Ross Report post Posted January 18, 2010 I saw the vest tutorial beaverslayer did, and I liked it. I've never made clothing other than hats and never with chrome tanned leather. I've never made lace with chrome tanned leather either. Anyway, it occurred to me that I had a winter jacket with patches on it for my business but I really had nothing for the summer and a vest would be pretty much what the doctor ordered. The way beaverslayer had his tutorial arranged meant making a yoke with tooling leather but I didn't feel like that would be enough room for what I wanted to do. And I had no pattern. So I cut up an old t shirt that fit pretty good, cut it in half and adjusted the curves and angles using my calibrated eye. In other words, I winged it. Remember, I've not worked with chrome tanned leather other than one purse I made my wife. Boy is this different from veg tanned leather!!!! Making the vest took me 40 1/2 hours start to finish. The patch took about 2 hours to make and another couple of hours to sew on. This leather is slick folks and there was a learning curve for me. I was afraid that the patch would pull down on the chrome leather so I lined the vest with the same leather as the outside was made from. I didn't want to glue the patch on, so I marked center line in chalk and repositioned after every stitch. As ye can see, I got a bit of puckering. Not much and I'm not sure I could have prevented it. I haven't yet made the patches for the front. Those who've done this kind of work before are more than welcome to pitch in with comments and suggestions. A couple of side notes: *My wife was very glad when I finished this vest. She claims I got a bit testy. *I used acrylic paints for the bright colors on the patch so it would not fade. Of course that means chipping is possible down the road, so I sprayed polyurethane for the finish. I figured it was tough and would help hold the acrylic paint on. Time will tell, but it made the veg tanned leather a bit brittle. I don't think I'll do that again. *No way I could make and sell these with the amount of time it took to make this one. I'm assuming that with practice I would get faster. I hope. Again, any suggestions are appreciated. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BradB Report post Posted January 18, 2010 that looks great for a first try!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
terrahyd Report post Posted January 19, 2010 (edited) JUDGING FROM THE PATERN YOU USED I THINK YOU FINISHED IT IN GOOD TIME ,,,,CHECK OUT PATERNS FROM TANDY ,,,THEY WILL TAKE HALF THE TIME AND ARE LOTTS SIMPLER TO DOO,,,I SEW MINE WITH AN OLD HAND CRANK SEWING MACH" I HAVE HAD FOR 30YRS' ...I USE CHROME TANED CALF AND NO PUCKERING...ALL THOSE SEAMS AND GUSSETS JUST ADD TO THE PROBLEMS ,,TRY THE SIMPLEST PATERN FIRST ,,US DENEM TO PRATICE ON ITS CHEAP,,IT IS HARD TO MAKE MONEY ON VESTS I KNOW ,,BEEN TRYING FOR YEARS,,LET ME KNOW HOW IT ALL TURNS OUT ,,,,,DOC.... PM..THE PLASTIC WOOD FINISH WILL SEAL THE PAINT AND LEATHER JUST FINE ,,I USE IT ON ALL MY BUCKLES AND BELTS , HAVE FOR 20YRS' , SEAMS TO LAST BETTER THAN ALL ELSE TRIED ,,NO ONE ELSE AGREES WITH ME BUT I HAVE WALLETS ,BELTS ,BUCKLES WITH 10 YRS' OF USE , STILL GOING STRONG TO THIS DAY AND PEOPLE RETURNING FOR MORE,,,,, Edited January 19, 2010 by terrahyd Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wvcraftsman Report post Posted January 19, 2010 I saw the vest tutorial beaverslayer did, and I liked it. I've never made clothing other than hats and never with chrome tanned leather. I've never made lace with chrome tanned leather either. Anyway, it occurred to me that I had a winter jacket with patches on it for my business but I really had nothing for the summer and a vest would be pretty much what the doctor ordered. The way beaverslayer had his tutorial arranged meant making a yoke with tooling leather but I didn't feel like that would be enough room for what I wanted to do. And I had no pattern. So I cut up an old t shirt that fit pretty good, cut it in half and adjusted the curves and angles using my calibrated eye. In other words, I winged it. Great Job! I only hope that my projects look as good as the many I've seen on here. Keep up the great work. THE PLASTIC WOOD FINISH WILL SEAL THE PAINT AND LEATHER JUST FINE ,,I USE IT ON ALL MY BUCKLES AND BELTS , HAVE FOR 20YRS' , SEAMS TO LAST BETTER THAN ALL ELSE TRIED ,,NO ONE ELSE AGREES WITH ME BUT I HAVE WALLETS ,BELTS ,BUCKLES WITH 10 YRS' OF USE , STILL GOING STRONG TO THIS DAY AND PEOPLE RETURNING FOR MORE,,,,, What is plastic wood finish? Where do you buy it? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
terrahyd Report post Posted January 19, 2010 (edited) Great Job! I only hope that my projects look as good as the many I've seen on here. Keep up the great work. Edited January 19, 2010 by terrahyd Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
terrahyd Report post Posted January 19, 2010 (edited) i WAS REFERING TO THE POLYURETHANE YOU USED Edited January 20, 2010 by terrahyd Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wvcraftsman Report post Posted January 20, 2010 i WAS REFERING TO THE POLYURETHANE YOU USED Thanks terrahyd. I'm still an infant leatherworker, so I'm learning what to use/what not to use. I love to see what everyone has made. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
