eirenealetheia

I'm planning to make a 4-plait round braided bracelet with a three part four bight button to secure it, using instructions from the RM Williams "Bushman's Handcrafts" book (LOVE it!). I have absolutely no experience braiding (does doing horses' manes and tails for competitions count? LOL!) but I have faith in the instructions... However I was curious... how do I work out how long I need to cut the pieces of leather lace? Is there any rule about how much it will shorten with the braiding, or can anyone give me a rough idea? I'm aiming to make the bracelet about 7 and a half inches long then with the button on the end... Thanks!

LOL! That is one huge (and very nice looking!!) collar. I really like the way you've put in the back D-ring, with the extra piece of leather underneath so it won't be seen. Also just had to say how much I love the dog - Staffys are such gorgeous dogs! - Trinity

Thanks for the link, I was hoping to find a lacing tutorial I could follow, LOL!

Just wondering if there even WERE any classes in Australia? Pretty much any form of leather working - I know nothing yet love and admire the craft and would love something to get me started!

Woah, that is a pretty amazing box! Nice work.

I'd like to make a wallet for a friend. Just have his initials tooled, dyed and perhaps details painted, and laced edges. Now, my problem... I have no idea where to start! I think I have a vague idea what I'd need for the tooling as I've read a few tutorials and tips on here which are a huge help! Dying shouldn't be too complicated I guess (I have dyed for another project I did and that worked out OK!). But the actual construction and lacing are what worry me! I thought about trying to get a kit, but the only leather supply shop near me doesn't have any blank ones (only ones that have been pre-stamped with designs, which really isn't what I want). I'm on a budget so I don't want to buy a ton of books, and can't find anything useful in my local library... Could someone please outline basically where I'd need to start? OK so I guess I need veg tanned leather coz I'm carving, but what thickness? Is there a "standard" size or pattern I should cut it to? Would it be better to get premade wallet inserts (considering I'm a flat-out beginner) or try making all that too (I saw there was a tutorial on here)? How would I fix the insert to the leather? Then for lacing... I read another thread where there was a bit of discussion whether holes or slits were better, etc. etc. I think it left me more confused than when I started!! Basically I want my lacing to look *something* like this: http://www.indiantrailtradingpost.com/lalebi.html OK maybe a book with nice obvious pictures would be a good place to start for me here. Any suggestions of useful titles? Also, what do I basically need? Hole punch and lace are the obvious things... What else? Thanks so much, and sorry for the total newbie questions!!

I've made a few belts from basic belt blanks that have turned out alright, but really what I'd love to do is leather tooling. After seeing some of the AMAZING stuff on here, I've definitely been inspired to give it a shot. Problem is, as I'm basically teaching myself all this so to speak, I really have no idea how to start out. What tools do I need? What do they look like (about all I know about is a swivel knife!!)? What leather do I use? How do I prepare the leather (e.g. wetting and such)? I've had a look at the basic tooling guide that TwinOaks posted in this part of the forum, and that was a huge help, but there's still a lot of gaps I need to fill... So, main questions: As an absolute minimum, what tools will I need to start out with and still get a nice end product? Swivel knife and...? What do these tools LOOK like so I know what I'm after when I go to buy them? I know a little about wetting leather, but what do people find works best? Sponge, spray bottle, other? Will the leather stretch as I carve it? If so, how can I avoid this? Basically I'm virtually clueless now and would really appreciate ANY pointers people are willing to share. Thanks in advance. Trinity

The place where I get all my stuff stocks it... http://www.maclace.com.au/ They may do mail orders, not sure? Trinity

*jaw drop* These are simply incredible boots. And for your FIRST pair? Just amazing... I wish I owned a pair of boots like that!! I also wish there were schools or classes for this kind of thing here (well, actually, for ANY form of leatherworking!!), as its a craft I'd love to learn if I was able to!

I'm still a TOTAL rookie with actually working with leather, but after years of using saddlery on horses, wearing leather belts, etc. I know that I regularly condition my leather with whatever I have handy - Dubbin, Oakwood Leather Conditioner, etc. I probably use a product like this every few months? So I'd probably suggest doing this as well as at some stage during the leatherworking process (at which point I don't know...). I find that it just keeps the leather feeling supple and nice over time and with use.

If you want a program that's free and *apparently* as good as Adobe Photoshop, you could always try Gimp: http://www.gimp.org/ I have friends that use it and seem to be able to alter images pretty much with equal quality to what you can achieve in photoshop. I personally use photoshop and love it... To be honest, though, if you're only wanting to resize images and that's pretty much it, like people have mentioned you can do that with Photobucket or other image hosting sites such as Tinypic (http://www.tinypic.com/) or ImageShack (http://www.imageshack.us/). I've used them on the odd occasion I've simply wanted to quickly resize an image for posting and haven't wanted to retouch, etc.

I may also add that it can totally depend on the kind of access to the files you want. While the likes of Sendspace is great for storing files and giving someone a link to download them, you can't direct link or, just say, really include those files in a webpage.

I'd also say DaFont - they have everything! Someone else on here posted this site: http://simplythebest.net/fonts/

Whoops. Uh, sorry about the double post! Not sure how that happened! Thanks for your suggestions. For the burnishing (?) I just used a piece of calico, of all things, as that's what I had handy! Seemed to work alright, although I imagine it could definitely be better, LOL. Fiddled around with an off-cut of the leather and the stain I bought. I'm not really sure *what* it is exactly, as the shop that sold it to me simply calls it "Antique Finish". However I did manage to get a somewhat nice looking finish by painting it on and rubbing a bit off before its totally dry, hand-painting part of the stamped design with black acrylic, and then finishing off with lacquer. I'll share a photo when the belt is done, as I'd really appreciate critique. Its definitely a steep learning curve for me being a total newbie with absolutely no clue of what I'm doing or what tools are out there!! Thanks again Trinity

Sendspace (as mentioned already), 4Shared (http://www.4shared.com/), and Ripway (http://www.ripway.com/) are the first that come to mind for me. With Ripway, though, I was constantly finding I'd go over their daily bandwith allowance. I also haven't had much experience with 4Shared yet to know much about it one way or another how good it is.