Vintage Lederhosen Repair

[baumgrenze]

I have an adult sized pair of lederhosen that were purchasedfor me in 1955 in Heilbronn, Germany, in a 'large' department store. They arein need of repair. There are several tears in the leather.

Let me hasten to point out two problems that occur to me.

1) 1955 was early in the post-war period in Germany. Qualityleather and even tanning materials may not have been easy to obtain then.

2) 1955 was 56 years ago. The leather they were made from is'old.' It is not clear to me how it was tanned.

They are traditionally constructed from 4 panels of suedeleather ~0.06" thick. This means that there are a front and back seam, and twoside seams. The seams are simple plain seams with the rough side out. Each hasa narrow strip of leather between the panel pieces, that is, the seam is 3layers thick. The leather feels 'dried out' to the hand.

I have a nice piece of supple top-grain leather 0.021"thick. Does it make sense for me to try to repair these using Barge Cement toapply a patch made from the top-grain leather? If so, how much larger than thetear does the patch need to be?

At present, there is a 1" tear across the rear seam, in thecrotch, just 1" from the seam that joins the front and back panels along theinseam. There is a longer tear, 5" long, just to the front of one inseam. Muchof it lies just next to the inseam. Might it make sense to undo this seam,apply the patch, and restitch the inseam? The third tear, 1 " long, is on theback panel, an inch from where the pocket meets the side seam. There are manyplaces where the leather that is proud of the outer face of the garment, alonga seam, has cracked down to the seam line. I no longer wear the lederhosen frequently,but when I do put them on, I do not want to be embarrassed.

I'm open to anyone's suggestions.

What are the rules regarding attaching images, i.e., format,size, etc. I have posted photos on ImageShack to other forums, if that ispermitted on this forum. If so, is there a preferred format? I've noticed that ImageShackgenerates several.

Thanks,

baumgrenze

[AaronR]

Hey Baum, pictures of various sizes are permitted here as well as links to external photo-hosting sites, and a picture or two would really help with addressing your challenge (if it's still on the project board)!

How dried out the leather is and what you intend to do with them will most directly affect what you can or shouldn't do with the pants. If these are to be showpieces a careful conditioning and patchwork should do the trick. If you're intending to use them your repairs may need to be more creative.

[baumgrenze]

Aaron,

Thank you for replying. I'm glad I requested notification.

I reviewed my post and notice that my attempt at composing in Word and pasting to the board left me with a bunch of unseparated words. My apologies. Can I edit post over a year old? If so, I will clean it up.

I am interested in a 'creative repair' that will allow occasional use, certainly no more than once a year, perhaps for 10-15 years.

Below are some some photo thumbnail links from ImageShack:

As I attempted to say before, the garment leather is ~0.06" thick; both facesare split faces. The repair material I have is ~0.021" thick and has one suede and one top grain face.

Does my proposal to line the lederhosen with new leather using Barge Cement make any sense? The leather is dry but still fairly supple. As I noted on one of the photos, the area around the worst tear is fragile and easily torn. How would I condition suede leather? Would conditioning make repairs using adhesive more difficult? I hope the photos make the task I face clearer. I am open to suggestions from anyone with experience is this kind of repair.

Thanks,

John

Hey Baum, pictures of various sizes are permitted here as well as links to external photo-hosting sites, and a picture or two would really help with addressing your challenge (if it's still on the project board)!

How dried out the leather is and what you intend to do with them will most directly affect what you can or shouldn't do with the pants. If these are to be showpieces a careful conditioning and patchwork should do the trick. If you're intending to use them your repairs may need to be more creative.

[Sylvia]

Does my proposal to line the lederhosen with new leather using Barge Cement make any sense? The leather is dry but still fairly supple. As I noted on one of the photos, the area around the worst tear is fragile and easily torn. How would I condition suede leather? Would conditioning make repairs using adhesive more difficult? I hope the photos make the task I face clearer. I am open to suggestions from anyone with experience is this kind of repair.

Thanks,

John

Hi John:

First, Do these Lederhosen still fit properly? The reason I ask is if they are tight your repairs will cause you issues.

If these were mine.. I would attack the crotch area with a pair of scissors, cutting the area out about 2 inches (6.5 cm) centered on the seam line. All the way up one leg and down the other through the crotch area. Then I would use that piece to measure and add a seam allowance all the way around to make a piece to lay in, glue and sew. Then your back tear I would create some sort of patch to overlay and glue and sew.

Is your repair material at least a good color match?

Syl

[AaronR]

Thanks for the photos John. If I read this correctly you're asking about using a 1.5 oz suede to repair a 4 oz item with one of the rips across a seamline. That's gonna be tricky since it's in one of the highest stress point areas for trousers.

First off conditioning. I haven't done much with suede myself but from digging around I can offer you a few leads. For cleaning and general fluffing you can use a suede brush or a pencil eraser. For conditioning I've found reports on Neetsfoot Oil, Scotchgard, wiping it with a rag soaked in a one-part vinegar to three-parts water solution, using a sponge with liquid silicone, taking it to a dry cleaner, or rubbing cornmeal into the material before brushing it off. Regardless of what you do test any process out on a spare bit or material, or lacking that a small inconspicuous spot on the item itself.

Personally I'm intrigued by the cornmeal suggestion and am tempted to do it with a friend's also hardened vintage pair of lederhosen myself. The last stages of buckskin tanning requires you to work [knead] the material over to break down the hardened fibers and I wonder if a similar process with a softening agent might result in revitalization with suede.

Next, the material itself. 1.5 oz leather - suede especially - is fantastic for lining. I wouldn't use it for the sole lynchpin of a repair other than as a cosmetic fix though. If you can get a 2-3 oz suede that matches the lederhosen use that, otherwise I'd suggest doubling up the 1.5 oz.

The long tear on the front should be the easier repair - you'll be able to patch it up like one would a pair of jeans. And since glue sticks extremely well to suede be careful when applying it so you don't get any where you don't want it. Once the patch is glued in place a baseball stitch in a matching color upholstery or waxed thread should secure the rip nicely.

The hole in the back however... If this was my own project I'd be sorely tempted to replace the welt entirely. Since it's in a relatively hidden location you might be able to get away with a smaller adjustment. I'd tear out the stitches for about one to two inches on either side of the rip, patch up the holes like on the front (one patch for each side of the seat), then re-sew the seam back together with a new welt overlapping the old cut from a matching material out of at least 4 if not 6 oz suede.

Barge would be the way to go; you'll get the best tack for your buck. I'd avoid the Toluene free glue since it's not as strong unless you can't get the other stuff. If neither of those are available and you're using Tandy's go with their Contact Cement over the Rubber Cement - it'll last longer.

In checking through my lederhosen reference library I didn't find much regarding traditional embellishment in the regions you're looking at repairing. Some varieties of leather pants have ornate embroidery going on - which could be used to hide and even fortify patchwork - but almost all examples of this I found were around the waist and on the outer thigh portions (see pics).

Also, check out the hosenträger for rot and the like. It looks like the backing has rubbed off in a few areas. If they're dry and cracking on the grain side I'd encourage you to consider replacing them.