Newbie Question About Using The Flesh Side Out

[Willie0]

Hello,

I am new to leather and leather handbag fabrication, but not fabric. I bought a "grab bag" of large leather pieces, figuring I'd find a use for them. They are lightweight, and rather shiny and flamboyantly colored on the finished side. I'm a country girl and would really prefer using the back sides facing out, which look more like suede (a little rough) with much more muted colors. Would this be considered horrible?

Thank you for reading,

Ugh, Flesh side out. Not sure how to go back and fix the spelling!

Edit: Fixed the title for you.

Edited April 16, 2014 by northmount
Fixed title

[Bob Blea]

Good morning Willie0, and welcome to the forum!

I think it would be perfectly fine to use the flesh sides out if that is the look you prefer. Suede is just leather with the grain removed. It can be a pain to keep clean and I'm not sure how you would seal it to protect it, but it certainly can be done.

Bob

[Willie0]

OK, thanks, good to know!

[Dwight]

Hello,

I am new to leather and leather handbag fabrication, but not fabric. I bought a "grab bag" of large leather pieces, figuring I'd find a use for them. They are lightweight, and rather shiny and flamboyantly colored on the finished side. I'm a country girl and would really prefer using the back sides facing out, which look more like suede (a little rough) with much more muted colors. Would this be considered horrible?

Thank you for reading,

Ugh, Flesh side out. Not sure how to go back and fix the spelling!

Edit: Fixed the title for you.

Welcome, WillieO, . . .

Hey, . . . what you are talking about is in fact a very smart way to use your leather. Flesh side out in leather lingo is "rough out", . . . and if you have ever seen any of Clint Eastwood's spaghetti westerns, . . . in most of them (if not all) his holster and gun belt were roughout. John Wayne also had a roughout money belt he wore in a western or two.

Using full grain leather with the rough side out, allows you to rely on the strength of the hair side to maintain the item's basic shape, . . . yet have it appear to be suede.

You can finish suede with several different products, . . . I use Resolene in a 50/50 mix with water, . . . it will stiffen the leather at first, . . . but it can be "broken in" to about any flexibility you want just by manipulating it.

May God bless,

Dwight

[BDAZ]

If you like the look you can obtain "splits" , the leather left over when thicker piece is split to make a thinner one. This is usually much cheaper than tooling leather and is stiffer and smoother than suede and could wear better than the flesh side of tooling leather, depending on how it's been split and finished.

Cya!

Bob

[Willie0]

Hi,

Thanks for the responses. This is the purse I made. I used the smooth outside of the leather piece for the bottom because it will stay cleaner, and sewed the rough side for the bag's sides. The horses are pockets. I would do alot of things differently the next time around, but it was a good learning experience.

[Drake42]

That bag looks great, the different sides give it a nice two tone/texture. How did you pull off the trim on the top edge? I have been trying to figure out the best way to do something similar but I don't see any stitching in your picture.

[Willie0]

I just glued it. It seems to be a really good bond. I figured if it starts to separate I can always go back and stitch it or give it some "decorative" rivets.

[Drake42]

Alright, I was thinking I would be stuck with stitching but I'll give the gluing approach a try. Thank you for input.