done right then it will make the rest of the project a lot easier and fun to do.

Until recently I didn't have much of a "pre-project ritual."  I would do the bare minimum and go on my merry way.  In fact a lot of my projects were from kits so most of the planning stage was done.  I just had to decide what I wanted to tool on the leather and then follow the instructions for everything else.  You don't have that luxury when you are making a project from scratch.  There are a lot of things you can do to make the overall project easier.

Currently I'm working on a project that I have tried before.  Many years ago I came across a box pattern when I was still working with my leather teacher.  I made the box and was pretty happy with myself.  I still have that box and it sits on my shelf holding remnants of old art projects.  The tooled design of a rose looks good and the natural leather color is attractive.  But I hate the way it is stitched together.  I like the box but it doesn't feel like a box.  It was made with thin leather and many pieces.  I learned a lot putting that box together and while I still really like it I would never consider making another one the same way.

Here enters my new project.  I have been thinking of making another leather box for years now but I hadn't figured out how I was going to do it.  I stumbled across another leather worker's cell phone case and it was very "box like."  After further examination I figured out how it worked and decided to try it his way.  My planning has begun.

When dealing with an idea and only an idea you need to get it down on paper.  So sketch out what you think the finished project is going to look like.  If you are not good at drawing it is fine, you just need to get an idea of the general dimensions of the project.  Here I made a small sketch of the box and then labeled the sizes next to it.  I decided I wanted the box to be 7 inches wide, 2 and half inches tall, and 4 inches deep.  I marked those measurements and then I began to mentally "unfold" the box in my mind.  I wanted to see what it would look like in a pattern format.  Again I did a crude sketch of the pattern.  This sketch, like the previous one, doesn't really have to be exact, you just need it get a general idea of how the pattern should look flat.  After I finished sketching this out and I added the measurements to the pattern so I know how to mark out the actual pattern.

Now I add another step that I like to try before I go any further to verify that my pattern is going to work.  I do this by measuring out a pattern that is in centimeters rather than inches.  So it's 7 centimeters wide instead of 7 inches wide.  I carefully measure out the pattern, marking the lines that need to be folded versus cut.  Then I cut out the pattern, fold on the dotted lines, and tape the piece together.  I have now made a paper scale model of the piece.  This isn't necessarily something you need to do with every project.  (For example, a bookmark.)  But in projects like a box it may help to give you a better understanding of how it will go.

This is how I do the pattern.  You don't have to do all of this.  I like to as I don't want to get to the "assembly" stage and realize that I didn't think of scenario "X" and now I have to work around this problem.  Also you may want to skip directly from the initial sketch to the accurate full size pattern.  Or you may be able to do the initial sketch in your head and can unfold mentally without the physical visualization of the piece.  More power to you.  I do recommend trying all these steps at least once, then weed out the ones you feel you personally don't need on the next project.

Here is where I stop, sit down, and write down the rest of the steps from tooling to stitching.  I want to be sure I have thought of everything and that I'm doing it in the correct order.  Sometime a project will require you to do one step prior to another where another project needed that step done later or not at all.  After I have all the steps on paper and I'm sure I have them in the right order I proceed to the next step.

I'm going to stop here as I have already written a pretty hefty entry.  The next installment will go over what I do next and then getting a tooling pattern together and ready.

Until then, Happy Crafting!    

Before You Start a Project Part II

Here we are at part two of our prep.  Today I want to go over how to come up with a design and then how to transfer that design to the leather.  (These transferring techniques work for transferring patterns too.  I'll go into more detail when we get to it.)

First I want to note that picking a tooling design isn't necessarily done before you start.  You may have three or four steps to get through before you get to the "tooling" step and you may want to wait until then to figure out what you are going to tool on the piece.  (The important bit is getting your steps in order and knowing when you will be tooling.  Then you can make up the design when you get to that step.  Also, don't go all "free form" and try to tool without a design already in mind.  Unless, of course, you are an awesome leather worker in which case, why the hell are you reading this blog?)

You will want figure out what type of piece are you making.  You need to ask yourself some questions.  Who will be using the piece?  (If you are selling it then what type of person do you envision using the piece?)  Is it functional?  What can you do well and/or what do you like?  These all sound like stupid questions but you need to ask them so you can figure out what you want to tool onto the leather.

Sometimes I know exactly what I'm going to put on a piece the second I think of creating the piece itself.  Other times I don't know until I sit down to tool the leather.  Once you have your design ready in your mind it is time to head back to the paper.  Draw it out.  Work out the kinks.  Also make sure it will fit on your piece.  After you have worked out all the issues now it is time to pull out the carbon paper.  OR you can do an old trick my Dad taught me.  Turn the paper over and using a pencil shade the paper opposite your design.  Make sure you cover the whole area your design covers and shade it dark.  Then clip to your piece, trace the design, and now you should have a penciled design on your leather.  After you have tooled it you can erase the carbon or pencil markings left over.

That also can be used for patterns but I would put the patterns on the flesh side of the leather.  The other idea I use is just drawing the pattern right on the flesh side of the leather if you are measuring it out.  I use a pen when I do this.  (You can skive off the marks later.)

That is pretty much all there is to it.  Let me know what you think by dropping me a line.  Until then, Happy Crafting!      

Journals: Revisited

I decided to retry my hand at doing another journal cover.  I ran out and purchased two journal refills from Barnes and Noble that were slightly different in size.  One was 5x7 and the other was 6x8.  I wanted to try out the thinner leather.  I'm glad I did.

First I made my measurements and cut out the pieces of leather.  Next I cut out the lining for the pockets.  This time I decided to only use the lining for the pockets and leave the flesh side of the leather unlined.  On the larger journal I folded the pockets edge and, using the sewing awl, sewed the fold shut so the edge would be nice and clean.  The smaller journal was a bit too small for that treatment.

Onto the punching of the holes.  I clipped the pocket lining to the leather and using the four prong hole punch I punched all around the edge eyeballing it all the way.

Now it was time to tool something into the leather.  I was going to put the tree design that put on the notebook onto the larger journal but the transfer didn't go very well.  I decided to pull out some old designs to see if I was inspired by anything and I came across an old cross design I used to put on my wallets.

I decided to tool that design into the front of the journal.  The smaller journal was given a mushroom from the Mario Brothers Video Game.

Next it was just a matter of staining and stitching.  I used a dark stain for the cross journal and lighter stain for the mushroom journal.

 I stitched them using a double loop stitch and that was that.  One thing I do want to note, in my haste (apparently I have to learn lessons over and over again for it to sink in) I forgot to wet form the leather to the book.  The good news was that the leather was so thin that it didn't matter.  It would have helped slightly but the journals still look very nice.  Another thing I want to point out: I misjudged the measurements a tad.  I should have left a little more room around the edges as I had to trim the cover of the journals themselves so they would fit in the leather covers.  I only had to trim a quarter of an inch on the front and back of each but next time I was leave a little more room.

That's about all for this project.  I'm really pleased with the outcome.  My next project I'm really excited about.  I stumbled upon some really great leather artists on Etsy and they gave me some good ideas that I'm going to try in my own work.  So watch out for that.

Until then, Happy Crafting!

Cell Phone Cover Take Two

I finally was able to put together a second cell phone cover.  This second cover came together a lot easier than the first one.  I noticed as I put the piece together I was able to pin point places where I did it better the second time because I had rushed it the first time.

Let's get started:

First I took my pattern and traced it onto the leather like I had the first time.  This pattern is fairly simple and you just need to cut along the lines and punch where the dots are placed.  The larger the dots, the larger the punch.  

I decided to try something different this time with cutting the leather.  In the past, included the previous cell phone cover, I was using a ruler to guide my cuts.  For me this was not working out very well.  Every cut I made was wavy and it just didn't look nice.  So I decided to cut free hand but take it very slow.  This actually worked really well.  If you look closely you can see in a spot or two that it was done free handed but compared to the previous attempts with a guide it was head and shoulders above them.  The key is to take it VERY SLOW.

Here are the pieces that were cut out.  I was really pleased with this result.

After I cut the pieces out it was time to punch out the holes.  The previous attempt I had waited until I had stained the piece before I punched.  I advise against that as the guide marks you made when using the pattern will be covered up by the stain.  By punching out the holes now you can use the guide marks and if you did your pattern transfer properly you don't have to worry about the holes being off.  I used my standard drive punch:

After I punched the holes I tooled the piece.  I did the same Apple Logo along with a border, cut by a swivel knife, on the main piece and the four small pieces that hold the piece together.

(NOTE: This is in regards to the first cell phone cover I made before.  Here is where I screwed up the last time.  As I mentioned before I hadn't punched the holes yet in the previous attempt and I stopped for the night.  I should have stained the piece before I left it, not to mention punching the holes.  But I didn't.  So when I sat down the next night the first thing I had to do was stain the piece.  BAD IDEA.  If your first order of business when sitting down to work on a piece is to stain it, then understand that you will probably be doing that and only that on that day.  Always try to set up your work day to have staining being the last thing you do.  If it can't be avoided then just accept the fact that you will stain the piece and come back to it on another day.  It is possible for stain to dry in an hour or two but I do not recommend moving onto the next step until it has dried for at least six to seven hours.  It may feel dry but it may still be wet inside.  And as you work with the leather the wet part will surface, get on your hands, and smudge the top.  It doesn't hurt anything to just walk away and come back later.  I didn't do this on my first cell phone cover attempt.  I stained it, waited an hour, then started to punch the holes, lace, and rivet the piece.  This is a big reason why I wasn't 100% satisfied with the outcome.  This showed me that it is very important to plan out your project steps.  Don't just blindly dive into a project without thinking it through first.  I won't make this mistake again. )

On my second cell phone cover I stained the piece BEFORE I walked away for the evening.  I used the same stain.  After it sat for an hour I stained the underside of the main piece and the four small pieces.  It was at this point I let it sit for the night.  

Now, because all the punching had been finished, I could jump right to the lacing when I came back the next day.  This time I started with the thin strip flesh to flesh with the main piece and laced the piece together like so:  

(You will see why I did this in a moment.) Here is what it looks like finished:

As you can see below I then flipped the thin strip over and it started the belt loop:

After lacing the second part the belt loop was finished.  I just continued to lace the rest of the piece.  (I was using saddle stitch by the way.)

While I was punching the holes I followed the pattern to a "T" which wasn't good because I wanted to make this piece a little more compact than the pattern calls for.  I wasn't thinking and accidentally punched a hole where there was not supposed to be a hole.  You can see it below:

After I cursed a few times, I came up with an idea.  I put a rivet there and it looks really nice:

Here is the piece fully laced but before riveting.

I put the rivets in and finished off with the snap and that was all she wrote:

I was really happy with this outcome.  It fits the phone very well and I like it very much.  It is over on the store if anyone is interested.  I'm working on some new projects now.  I'll have those posted as soon as I can.  As always, drop me a line if you have any questions or comments.  Thanks!

Happy Crafting!

Stitching Projects Part Three: Saddle Stitch

This is our next installment of our stitching series.  Today we are going to talk about the Saddle Stitch.  It is probably one of the simplest stitches you can do.  What makes it great is that, assuming you are using quality thread or lace, is one of the strongest stitches in the world.  (Again assuming you are using quality products.)

You take a piece of lace, about 1 1/2 length of the distance you will be lacing.  (Example: Your project has holes punched that add up to about one foot in length.  You will need one and half feet of lace.)  You should be using a quality waxed lace that is good for this type of lacing.  Take two needles (you will need this type of needle for the job).  The way you attach the lace is quite simple.  Thread the needle with the lace . . .

 then push the needle through the lace (puncture the lace about half an inch away from the end of the lace) . . .

 and pull the needle through.  It will attach to the end.

Do this on both sides of your lace.

Pull the needle through the first hole and pull the lace about half way through.

Then you push the left needle through the "outside" of the leather to the "inside."

Next you pull the right needle (through the same hole the left needle came through) through the "inside" hole to the "outside" hole.

Repeat.  (It doesn't matter which side you start with just as long as both needles are going through each hole.  You are making a type of a figure 8 with the lace.)

 When you reach the end of the lacing just back stitch about two or three holes  . . .

then you tie the ends of the lace . . .

pull it tight . . .

then cut the ends off.  

Your done.  (Told you it was easy.)  I do want to caution you to try not to split the lace as with the needle as you go.)  

I originally was going to do this series in three parts but I have decided to add a fourth part as I have not used the final method yet and I don't feel comfortable talking about a sewing method until I have used it.  It will be using the sewing awl.  My next project, after the cell phone, will probably use it so I will update you then.  That's all for now.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Cell Phone Cover

About a month ago I found a pattern for a cell phone cover that I liked.  I decided to give it a try.  I cut out the leather and put a design on it.  I decided to put the "Apple" logo on the outside of the piece.  This was due to the announcement of the iPhone 4S but it remained relevant when the news of Steve Jobs passing hit the wire. I found out right after I finished tooling the piece.  Anyway, I then punched the appropriate holes, stained the piece, and used a saddle stitch to finish it off.  (I will be posting the saddle stitch entry soon.)

Finally I riveted the pieces together and added the snap.  When I was surveying my work I realized I rushed it. This is not my favorite piece and I'm disappointed that didn't take the time to finish it properly.  I know exactly what happened.  I finished this piece over the course of two evenings.  At the end of the first evening I had gotten so far with the piece I realized that I would only need an hour or so to finish it.  This meant this project was only about a three hour project from start to finish.  (Not counting drying time for the stain.)  So I went to bed then the next day I started to work on it again.  Because I thought I was so close to the end I rushed the final bits, especially the riveting and the snap, that when I was done and I wasn't happy.  I will be doing another one of these projects but I wanted to put this up as a cautionary tale to those who want to rush things.  (It is obvious that I am one of them) Don't do it.  Take your time.

I will be putting this on the store but it will be a bargain buy.  I cannot charge what I normally would.  If I had taken my time I may have been able to sell this item for twice what I'm selling it for now.  All because I couldn't slow down, maybe take another day to work on it.

I will update you with a finished photo when I upload it.  I'm going to be making another one of these very soon and I will go through each step and explain what I did wrong with this piece versus the one I will be currently making.  It's a little more work but I think it is worth it so you can see how not to do leather craft.

That's all for now.  Happy Crafting!