Mujician

Oh cool - so does the acrylic act like a resist layer so that the antique doesn't stick to it? It only goes in the tooling?

Thanks, that what I thought, but I wanted to check. Thanks for your advice.

Hi - I'm getting into leather making and finding out how to do bits and pieces as I go along. I'd like to make some bookmarks with acrylic paint over the dye. I'm not sure which order I need to do things? Dye first obviously, but do I then put resolene over the dye and then acrylic, or do I dye, then acrylic, then resolene? Many thanks

Sorry guys, I think you haven't understood what I asked. I am okay with the actual marking of the leather whether its with a scratch awl, or a feint pencil line etc etc. (I like the overstitch wheel idea!) But What I want to know is to to actually go about starting to mark it out. I have some film for tracing onto leather. Should I overlay this onto he pattern, copy it, and then impart it onto the leather like that? What concerns me is cutting out the pattern and simply drawing around it due to the flimsy nature of paper. and after a while of using it this way surely the paper will not retain a good edge meaning I have to buy the patter all over again which is what I want to avoid.

Hi, Having been a member of this forum for a while I'm sad to admit that I'm still somewhat of a noob at this. Having had a little girl I pretty much put everything apart from my job on hold. So now I'm back to it, I have bought a pattern to make wrist cuffs. I have no idea what to do with it however. When I was younger I remember my mum making clothes with a pattern but she would lay the sheet out over the top of the material and cut into both the pattern and the material. I don't wish to do this as I would like to keep the pattern for repeat use. So - how do I transfer the pattern design onto my leather so I can actually start to make something?!

Thanks all - yes, I have some tracing film for tooling patterns, but I did mean pattern for actually making stuff. I think I have it all sussed. Will left you all know the outcome of my first attempt!

I think I'm going to go with just veg tan leather for the back and the lining leather I have for the insides. I do have a question about lining wallets - how firm should the lining leather be? I bought 16ft of lining leather from le provo (UK shop) and it was not how I expected - really flimsy/floppy - will this be okay if I measure up everything okay or would you recommend something firmer?

Bought them from here - http://www.leathercraftpattern.com

Hi, I'm just starting out on my leathercrafting journey - so far I have just done simple tooling for things like keyfobs, coasters etc. I have just completed two wallet kits which I'm quite pleased with but I have now also purchased some wallet patterns. Having never done anything like this before they are leaving me a little perplexed as there is little indication of what material to use for which part, or how exactly its best to start, right down to simply getting the pattern the paper I printed it on, onto the leather. Can anyone offer any help, or direct me to some decent videos online. Thanks

Thanks - had i have thought about it, I would have realised! Thanks - going to print off some patterns today. I wonder if you could tell me the best way of getting the pattern from the printed sheet onto the leather? Then I guess I just need to be extra careful when I'm cutting it out!

Hi, I have some leather that I would like to use to try and make a wallet or handbag. I have patterns I can use and I think I have all the loos in place. When it comes to the stitching how do i ensure I punch the holes through the leather and the lining in the same place? Many thanks

Thanks this is kind of a test before i try to make a wallet from scratch. The red went over the yellow without any problems. Thanks

I'm just starting to complete a wallet kit i bought, I'm now at the colouring stage. I have learned it is best practice to build up colour in layers one at a time. So, I've started with yellow all over. Next I want to add red to certain parts. What is it I need to do? Do I just add red on top of the yellow. I'm aware that red and yellow make orange when mixed, so do I just keep adding red on top until it appears red, or is there some other mystical skill I need to learn? Thanks

I think the lining leather I have is pig. What difference will this make? It seems very soft. Not sure its suitable for what I wanted. Should I invest in some thin sheep skin? How thin should I go for? 1mm?

So what would you recommend?

I have some 1.6mm leather (I think thats about 4oz. I would like to make a wallet from it. Is this suitable to make the whole thing, or should I think about using just really thin lining leather for the insides of the wallet?

Couldn't remember the website i bought from - just had a closer look. So the problem is the handbag pattern is sized 1:1, for printing on A0 sized paper. I can't print on A0, only A4, how do I solve this?

Hi, I recently purchased some leather patterns, thinking they may come with instructions of some kind. I downloaded them and was faced with just pictures. So, I'm looking for a little guidance:- obviously I'm new to leathering so please be kind! The patterns I bought are for wallets and a handbag (I believe this is known as a purse in the US) Do I need to alter the size when I print the pattern from my computer? (I'm using a Macbook, so any advise on how to do this would be greatly received) I'm assuming for the handbag/purse I will need to adjust it, but I just don't have a clue to what size I need to alter, and how to do that on my computer. When the patterns are printed, how do I transfer it from the paper to the leather - is it best to have the pattern on stiff card first to draw/scratch awl around? Thanks for your patience!

Sorry for being stupid, but where is the file?

Thanks guys, I think I have found what I want now.

Hi, So recently I've been very busy with my new baby girl, but I have also been gleaning lots of information from this forum! I would very much like to make a few things from scratch. Namely a wallet, and a handbag (the latter being for my mum) I have some veg tan leather (although for the handbag I will probably need more, and I also have some lining leather (pig skin) As well as this - I also have some wallet kits to get to grips with the basics. What I'd really like to know is where can I find a good pattern to use for my own wallets, and handbags? I feel it would be a little naughty to make templates from the parts of the kits I have. I also think it would be quite tricky to recreate the kits I have bought as one of the includes a plastic press stud and I'm not sure I can get he measurements as it is pre attached. The other kit comes with a pre-made credit card lining bit. Are there any patterns I can find anywhere out there in the public domain? Many thanks, Ben

Hi, I'm very new to making leather things so theres a lot I don't know. I'm looking for some leather lace. Like the flat stuff in this video - Any idea what its called or who might stock it in the UK?Many thanks

So I think I may be able to answer my own question but a lot of the things I have made are single layers of leather -coasters, key fobs etc. I have just about got to grips with general colouring, and being careful. However, when I apply an antique to my projects it tents to go all wrong! I'll end up with the gel all over the place including the flesh side. SO my question is this - after applying al the dyes/antiques etc, should I then turn it it over and apply antique to the flesh side?, or should I just be more careful in future and leave the flesh side 'au natural'? If the best thing is to apply some kind of finish to the flesh side, what is best to apply? (I mostly use tandy dyes/antiques etc) Thanks

I'd like to get a little more adventurous with my colouring. I'm attempting to make the Tandy 'magic billfold' so its only a simple make, but I'd like to have a good design on it. If I have multiple colours (eco-flo dye) next to each other will they start to run into each other even if I leave each colour to dry first? are there any recommended videos to watch to learn about colouring? Many thanks

I'd like to buy some lace, but I don't know what 'type' I should be looking for. If you look at the video on this item, thats one kind of lace I'm after - flat stuff, http://www.tandyleather.eu/en/product/magic-billfold-kit And I'd like some lace to use now and then to replace stitching. How do I know what type and size of lace to get, and what do I use to make the hole for lacking rather than stitching? Thanks