Kain

I'm working on my first real project and I'm not sure in what order I should do things. I'm working on a belt pouch. 1. Cut out leather 2. Tool leather 3. Stamp sewing holes 4. Dye leather 5. Apply finishes 5. Attach hardware 6. Sew together That's pretty much what I'm doing (though I dyed one of the pieces too soon.. whoops. but it won't hinder me really!) Is that good? Are there any secrets about the order of things? Thanks!

Hey all! I'm fairly new to all this, but I was wondering if you could use watercolor paints on leather. I realize you'd have to finish it afterwards, but is this a good idea? I don't have any scrap leather to play around with, sadly. If watercolors are a bad idea, would normal watered-down acrylic paints be okay? Or do I need to use something special? I'm looking for something that won't crack or chip, even under a finish.

Thanks a lot for responding, guys! Kate: Yes, those are the sorts of things I'd love to do! Though I don't know the difference between tooling and carving leather. Stamping seems like it'd be useful but wouldn't it require getting/making metal stamps? I think I may wanna save it for later in that case! TwinOaks: Thanks for the greeting! I don't have a car so it'd be most useful for me to order online. What's a swivel knife? It's a tool I see all over the place but I can't tell if it's for cutting or carving or what. :total newbie: That seems like a fairly good list--I think my mom has an awl and I know I have good sewing shears (not sure how good they'd be for leather, but they're sharp and high quality). As for the dyes, can you do detailed color work with them? Like using brushes to do lots of details? Or are there special kinds of paints and so on? And I assume I'd need to seal it to protect it, too.. (And sorry, I'm really excited about finally jumping into all this! :D)

LOTS of stuff. I love rennfest stuff so I suppose I'd be concentrating on all kinds of pouches, belts, and eventually armor. (Though doing little vambraces wouldn't be too hard, maybe!) I'd also like to make leather jewelry like necklaces and bracelets or anklets. Being able to make sturdy bags and leather clothing would be fun, too. Edit: Oh, and I'd love to do a lot of stuff with tooling and dying, like making cool patterns on stuff!

Hello everyone! I've been admiring all the fantastic artisan work I see around (especially at my local renaissance festival) for a long time now. I do 2-D art, drawing and such, and I dabble in hand-sewing very rarely. I really want to step boldly into the world of artisan crafts, especially leather since it has so many awesome uses. So, basically, I'm a total beginner. I've poked around to see some of the things that leatherworking involves, but I have so many questions and I have no idea where to begin. My main question is this: What are the basic tools I'll need for cutting, shaping, engraving, sewing, coloring, etc? I see fifty different $100 knives and I have no clue which I should get. Are there basic tools that people use in most projects? Where should I get them, etc? I think that if I can figure out what tools to get, I can start messing up.. err, I mean, practicing. Thanks a lot for your time! (And if this thread is in the wrong forum, moderators, please move it and I'm really sorry. )