Pigskin liners

[ThisIsMyFirstRodeo]

Hey all, quick question…

Been looking for a liner for a purse I’m working on, but I’ve been rather disappointed with the options I’ve found. Does veg-tanned pigskin (or lamb skin for that matter) tool/dye like veg-tan cattle leather?

Thanks,

AZR

[Mablung]

I've never seen veg-tanned pigskin (doesn't mean it isn't out there, I guess). Calf skin can be had veg-tanned and will tool and dye well, but it's thin (and expensive). I like that stuff a lot personally. Is it important for the lining to tool well?

[fredk]

15 hours ago, ThisIsMyFirstRodeo said:

Does veg-tanned pigskin (or lamb skin for that matter) tool/dye like veg-tan cattle leather?

Its too thin to tool but it takes dye nicely

[BlackDragon]

I would shy away from lining a purse with animal skin unless it's a specialty purse or a purse that's just a fashion piece. Purses get really dirty on the inside because of makeup and just things that fall into it. Imagine not emptying your pockets for months/years at a time lol. Most purses I make are lined with a cotton material that's easier to clean.

With that said I make fashion purses from time that I line with pig suede and it holds up well but it's pretty thin. You can use vegtan pig, lamb, goat as a lining but it'll be pretty thin, it's more expensive, it'll get dirty or stain easily, and it won't get clean.

[ThisIsMyFirstRodeo]

I had just finished a bag with a flap-over enclosure, but I had it lined with (tooled) 3oz vegtan. Needless to say, it bubbled on the bend, so I’m looking for options for the next customer who wants a lined (maybe tooled) interior as well as a grain-side exterior. 
My only thoughts were to go lighter, or maybe use a laser burner to etch any “tooling” (now that I finally have one available to me).

[BlackDragon]

On 1/14/2026 at 6:25 PM, ThisIsMyFirstRodeo said:

I had just finished a bag with a flap-over enclosure, but I had it lined with (tooled) 3oz vegtan. Needless to say, it bubbled on the bend, so I’m looking for options for the next customer who wants a lined (maybe tooled) interior as well as a grain-side exterior. 
My only thoughts were to go lighter, or maybe use a laser burner to etch any “tooling” (now that I finally have one available to me).

That's one of the issues with gluing in an interior. The wrinkles will even happen with fabric. One way to combat this a little is to glue the liner into the shape of the bend. The issue you'll have with this is that it will be harder to open because the liner won't give when you try to straighten it out. So it's a bit of a balance you can try less of a bend and hope you strike a good balance so when you open it you don't see wrinkle and it's not fighting the user to keep it open.

This just came into my shop for a little TLC on the piping and other leathers.

Notice the stains and grime. Since I'm removing the piping the liner (cotton canvas) will be free and I may be able to clean it up a little but the ink probably won't come out