my leather stretched!

[sssz]

Hi all,

Im just begining, at leatherwork, but when I stamped a basket weave pattern onto a coaster shape, it looks more like a football now as it has stretched. Am I making the leather to wet? Am I stamping to hard, or not in a certain pattern. I followed a how to guide in Al Stohlman's Tech Tips.

[DCKNIVES]

No, you are probably doing doing it right, just need to add another step.If your stamping on thinner leather it will move especially when doing extensive stamping like done in a Basketweave pattern.You can apply Rubber cement to the back side and glue it to some cardboard or apply clear packing tape to the backside.This will keep it from moving.Good luck and welcome to the wonderful world of leather.Dave

[ClayB]

Stretch could be caused by a combination of several things, but it's easy to prevent. I use rubber cement to glue my leather to a piece of cardboard (cereal box) before stamping. Some people glue it to x-ray film, plexi glass, or apply packing tape to the back of the leather before stamping on it. Do a search here on the forum and you will find lots of different ideas. One thread where it was discussed is http://www.leatherworker.net/forum/index.p...amp;#entry12918

[sssz]

Thankyou for your help. I'll post some photos soon of all my beginners work.

Stuart