billymac814 Report post Posted February 1, 2013 Can you guys share some pictures of checkbook covers made of some softer leather? I took an order for one tonight, mainly because I know the guy and sometimes have a hard time saying no. I could easily make one out of veg tan but he wants something softer, lamb skin to be specific. I showed him the lamb skin I have and that's what he picked. The problem is its far to thin and soft for this so ill have to laminate it to something else. Making the edges look good is going to be my biggest hurdle I think. If I laminate it to veg tan I could burnish it but I think he wants it softer than that so ill probably use some upholstery leather or something softer that has a little more body. I'm thinking of maybe binding the edges like Kevin King does if I can't think of another way. Any inspiration would help, it doesn't have to be a checkbook cover but anything similar made of soft leather would be fine. It'll be a probably 2 months before I start on it so I have time to think about it. Thanks in advance Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beaverslayer Report post Posted February 1, 2013 No pictures of Cheque Book covers, as they aren't a popular thing up here in Canada (because we spell Check wrong maybe)...Laminating Lambskin to Lambskin does have a fair amount of "body" to it though. I've done a number of purse/handbags that way and never a problem. Also, laminating Lambskin to 2/3 oz veg tan is still quite soft yet still nice and firm as cheque/check book covers should be. I've also done some purse/handbags this way as well. With either one of the above mentioned ways, or as you suggested with upholstery leather, you can either burnish, "Kevin King" it or even lace it on the edges. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billymac814 Report post Posted February 1, 2013 I'll do a sample of lamb on lamb and see how it feels, I could maybe even put a liner inside for a little extra as the lambskin I have is quite thin. I may KK it but burnishing it would probably be my preferred method if I can get this leather to burnish but I'm doubting that it'll be firm enough to get a nice edge on it unless I do veg tan. I do have some really soft veg tan that feels more like chap leather, its probably a little on the thick side though. If I bound the edges it might be add a nice accent to it if I did it darker. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bob Blea Report post Posted February 1, 2013 I've used thin plastic and styrene sheets to reinforce vegtan notebook covers when I want more rigidity to it, but that's probably too much for what you are wanting to do here. I've used thin posterboard when I've wanted to add just a little stiffness to a cover. Maybe the right thickness of posterboard would give you the firmness you are looking for? Otherwise, if you wanted to stay with a leather product as a stiffener, I think I would use the 2 Oz. vegtan. Just suggestions, I haven't tried making a cover out of something this soft yet... Bob Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billymac814 Report post Posted February 1, 2013 I did consider some stiffener material I have that is similar to cardboard but I think I'm sticking to leather, I'm thinking this lining material I have will be good, its thicker than pigskin and stiffer but still very thin. Now I just have to figure out how to make it look good, otherwise it would be pretty plain. He's pretty much have me free reign with the exception of the leather and a few minor details. Thanks. I've used thin plastic and styrene sheets to reinforce vegtan notebook covers when I want more rigidity to it, but that's probably too much for what you are wanting to do here. I've used thin posterboard when I've wanted to add just a little stiffness to a cover. Maybe the right thickness of posterboard would give you the firmness you are looking for? Otherwise, if you wanted to stay with a leather product as a stiffener, I think I would use the 2 Oz. vegtan. Just suggestions, I haven't tried making a cover out of something this soft yet... Bob Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bob Blea Report post Posted February 1, 2013 I did consider some stiffener material I have that is similar to cardboard but I think I'm sticking to leather, I'm thinking this lining material I have will be good, its thicker than pigskin and stiffer but still very thin. Now I just have to figure out how to make it look good, otherwise it would be pretty plain. He's pretty much have me free reign with the exception of the leather and a few minor details. Thanks. What about a filigee technique? Say the lamb skin had a design cut out of it to show another color of leather beneath it. That layer beneath could also be your stiffener? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billymac814 Report post Posted March 6, 2013 Well here is what I ended up with. I can't say that I'm thrilled with how it turned out. Working with thin soft leather is not something I do often other than repairs. Its made entirely of lambskin doubled up and it also has a layer of unicorn buckram in it to prevent it from stretching too much. The edges are rolled over using some darker lambskin. There's one part of veg tan under the tab that keeps the page for the register but I laminated lambskin to it so it matched. There's definitely some things I'd do a little different if I were to do another but there's a fat chance of that happening. . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cyberthrasher Report post Posted March 6, 2013 Man, that's super sleek Was it just a pain or something? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billymac814 Report post Posted March 7, 2013 Pretty much. I'm sure the next one would go a whole lot quicker, I just don't generally work with soft leather like that and getting those rolled edges to look good wasn't the easiest thing to do. Trimming the excess wasn't as bad as I thought. It would have been much easier just using veg tan and stitching it up and burnishing the edges. Most of my time was spent just thinking about how to do it and have the edges look good. I ended up deciding on the rolled edges and once I got started it went fairly quick but all told I spent way more time than I planned on it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cyberthrasher Report post Posted March 7, 2013 but all told I spent way more time than I planned on it. The first one always goes that way Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billymac814 Report post Posted March 7, 2013 Yes it does and that is the biggest problems with "one offs" and why its often hard to make a decent profit and make it worthwhile. Normally I only take these kind of jobs for people I know or potentially good customers otherwise its just not worth all the design time and I'd be embarrassed to quote some ridiculous figure for a fairly plain item when I know they could get one cheaper from someone who may specialize in it. He already thought this one was expensive and I only figured in about an hour and a half and that's about all I had in actually doing it but I had another couple bourse or so in making the patterns, then changing them then looking at them and scratching my head for a while. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aguilerag Report post Posted March 7, 2013 It came out very nice. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
