How Do I Prevent The Leather From Stretching?

[TLM2281]

I'm still very new to leather craft and the answer may be obvious! But I'm going to ask it anyway.....I have read that one needs to glue the piece to be worked to poster/card board to prevent deformation of the leather when tooling it. Does this apply to projects that you wish not to line?? If so, how do you deal with glue residue? If not, what am I doing wrong?? Both of the "Projects" that I have attempted involve stitched seams, I'm about 80% happy with the stitching but the ends don't meet the way they should and it makes me just want to throw it in the trash!!

Thanks in advance,

Troy

[Tree Reaper]

Sometimes seeing the glue isn't an issue.

You can buy an eraser to remove it in some instances.

More importantly, you should match it up prior to stitching and then make changes to compensate.

In this case, the left side looks higher than the right so you can pull the left side up to match the right side and then trim them even or add a border to mask the difference.

The most successful leather worker is the one that can hide the mistakes and we all make them.

[TLM2281]

More importantly, you should match it up prior to stitching and then make changes to compensate.

Thanks Tree Reaper, I did just that prior to stitching but I guess my inexperience limited my ability to think outside the box and find a solution.....Even with your explanation I fell to see how I could have trimmed it without affecting the other margins......

[electrathon]

If you are not going to line it then use packing tape instead of glue on the back. It will peal off with no residue.

[Tree Reaper]

Did you check your leather to make sure it was square?

Just because it measures the same distance across doesn't mean it's square.

Measure corner to corner diagonally.

The leather may also be twisted.

[TLM2281]

Electrathon, Now that's thinking!! Packing tape!! Now why didn't I think of that!! Thanks!

Tree Reaper, Believe it or not, I did check the square of each side individually. Before making the cuts, I checked the length, both edges, against a straight edge and they were true. The other seam lined up perfectly.....Physically looking at the koozie, it appears that I may have made the cut for that border a fraction deeper than the rest....Would that lead to the beveling being deeper, less supporting material, more stretch/deformation??

Thanks for the input and taking the time to graphically illustrate your point!!

Troy

[Tree Reaper]

The more you work the leather the better chance of it stretching.

Did you use a square on it or measure corner to corner prior to stitching?

Without taking the stitching out it is difficult to measure now.

Removing the stitching would be better than throwing it out.

If you can pull the leather back and split the difference between the top and bottom then do some light sanding it will be less noticeable.

[Northmount]

Cut oversize to start, do your tooling, check the fit and line up all joints, mark start and end points of stitching on both sides of the seam, trim to fit perfectly on at least 1 end, mark out your stitches, trim the other end to match if you haven't already. Pay attention to any twists or stretched parts as you are trying to line up the joins before you do any trimming so you can get the best fit with no strange twists.

I have had to place a weight (not heavy, just enough to keep it flat) on top of some thin items to ensure they dry flat after tooling before proceeding further with assembly. Just leaving the item laying on your bench to dry, it can still warp. Keeping it flat helps a lot.

Always test fits before gluing, punching, marking stitches, etc. That is the time where you can easily fix small miss-matches.

Tom

[TLM2281]

Prior to stitching I did not check either way, although I knew there was a problem because when I made the holes for stitching there was additional material on the odd side.....Same number of holes and carefully spaced....I will just mark it up as a lesson learned and in the future try to be more proactive when I know that there is a problem! I will also bare in mind your words of wisdom!..."The most successful leather worker is the one that can hide the mistakes and we all make them."

Thanks for taking the time to give me advice!

Troy

[TLM2281]

Thanks for the input Tom! It sounds like I kinda reversed the order of things!! I paid to much attention to the right things at the wrong time....