Tove09Tilda

Hey Jonas, Thanks for your input! I actually prefer a stronger and more stable build for her, which is why I opted for 3.5–4 mm leather. I wanted a thickness that’s sturdy enough to provide a reliable fit and hold up over time, especially since her current nylon and neoprene harness is way too soft for that. The thickness also allows for padding without compromising durability. For mounting, I’m planning to use steel roller buckles in combination with looping. I’m not a fan of clips or Velcro. I also want the chest strap to be replaceable, so it can be adjusted if she becomes wider as she ages. We experienced that with our Spaniel, she grew wider again when she turned 10. I want this harness to be for life, not just a few years. ☺️ Best Tove

Hello Leatherworkers! I’m reaching out to those with more experience in English saddlery than I have — I need some advice! My dog needs a new harness. Sounds simple, right? But it’s turned into quite the project, and I wanted to share my approach to see what others think. About my dog: 2 ½ years old, medium-sized (~40 cm shoulder height, ~20 kg) Very fine-boned, which makes fitting tricky Her current harness is always too short. No matter how I adjust it, it slips over her shoulders and restricts her movement. She mostly wears it for nose-work at hunter dog school (long-leash) or jogging with us, but I just can’t settle for “good enough” — she deserves a harness that fits properly. Today, I approached it like I would saddle fitting — I even chalked her up! Yes, I literally drew on her shoulders. To understand how movement affects the fit, I lifted each front paw one at a time and marked where her shoulder blade sits in each position. That showed me how the surface between the shoulder blades shrinks as she moves — finally explaining why most harnesses rub or slip. Her shoulders are steeply angled and quite flat, and there’s very little surface between the blades — about 1" to 1 1/16". Because of this, I think I need to build a bit more room in the front so the harness doesn’t rub. Her back is straight, so I can safely use plastazote (6 mm) padding. If she were more overbuilt, I’d use a flocking system like in saddlery to ensure proper pressure distribution. Her back is long, and she’s had back problems before, so I can’t extend the harness beyond the widest part of her ribcage plus about an inch for padding under the D-ring. My current plan: Y-harness with padding under the back strap, shoulder straps, and chest strap Two D-rings: one near the shoulders, one at the end of the back strap Leather: Italian harness leather (double butt, 3.5–4 mm) Padding: 0.4 mm calfskin Reflective piping on back and shoulder straps (for being fancy) I think a Y-harness makes the most sense given the small space between her shoulders. A sport harness wouldn’t suit her, and a step-in/vest harness would be too tight in that area. So my question to you: Does this sound like a solid plan? Any tips for shaping the Y-harness to prevent rubbing over steep shoulders, or advice on padding placement and what to keep in mind, would be amazing. Or do you might even have another suggestion shape-wise? Thanks in advance! And yes, I did just saddle-fit my dog with chalk — she’s a very patient princess and just proved to me that self-making it is the best solution in her case. Best, Tove

Another vote for Tokonole! I honestly wouldn’t know what to do without it — easily my favorite burnishing agent. With some Irish linen or a wooden slicker, plus sandpaper in ascending grits, you can get a clean, professional finish without much effort. If you prefer using water, I’d recommend sealing the edges afterward with a bit of beeswax. Beeswax reacts to temperature, so depending on how warm or cold your workshop is, it can be a bit tricky to work with. In this case, it acts as a water repellent and helps hold the fibers in place. You can also use clear or colored edge paint, though that usually takes a bit of trial and error — especially with cheaper paints — before you get a nice, even finish. Best, Tove

Okay, I see what you mean — we’re clearly making very different kinds of collars! Mine are all fully padded, so the stitches sink into the plastazote on the back. That means there’s little to no friction on the thread, so I never felt the need to groove. In your case, especially on the flesh side, it makes total sense to do so. My dogs also don’t wear their collars 24/7 — they take them off at night — so that’s another factor that changes the wear and tear quite a bit. As I mentioned, I’ve had the chance to discuss this topic with a few master saddlers, and that definitely shaped how I work today. In Germany, saddlery is still a regulated trade — you need proper training and certification to work professionally — and that background really influences my approach. For me it comes down to simple logic: if there’s friction, grooving makes sense; if there isn’t, it’s unnecessary. I also lean heavily toward more traditional English saddlery, which probably explains part of my bias too! From what I’ve seen, padding is quite common in English work, whereas in Western-style leatherwork, grooving makes total sense. No offense meant at all — your work looks great, and if your method works for you and holds up, that’s what counts in the end.

Thank you very much, Bill! That is truley valuable information. I just went with the smallest I was able to get from a Germany based tool-vender, but you are definitely right. 7-8cm is totally fine. So I might also consider a Tandy Dupe. I found a HIGH-TECH Pro Dupe within my budget. That splitting is better than most workouts I already assumed, but am as a former University-Rower thrilled to experience that! - yep! We're a bit ... and learned to love everything that makes you feel every muscle in your body. I also search for those parameters on a regular, with little luck. I just found a set of Henkel Holepunches for 120€, after checking back with my usual tool-vendor just an hour drive away, it was slightly overpriced. I feel like whoever owns leather tools, holds on to them for a loooong time and then overprices them just because people like us hope for a good deal. It is true luck if you find a good second hand offer! But truley I can unstand that. Sadly my granddads leather tools have been thrown away after his death. No-one thought that the youngest of his granddaughters (at that time 3 years old) would pick leather as her poison as well. Very sad as he learned the craft from military saddlers while being in american captivity as a prisoner of war, when he was only 17 and deserted the army prior to participating in any battle. I guess we would have had a lot of fun and his tools would have had a nice new home with me, especially if I should finally be able to start as an apprentice in a Berlin equestrian saddlery next year (if they take me and don't see my scientific publications, my begun PhD and the two University degrees as a no-go).

Thank you Jonas, I already had a look at Kleinanzeigen (no saddlery tools at all, or for a hell lot of money!) and Facebook, but that is not necessarily that popular in Germany. I already saw the Tandy/IVAN "rebuilds" and was wondering if anyone has one of these and might be able to tell a bit about it. I guess 7-8 centimetres still does the job. I will have a look at those and try to figure out more about their quality and ability to do their job! If it is a Tandy "rebuild" there should be a high chance that the Tandy/ Ivan HI-TECH Baldes for 45€ a pack should fit. To me that sounds like a good bet. Best, Tove

Hello folks, I am planning to upgrade my toolbox a little bit after Christmas. Despite it being a few months away, I am already creating a list of things to get. On top of that List is a splitter. So far I have always pushed this purchase off, as other things seemed more relevant like a saddlery knife, more colours of thread, and so on. In my latest projects I realised that a splitter is slowly due. I started to use more looping and having to use several leathers for a project, which shall end up sort of unifrom, is not very satisfying. So I am searching for a good, durable and cheap option to add to my tiny portable "workshop", for splitting leather for looping, round stitching, raising etc. I am mainly doing dog collars, am planning for some horse equipment in the near future and also some belts. It has to be available in Europe, without crashing the bank, so Tandy (I guess that's IVAN in Europe), Weaver and Osborn are off the table. I already checked the secondhand market, but it seems that everyone, who has a splitter, does not want to get rid of it or exactly knows how much a good splitter is worth. My favoured budget would be roughly 100 - 150 € ($117.14 -$ 175.71), if that is reasonable. I'm not a professional (yet) so I don't see a point in spending more, despite me being unable to even spend up to 1000€ ($1171.40) on such a thing in this economy. I am not searching for a premium solution, just a very basic splitter of maximum 15 cm width (5.9"/6"), that does its job without any major hiccups. Maybe anyone has a good recommendation. Best, Tove

If you also consider European leather, I can recommend -buyleatheronline (search for Dorsal/ Double Butt) (deliver to the US!) - Sedwick Leather (check their website to see, who distributes them in the US) - Gebrüder Kobel (Probably have to write an email, but they definitely have what you are searching for!) Best Tove

Hello Shiny, I only have experience with furr on horse tack and there it was always a blessing if it was detachable. Sweat is not necessarily that easy to just brush out off that stuff. In BDSM I would assume that some bodily fluids could possibly touch the furr, so I personally would opt for something to attach and detattch, also as you can get a two in one in that case and can wash the furr, if needed. I would maybe go with a solution that includes velcro in the leather colour so the attachment loops are not too obvious and you can easily change the look. Paddingwise I can recommend, again for comfort and under the aspect of cleaning the cuffs/harness, 6mm EVA/ Plastazote and sheep/goat leather (0.8mm). In my experience sheep is incredibly smooth and has little to no cracks in itself. I buy mine from Italy (buyleatheronline) for as little as 24 euros, when I'm not too picky about the colour. It's very soft and a breezer to wipe down, when my dogs decided to take their collars out for a mudbath, plus it looks super shiny and luxurious. We got a lot of comments on the collars lately. If you combine that with a detachable furr I think there is no way to get it more comfortable. Hope my ideas helped a bit. Best Tove

Hey, I only do dog collars at the moment and use polyester thread. The reason behind that - at least in my book - is that dog collars are not much cared for per usual, so a natural threat is not necessarily the best option. I would also as @TomE already did recommend waxing the threat. Also keep in mind your stitch length, leather thickness and the size of your needle, when deciding for a thread. For beginners in Handsawing cable thread is often recommended, but I find flat woven thread a bit nicer. That is basically a lot of trial and error to find your favourite. I work mostly with a picking iron with 7SPI on 3.5 to 4mm thick leather and a number 1 needle of 1.1 mm thickness, sometimes I also use a Number 3 with 0.9 mm. Depends on what I'm sewing. For that I use 0.7 mm in German "Forellenfaden" or 1 mm cable thread as that is what I can most comfortably buy here in Germany as hobbyist. If I would have the option I would rather obt for 0.69mm, but 0.7 is fine. That 0.01mm doesn't make the cake fatter, as we germans say. xD Personally, I would not groove the stitch, but that is something even old saddlers still fight over. The most logic argument I ever heard from a german saddler was, that if you groove the leather, you weaken the grain side, which is also the side, that is holding the strength of your leather. So if you have things that have to withstand a lot of pressure you don't groove, but rather invest into a good therad like Riza Tigerthread (I just know the old name, it's now owned by a danish company and had a slight rebrand and name change). Another saddler said to that, that he only grooves when the stitches are threatened to break by for example buckles rubbing over them. His logic was that stitches within a groove last longer as they don't get any rubbing force to them. So everyone seems to have a different opinion. I just personally run with what I know from all the English bridles I took apart so far and restitched/repaired and there no stitch groove was made, unless the stitches needed to be hidden. But that might be european/english rider (leatherworker) bias. My dog collars do great without a stitch groove and no matter what rubbish my rather wild young fellas are pulling off, they do their job, hold quality and that's basically all I'm asking for. Do with that information whatever you want, just wanted to add that, as someone wrote above that he would recommend you to groove. (That actually got me thinking, when the last time was, that I used a stitch groove). Best Tove

It that's not THE excuse to make a new collar, then I don't know XD Have a lot of fun with your new family member! My little setter-cross, who is a rescue from Italy, also taught my mums puppy all the nasty things and now he is teaching her how to behave like a little retard again. And I thought that phase was behind us. Thank you for your feedback and for sharing your experience! I know what you mean, I’ve also seen some cheaper leads fail at that point. That’s exactly why I used Italian dorsal leather, not skived at any point, cut from the best end, and sew everything with strong polyester thread in saddle stitch. The rope itself is made for dog leashes, so I feel good about the stability. But it’s always interesting to hear how others approach it — your rivet and shrink tube method definitely sounds very sturdy! Best, Tove

Really nice work! And welcome to this forum. The belt is stunning! Is it machine or hand-sewn? Best, Tove

Well, my mum called again and asked for a new collar. Planned was only the yellow one with a matching leash, but as her Spinone Italiono grew out of his old orange collar and I still have a little of this lovely red sheepskin plus some orange dye, she got two. I'm very happy with the collars as they turned out beautifully. The lashes, let's say they are part of a learning process. The blue one is for my dog, therefore the hardware is smaller. I always use the rule of thumb of the dogs weight times 4 as the minimum breakage point of the hardware. The yellow one is solid brass and about 1,70m (custom measure) and the blue one standard length with steel hardware. She already has such a set, entirely hand sewn, in green, that holds up lovely despite being used almost everyday. The orange collar, will for now on be his dog-training collar for when he has professional training. I'm feeling a bit nostalgic as I made his first collar as well as the last ones of our deceased dog. Her last collar was green, her first handmade one orange. This colour become something special therefore, and If I should ever sell collars one type, only available in green and orange, will be named Tilda!

What's with the SMS? At least they have some rules on how you are allowed to operate your saddlery business. And then there is also the Guild examines and Chapel Manor. In Germany, Saddler is a protected profession, that requires you to do 3 years of apprenticeship, several tests and examen. Comparable to the Millennium scheme in Britain. That also means, no self-thaught saddlers in our country, only here and there some saddle fitters (not protected) with some questionable education aka non at all in some cases. I guess the max. you are allowed to make and sell, without being a saddler, is bridles, halters, dog collars etc, but certainly you are not allowed to make a saddle and sell and also no repairs, as you have no insurance for doing such things. We Germans seem to love insurances! XD

I cannot agree more with all of you. There is a reason that in most places in the world being a saddler is connected to getting qualifications and even long apprenticeships. And seriously, I personally cannot stand for the life of me, most saddle fitters, as even they are often undereducated. A saddle fitter (with unknown qualification, probably a weekend course at one of the saddle manufacturers here in Germany) just sold a friend of mine a jumping saddle with a broken saddle tree. But she kind of beats that! I mean you shouldn't miss that the tree is broken, but it can happen. She willfully patched and even made a tutorial out of it. My first thought was: "Hopefully she has good insurance!" The second was seriously questioning why one would patch a billett? That is critical equipment and I learned in riding school that you renew everything that is a safety risk ASAP. If that would have been my saddle, the whole straps would have gotten renewed! Just to be sure, and by someone licensed, also as they are insured for failure of equipment. Just to be on the safe side. Do you Americans don't have to pass training and official examen to be a saddler? I mean no saddle fitter would hopefully do such a job, they are certainly not qualified for that or whatever she calls herself. I'm a bit confused and maybe thinking too European. Can someone explain?

Hey, I have no experience with shoes - so much said from the start, but I dye my dog collars myself most of the time. One thing I noticed there is that If you don't put a sealer on top, you have rub off as soon as you clean / condition. A conditioner is not a sealer to my knowledge. So you might need to have a look into that. I know that a lot of "shoepeople" use the angelus sealers. I use them as well and have noticed, that these sealers tend to flake a bit in the application process within cracks and creases, but that could also have been because I used up a bottle and those were the last drops. With the angelus ones I can tell you, that a small bottle lasts you a bit of time. My recommendation would be to try the caranauba creme by Fiebrings as it can also be used in the restoration process and as a finish, plus it builds a scratch resistant coate or after you striped your shoes from all your prior-finishing attempts the high-gloss finish by angelus. Was just a quick thought when I read through your problem, as I had a predyed leather strap on my table that bled a lot in the care process, when I was done stitching and seemed to not have a finish/seal on top. I fixed it by removing my care products, applying some neatsfoot oil, waiting for it to soak in and then finished it with the high-gloss. So far the colour is still vibrant and is not bleeding anymore, when being cleaned. Same applies to all my dog collars, that I dyed myself and used the finish as a last step. -Tove

Not exactly. A Swedish noseband lies in the same place as a regular cavesson or English noseband — on the nasal bone, about two fingers below the zygomatic arch — and it is closed under the chin. The concern comes from how this design is often used: to create more control by applying strong pressure. The nasal bone gets thinner towards the end, and with this type of fastening mechanism it is possible to cause real damage — in extreme cases even a fracture — if the noseband is tightened too much. It can also interfere with the horse’s breathing. The nasal septum lies just beneath the noseband, and restricting the nostrils prevents them from flaring properly. If you watch eventing or racehorses at full speed, you’ll notice how much their nostrils expand to take in air. Limiting that ability puts unnecessary stress on the horse. Hope my explanation helped a bit.

Hi, thanks. Pretty easy. I used fashion leather (round about 1mm) with the newspaper print. First I glued it to a 3.5mm thick strap of vachetta that was already cut to size, trimmed it to the edges, sealed the edges with black edge dye and finished it off with a saddle stitch and some Tokonole. On a note, the stitchmarks needed to be pricked quite deep, as they were otherwise really hard to spot.

You're welcome. Have you checked HS Sprenger? I don't know where you can get them in the US, but here in Germany they are amongst THE suppliers for hardware for saddlers. You can only get it with a registered business as far as I know - maybe that's different in the US. I think they might have what you are searching for as they are more specialised in english tack.

Really great and inspiring work! As someone who rode in such a bridle for years (they are very common here in Germany!), I can say that I made no bad experiences with them, maybe as I was amongst the last generation of riding school kids, who were taught the two finger rule. Mine was never too big nor too tight. If you follow the rule of putting two fingers upright underneath the noseband when tightening you can't do anything wrong! That btw applies to all nosebands, as I was taught. So it's a lot of fuzz about nothing and a lot of wrong information, in my opinion. But look around on social media and pay attention to how tight the nosebands really are. Most are too tight. My instructor always said: "If you need to tighten anything so much, that your animal can't comfortably breathe anymore, the answer is easy. You are the problem, and maybe you should take a step back". The bad rep comes from people using this type of bridle as its very easy to "over-tighten" due to the "pulley-effect". As with most things in equestrian sports, if used as intended/correctly there is nothing grim about it! This type of bridle is often misused in dressage to make the horse more "controllable" in my experience. And I love that you don't have a snaffel strap and how comfortable you have designed it. I only know it, that the padding is a bit thicker and "overhanging" where Dee rings are build in, but I actually like your design more, as sometimes, especially after the leather got softer the padding was becoming a bit fiddly to place correctly within the pull area (especially with cheap bridles, like most riding schools used).

Hi, after seeing all of your amazing work, I feel a bit insecure about showing my work, but maybe I learn a thing or two and might also encourage others to put themselves out there. So here are all the collars I made so far (not many): 1st (mid 2024 after a break in leather work for a few years): Then I continued to pad collars: First collars for a friend: A little colour experiment - we still take out sometimes: Several collars I made just for fun and to use up some scraps: Here I only did the rhinestone work: Another collar: Our everyday collar made from Goat and Buttero leather: Fancy collars I made some time ago. The blue one was the first one and the grey one was the already "developed" one: First set I ever made (for my mums dog): And the mist recent collar: So that's basically also my whole development within one year of being back into leatherwork.

Hi fellow leather workers, I'm Tove09Tilda, 25 years old and from Germany. I started leather work when I was 15 by bedazzling Dog collars and horse wear, but ditched it for some time until I was about to finish my master degree in 2024. That's actually when the real journey started. I was traveling back to Sweden to get my degree (I studied in Sweden) and have a nice dinner with my fellow classmates and, well, with my dog. I knew that this was not a usual evening and of cause, when I was wearing something special, she also had to. So I started checking the pet stores in my area including an outlet of a big german brand, with sort of good reputation. In the end I found nothing that felt like "us" or was up to the quality that I was searching for. Following, I contacted a former supplier, who offered custom dog collars. That's when I learned that she produced in India and the collar would take weeks, if not even month, as it would have been included in a bulk order. And as I wrote my master thesis in cooperation with a very nice woman from Pakistan, with friends in the leather Industry … Let's phrase it that way: Production in India felt wrong! Especially for the price that was quoted (40€ including shipping (within Germany between 6 and 7€). Let's be real here - you don't need to be an economist to know that this price is unrealistic, when you expect fair wages. Unsatisfied, I started to remember that I had all the tools, that I knew how to saddle stitch and that there was literally no excuse to not try it for myself. That's basically when I got hooked again. I made a simple, plain dog collar, dyed it blue with angelus acrylic leather dye and called it a day, just to then teach myself how to make padded collars, make running loops, and of cause, making dog collars until my hands were full of blisters, but my stitches became more and more neat. Last year I also made my first handbag ( a little bit of a challenge at first! Due to all the backing needed!). That was the point where people in my surroundings started to suggest that I should try to become a saddler. When I couldn't find a job after my MBA, the original idea was indeed to try to become a saddle maker. My education wouldn't go to waste and I could follow my plan B. The economy made a big cross through the plan - unfortunately. Most saddles don't take apprentices at the moment or I got told I was better off with my MBA. Still without a job offer on the horizon, I at least find some peace in making collars and some occasional bags and belts. By now I make all the collars for our dogs, as well as leashes and also do some collars for friends, if asked to. My next projects are a dog harness for my little dog, two new collars for our dogs (finally matching for once!), and a martingale/ half-checker collar for my dog. Thanks for reading! And I hope to learn more by reading and observing the work of others in this forum! Best Tove