Leaf Embossing And Block Dyeing

[FirstNick]

Hi!

In an old tread, people talked about how to do leaf embossing and block dyeing.

I ran into a problem and was hoping that someone might help me. I am not able to make an leaf impression on the leather.

I made the leather wet, put the leaf on, placed many heavy books on it and let it dry over night.

But this morning, only the trickes parts of the leaf was impressed on the leather.

What I am doing wrong?

Best regards

Nicklas

[RoyalLeatherDesigns]

It's either you are not applying enough pressure a shop press would be ideal or the leaf is not dense enough to make the impression.

Ralph

[cjdevito]

Not enough pressure. If you don't have a press of some sort lay a thin sheet of acrylic or something similar over the leaves, then run a rolling pin over it using a lot of pressure. You'll get much better impressions.

[JustKate]

I've done this with a rolling pin before with good results. Here's what I've found works:

- choose a leaf species that is fairly thick; avoid ones that are thin and very soft, they won't make much of an impression, even with a press.

- spray or paint the leaf on both sides with a thin coat or two of lacquer.

- use good leather; I've gotten best results from W&C and Hermann Oak, because of how much more easily they burnish than the other leathers I've tried this with.

- get the leather fairly wet, more wet than you would normally for tooling, then let it dry until the surface starts to return to it's normal color.

- once the leaf dries good, lay it on the leather, and lay a sheet of thin, flexible polyethylene plastic over it. This is the same kind of sheet plastic used to make stencils. Note: I tried acrylic - aka plexiglas - and found that a stiffer plastic distributes the pressure from the rolling pin over the entire surface, and does not allow you to concentrate enough pressure where the rolling pin is. I got a much better leaf impression with a rolling pin using polyethylene than using the acrylic.

- put as much weight on the rolling pin you possibly can. Press down as hard as you can on the rolling pin as you roll it over the leaf. Roll slowly and smoothly.

I'll try to post some photos if I get a chance.

Edited September 29, 2013 by JustKate

[FirstNick]

Wow!

Thank you all so much for the answers! I am going to acquire the different things I need for a tryout. Will post pictures if I succeed.

And thanks Kate, for the detailed walk trough! If you get the chance, please post some photos.

Best regards

Nicklas