Help-Drawing Your Own Patterns

[BarABarLeatherworks]

Okay you seasoned leather workers I need some help!

I am a newer worker and just have been tracing patterns, but I am ready to start drawing my own but let me tell you, I am having a heck of a time!

I need some tips and tricks to help me. I understand the general idea, but I have such a hard time making everything flow together. I would love a computer program, but would love to see books or illustrations and hear what everyone has to say!

Thanks!

Hannah

[Hi Im Joe]

You should try inkscape. It's a free vector drawing program (think adobe illustrator). Its pretty intuitive and very flexible. You should be able to look up some tutorials if you are having problems figuring it out.

I'm not an expert but I can get around in inkscape. If you do decide to try it out and have some questions message me and I'll try to help you out.

Good luck!

[DavidL]

if you know all the techniques (rolled edges, adding extra length for the curves, knowing leather characteristics) then when it comes to making a pattern it is easier for you.

Search product design on youtube for a quick look at how to get an overall idea of the look and then break it down into sections.

[Jim]

Hannah, this why I wrote a book - for folks just like you. I'm out on the truck right now but as soon as I can I'm going to get with you and help you on your quest. Now, being an old timer I feel it's best to start designing patterns by hand before you go to computer do you can get a feel for distances, fold allowances, and other stuff that goes into pattern design.

You will be amazed at what you can design with the simplest of tools.

Jim R. Simmons

Etowah River Productions

[dirtclod]

Put a center line on what your going to make your pattern out of and measure off of that. Cans, plates, washers are good for making corners and curves. If your attaching a gusset or something like that be sure and add a seam allowence, tape your pattern togeather before you cut leather to make sure things fit.

[billybopp]

Excellent advice from all three above posts.

To add to DavidL's advice, find a few cheap but nice items at flea markets, ebay, or even lying around the house and study how they are put together, or even take them apart to learn how they are put together. Ask yourself why the maker made each of their design decision. Was it an engineering decision, aesthetic decision, or cost/time saving. Analyzing a few items that way will tell you a LOT.

Consider finding a few patterns for free online, or buy one or two to see what others have done, and again, analyze their decisions. Once you understand this sort of thing, your own designs will come far easier.

I agree with Jim, nothing beats hand-drawing designs for learning how to do it. Graph paper is a big help in hand-drawing and you can find it just about anywhere.

When you are ready to do some computer based design, you'll find that there are a lot of advantages. Computer based designs can be done for cutting or carving. They are easily filed and organized without taking up physical space. They are perfectly repeated with every printing. They allow a level of precision that hand-drawing does not, although that is not always important.

If you have a carving pattern, you can make a fresh pattern every time you want to use it by printing onto paper, or even better printer transparency film. By printing a fresh copy every time you want to carve that pattern, it prevents distortions from creeping into your work with repeated use of the same pattern.

If you have a cutting pattern, there are a few options. You can trace the pattern into the leather to give you cut lines, much the same as a carving pattern. If you will use your pattern a few times, you can print it and then glue it onto thick cardboard, cut it out and use it a few times. George Hurst did a youtube video on this for Tandyleatherfactory. With time cardboard patterns can wear, but they are good for some things and limited use. Cardboard patterns can, of course, be remade from your original when they wear out, but that is an investment of your time. If you think you will use a pattern many times, it's worth investing in a laser cut plastic pattern. I've been very pleased with the work and pricing from www.blackriverlaser.com . The owner, Joyce is delightful to work with.

Hi Im Joe suggested Inkscape, which is will probably do nicely, and the price is right! The important part, though, is Vector Based. It's the only good way to get nice smooth lines. Avoid pixel based or raster based software. The differences are much too technical to get into here, but trust us on this one.

I managed to get an antiquated version of Adobe Illustrator that does all that I need it to do. If you go with Illustrator, there is an excellent tutorial in 19 parts on youtube by TastyTuts. There is a link to sample files which allows you to follow along with the videos in your own copy of Illustrator. There is not better way to learn than to do!! The videos are not leather-work oriented, and later parts not-so-applicable to what we do, but I watched them anyway and filed them away in my head as "good to know". When you are ready to take your earlier hand drawn patterns into the digital realm, you'll need a scanner. They're pretty cheap these days and useful for a number of other uses as well. I bought an all-in-one printer/copier/scanner and love it. You'll find the above-mentioned tutorials 13 - 16 useful.

You can also find a short youtube video by Ian Atkinson on how to take a simple hand-drawn design into Illustrator, although it is a little difficult to follow until you've learned a bit more about Illustrator. The general principals should apply to any software you choose to use.

PS. Jim. I'd love to take a look at your book! Where can we find it?

I hope that helps more than confuses!

Bill

[Jim]

I'm currently working on a deal with a fellow in Indiana. As soon as I have a grip on who in this world is carrying my stuff you folks will be the next to know.

Edited June 17, 2014 by Jim

[gunter]

as Always,

thanks for the heads up Jim!

[Tesla Ranger]

I tried making a cardboard pattern a time or two but found I was getting inconsistent results with it. It may have been the cardboard I was using but it just wasn't living up to my expectations. I've since made a habit of printing out patterns I intend to re-use on cardstock (usually 110lb paper, specifically) and then carefully cutting them out. This has the advantage of being cheap and relatively expedient and the patterns are easy to store and generally pretty durable. They're also a bit easier to trace than regular weight paper. Of course, if you're printing designs to transfer onto leather with a stylus or pencil then using something heavy like cardstock tends to work against you.

[camano ridge]

Jim, Double K has a lot of your patterns and your book http://doublekleather.com/index.php/shop-online/educational/books/the-book-of-leatherwork-detail. I ran across somebody else on line that was selling your book I will have to look and see who that was.