Sylvia

I've distressed veg tanned leather but nothing pre-finished like this. But here are my crazy ideas. When I looked up a photo of McQueen and his leather jacket the first thing I noticed is that it looks sort of dirty. So to mimic that look I suggest that you get an antique finish a shade or two darker maybe a brown and a little black and strategically put some of that on where a jacket would normally get dirty and worn.(Lower front torso area and sleeves and elbows) Considering that this jacket has a finish it might be smart to sand those areas before putting on the antique so that it would grab the color. Another thing you can do is work/roll the leather toward the shiny side. This should impart wrinkles and help soften it, just as wearing it would. Good luck and show us the results.

I bet I know what's going on... its common... and is "hidden" unless you happen to change spools of thread. Some times the thread will wrap itself around the spindle which temporarily causes extra tension. I had forgotten about that and had fits with my old singer for a while... then discovered the problem by removing the spool during a thread change. There it was, 3 or 4 wraps of thread around that spindle. The good news is that its and easy cheap fix. Hit your sock drawer for that miss matched sock. Put your spool of thread in it and pop it back on the spindle and thread normally. The sock keeps the thread feeding properly....

The link isn't working Ray.

Black is the bane of many people's existence. I gave up on Fiebings and Angelus dyes and only use Vinegaroon with a black antique paste over it... then seal the crap out of it with Resolene 50/50 like Cyber says... but I allow it to dry for a minimum of 4-5 hours between coats... then I don't buff until it's been sitting at least 24 hours... I dry buff no moisture. I also agree with Hennessy, about cleaning the leather first... especially if you have exceptionally oily skin. Keep in mind the humidity where you are located will have a big affect on how the dye will dry. It's really dry in Idaho where Cyber and I are... so we can get away with shorter dry times.

Hello: I think that is pretty ambitious for a new leather worker. I see piping which in itself can be a challenge to make from scratch, without a sewing machine and the right foot. Gussets (the side piece) are challenging for the novice too, in my humble opinion. I suggest that you put this into your "someday" file and start with something a little less ambitious... like a knife sheath. At bare minimum you'll need... Leather (veg tanned) box cutter straight edge ruler saddle needles and thread (for hand stitching) hole punch stain/dye and finish. selected stamps, As you begin your venture into leather working you'll find you'll need this and that "Oh and that too."

Cyber is right. Unless the "scuff" has broken the surface of the leather, I would just slick or burnish the tar out of it. Before I got a glass burnisher I used glass bottles... a glass guitar slide... and/or a smooth hunk of wood I had from my pottery wheel days.

You are welcome: They are really nice folks and will take good care of you. Let me know if you need further help. I am not an expert at sewing machines but you never know... I might be able to help. Which reminds me... get some spool socks (ladies nylon knee highs will work.) I found that the spools of thread will catch and spin on the thread holders and wind the thread around the spindle causing it to create additional tension.... which in my case drove me bonkers trying to figure out the tension problem. I now use spool socks on my Artisan 3000 too. :-)

Hi Vmaniqui. Sharp Sewing has parts for those. You can also get the leather belts on Ebay. But I just measured the width of the pulley grooves and the length needed by using a string. Then I went to an auto store for a rubber belt. This limits you a bit because the rubber belt isn't as flexible. But it works and you don't here the Tick Tick Tick of the leather belt's staple. Here's Sharp Sewings Ebay store. http://stores.ebay.com/SHARP-SEWING-SUPPLIES/SINGER-16-CLASS-/_i.html?_fsub=381344519&_sid=304381499&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322 They were even able to modify a foot to make me a zipper foot for my 1918 model 16-88 (not 16-188) They can get all kinds of parts for these... I got spare bobbin, and spare shuttle and race. Have fun... I love it when folks bring these old machines back to life.

Let me ask you this.... are you wearing the same cuff every day? If it is like shoes... (forget who told me this) they say to rotate your leather shoes and never wear them two days in a row. Shoes and boots need to dry out between wearings. Did you seal the leather with anything? I've not used latigo so I'm not real familiar with it but I would think it would take a sealant like wyosheen or resoleen which would help keep the moisture from your skin from penetrating the leather in the first place. Hope that helps a little.

many recommend Springfield Leather for Hermann Oak leather. They will even cut strips for you. My experience has been "Meh" so far but I've not bought HO leather from them.. No better, no worse than Tandy for the stuff I've bought. Friendly folks though!

Hi Lauren you'll hear a lot of rhetoric about what to buy. If your budget is ample you can get a lot of wonderful stuff. Your list looks pretty good. However you neglected to include thread for your harness needles. Leather if you plan to tool will need to be veg tanned. The thicker the leather the easier it is to tool imho. Gum trag is a slicking agent. But you can do just as well with saddle soap sludge (grate a bit of saddle soap bar into warm water, shake until it's dissolved and looks like snot) As for finishes I tend to go to Resolene, Bag Kote or even RTC. You'll need to add to your list. Hole punches sand paper in grits 80, 150, 200, 400, etc. use this on your edges after you've trimmed and before you slick with Gum T or Saddle soap A slicking wheel. Dye. Start out with Fiebings Pro Oil... My fave color right now is Mahogany. Daubers finish applicators OR air brush for the best finish for less effort. Rivet setter/snap setter Buffing cloths Pure neatsfoot oil A good 16oz or larger mallet or maul (at the very least get the largest yellow head hammer you can find at tandy.) Have fun shopping. Ask the Tandy people for help... most are good about directing you to the right products. But be cautious of the modern tandy craftools (crap tools) they aren't well made. Look at the pro ones there at Tandy... or buy used Craftool USA or.... get on Bob Beards or Barry King's sites.

Like the others I use a variety of knives. Rotary, razor knife, round knife, head knife, strap cutters... but I've recently been experimenting with die cutting using a hand crank machine designed for scrapbooking, like this. http://www.overstock.com/Crafts-Sewing/Sizzix-Vintaj-Edition-BIGkick-Machine/7983995/product.html It will cut through leathers up to about 6 oz fine with the Thick Cuts or Bigz dies that you can buy for the machine. I also found a gentleman out of San Francisco, CA that can make custom dies for the machine so I had him make me one for a wallet back shape. I'll be ordering one soon for wallet guts and for key fobs. I've also found that the embossing plates work well too on some leathers. To see how the machines like this work... check out this video.

I've done this as well. I've since learn that if I mark the top of a paper or card stock pattern piece, I am less likely to make this mistake. Still does't stop me from having measurements off by a teensy bit though. lol

I'll take Large and Small Smile, the VW stamp and the Basic 33. PM me for an email to send the paypal invoice to. Thanks!

Another way would be to use grid paper to enlarge the pattern based on your foot measurements. Another "clue" is here. http://images.taunton.com/downloads/cs/enlarge-pattern.pdf

Sounds like you need to research some color theory. Use your color wheel Remember that colors opposite on the color wheel tend to cancel each other out. The opposite color to orange is blue (try a light blue wash)

I've had a bottle of that stuff for a year... and I still have 3/4 of it left. If you really want to stretch it, I would put some in a container and add a little water. See what happens.

I HIGHLY recommend Cobra Steve... even if you are like me and the budget won't allow a new machine just yet. He got me a used Artisan 3000 and he refurbished it before sending it to me for a price that I was able to manage. I have tried to work with the other "gents" and was sorely disappointed with their service. Neglected emails, outright refusal to help and abrupt phone manner (aka a bums rush) left me grateful I chose Steve and his team of people.

That is a machine that I bet takes 20x1 needles... you would have better luck finding hens teeth. If I am correct it is a machine made by National Sewing Machine Company and Branded for Sears. They are hard to find parts for. I have two Montgomery Wards ones that are a couple years later than this one. Save your pennys... You'll want a real leather machine with a needle feed walking foot. At the very least an upholstery machine with a walking foot. But be aware that upholstery machines will mark up Veg Tanned leather. It's not so bad for upholstery leather, though.

I recently had an issue with paypal's shipping not connecting with usps and after a several day wait on Monday it still was not working. USPS (online) is worthless unless you want to ship express or priority. A 34lb package at USPS online was $71 priority mail. Pfft... NO thanks. I ended up at Stamps.com and was able to ship it parcel post for $42 with insurance and tracking. Paypal would have been better but I didn't have time to wait while they fix things.

hi Cliff: Here is what I do... I typically do 3 inch wide guitar straps and use wallet patterns when required. Belt patterns would work but you would have to enlarge or size them up somehow. You can use your computer screen as a light box and trace a sized up pattern with a felt tip pen and a light touch too.

Look for "kid skin" I believe it comes in the thicknesses you are looking for and looks more like cow hide. An alternative is calf skin here's some calf nappa leather. 1.5 oz... but it's precolored. http://springfieldleather.com/33908/Burgundy-Nappa-Calf/ and here is some kid skin in brown, says about 2oz. http://springfieldleather.com/18124/Kidskin%2CFinished%2CDk-Chocolate/

have you tried thinning the "dye" and putting on several thin coats?