I carve, mold, punch holes, dye, lace and protect. I only wet just what is needed to form it to the pan. The holes I punch carefully and rest just what area needs to be punched on board. It's tedious but it works. Here's a photo of my first seat.
It wouldn't be that the dark spots are from your hands? I learned to have clean dry hands. NO lotions. I found this out after tooling a piece and dyeing.
I'm not getting how to meet the ending lace with the starting point. I have a lacing instruction book. I've went step by step. Mine doesn't look right. I'm also worried about it being secure. Is there an easier way?
What is the best way to form leather like for a gun holster or anything that you want to make the leather to shape around? I assume the leather is cased? Also how much larger do you cut the leather to accommodate for the shaping? Is there also certain weights that are best for forming? Thanks