Ladykahu

I work at a college.. and the woodworking tutor (also a cabinet maker on the side) made me a stitching pony.. and in return I am making him a couple of odd shaped belt pouches for some rare brass tools he uses. You may find a woodworker in your area who is happy to do some trading with you. Natalie

Hi all I have seen some of the lovely firefighting equipment some of you have been making.. My brother is a country fireman in NZ and I would love to make him some things to use. What do you use to finish? I know the leather itself isn't a fire risk.. but neat lac says highly flammable and beeswax burns quite well all of which makes me think I need to carefully consider what goes onto the leather for the final treatment, bbq brother I could do without ! So.. for those of you that have used acrylic paints.. what do you do the final finishes with thats flame retardant? Natalie

OK, so I am a complete newbie to leatherwork, but I have been sewing all my life.. including a bit with suede If the pattern is using a heavier weight fabric like denim, thick wool, cordoroy, brocade etc then you will probably get away with a very garmet leather. You need to consider seam thickness, lining, and folds.. as all of these will handle/hang/wear differently when made with leather. You will probably need to not use any interfacing or stiffener if a pattern calls for it as most leathers/suede's are enough on their own. If the pattern is for a light weight fabric like silk, cotton or synthetics... it will depend entirely on what the item is. But it would be a LOT harder to swap the pattern over. You mention messenger bag.. so the short answer is probably yes.. it will work.. just check carefully how they have done seams.. you may need to alter a tiny bit as leather doesn't fold so easily or crisply as thick cotton drill does. Hope that helps Natalie

Hehe.. I am with you Amuckart When I saw bbq rig, I was thinking toolbelt to hold tongs, sausage pricker and steak flipper! Lovely leatherwork though!

You fill find lots of information if you google bookbinding, gilding. There was a bit of discussion here about bookbinding a while ago.. that led me to reading quite a few websites on gilding book covers. I quite liked this guys site http://www.edenworkshops.com/Gilding_-_A_Free_Step_by_Step_Guide_to_Gilding_on_leather.html Natalie

It all began with an iPhone.. March was when my son celebrated his 15th birthday, and I got him an iPhone. He just loved it. Who wouldn't? I celebrated my birthday in July, and my wife made me very happy when she bought me an iPad. My daughter's birthday was in August so I got her an iPod Touch. My wife celebrated her birthday in September so I got her an iRon. It was around then that the fight started...... What my wife failed to recognize is that the iRon can be integrated into the home network with the iWash, iCook and iClean. This inevitably activates the iNag reminder service I should be out of the hospital by Monday

Hi I have never seen a 'doodle page' in the flesh... Do they give proper instructions on 'how to'? eg. http://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/p-750-trees-bushes-foliage-by-al-stohlman-series-1b-page-12.aspx was one I was eyeing up as I want to create better plant life myself. Natalie

I have only done one small filligree mask, so a learner absolutely.. But I sharpened up and used a set of lino cutting tools I had They look like this and seemed to work ok Natalie

I sense a 'theme'.... little lady bugs abound! Very nice again Caroline Natalie

If you do some searching on the forum for 'walnut' there are a few posts already in existance with recipes Natalie

I know from researching my singer treadly machine that if you can find the number stamped on the base you can find out lots of info about the machine. Singer keep great records! Nice machine to! Now we expect to see LOTS of cool things coming from you Natalie

The problem is you have to buy the whole bit of leather, they don't have cut up bits :-( I have got the bulk of my tools second hand off ebay, if you hunt and buy from England you can get some good deals. Natalie

Generally they charge by the square foot I think I dunno how big it is.. I haven't measured it.. its still wrapped up in a paper roll untill I finish up a couple of small things and tidy up my work room, the roll is about 3 foot high and from memory it was approx 5 to 6 foot long (longer than my arm span) the bit I got from Lefflers was $5.50 a square foot. Natalie

http://www.gretannery.com.au/ I paid $155(I think?) for the one I got.. but it has 10cm along the long edge that is only usable if dyed black...very much a second , Its quite large.. and about 4 - 5mm thick (like I said.. making a bag and want stiff sides and bottom) He had smaller 3mm hides for about the same price. I called prior to heading out there so he knew I was coming, he gave me approx prices over the phone after I described what I was wanting to do with the leather (I am a newbie so needed advice for the best way to go) and what my budget was. Leffler have smaller bits available, but when I went there wasn't anyone available who could talk me through what I was looking at with the leather so I just scrumaged through the pile till I found a bit that looked ok and was within my price (they have stickers on the back with a size / price) My first bit came from there and was $65 worth.. but because I didn't know what I was looking at, I have ended up with about 1/4 of it not being suited to my use (its belly and too stretchy and shows ripples when dyed) I guess it will end up being mask material. Hope that helps Natalie

These guys also have a shop.. but I don't know what they stock as I haven't made it there yet.. http://www.nswleather.com.au/content/showroom-locations or if your up for a longer drive there is a place up just past Ballerat that sells hides.. but only whole sides. I just recently purchased a seconds hide from them, but I want it for a large bag for myself so I suspect I will be up for buying some more leather in a few months. I would be keen on going halves in one of the more expensive better quality hides if your interested? I also can't justify the costs of a whole hide in one go. Looks like there are a few of us in Melbourne these days.. maybe we should get together sometime? I would be keen to pick your brains sometime Caroline, or even just see how you do things, this forum is fantastic .. but there is nothing like observing someone at work. Natalie from Melton

Thanks for that, it answers some of my 'blond' questions about how the clip works My problem is he wants all the metal covered.. I was thinking maybe pigskin lining and hand sewing might work the tool is smallish and lightweight http://www.carbatec.com.au/garrett-wade-odd-job-layout-tool_c19343 quite a nifty tool if your a woodworker! cheers Natalie

Hi folks I have a freind who wants me to make him a pouch for a specialised woodworking tool. I have no problems with how to make the pouch.. but he wants it on a belt clip along the lines of one of these the problem is.. he wants it to be leather covered. So my question is.. How do you cover one of these clips with leather? or is it impossible to easily do? I can't even work out how to attach the pouch to the clips (think I am having a 'blonde' moment) Could someone please give me some pointers? I have searched the forum but can't find anything to help me. and.. does the longer side go against your body or the sticky out bent side? and if its the sticky out bent side.. isn't that uncomfortable if your just cliping it over your pants waist band if your not using a belt? Cheers Natalie

Hi Your name implys your in aus, so I presume you have tried Birdsalls? I have brought leather from overseas, so if you can afford the postage you can always buy from one of the suppliers who stock Wicket and Craid or one of the other 'good' names. Natalie

Bit of a 'newbie' question... My hubby has some white and green polishing compound that he uses for his car / engine restoration stuff. When I started with leather work earlier this year I didn't have any 'jewelers rouge' so I tried using the white compound he had, but his is kind of greasy and just wouldn't rub off on cardboard as I expected. When I ordered some blades and tools from the states I added in some tandy jewelers rouge and instantly noticed the difference on my swivel knife cutting. Are there different base types (oil vs water) to the buffing compounds? or could it just have been his block was to old and had dried to much to rub off? I have recently picked up a second hand head knife that needs a bit of work done on it to bring it up to scratch and had been thinking I would try his coarser polishing compounds again. Natalie

The tobacco pouch is the 3rd thing I ever made.. learnt a few lessons on the way about measuring! Inside My kindle cover. The blue is quite vibrant, but for some reason my camera doesn't pick it up well Inside Spine This is a belt I just finished for my 4 year old grandson, he picked 'pirate' as the theme.. its 32mm wide and I used a tandy small oval buckle for the map of never never land. The map was done using the laser printer / baking paper transfer method, then coloured a bit afterwards. I still can't get a good colour print from the lasers, only black and white. Natalie