Leather For Aprons

[Austyn]

I've been wanting to make leather aprons for sometime now but I'm not sure where/what type of leather to get!

any help would be awesome!

Thanks!

WL

Austyn

[Nuttish]

Maybe tell us how the apron will be used?

[Norton Custom Leather]

Springfield Leather Company.

If you call them they will help you & not sell you anything you don't need. They also cut leather to the lengths/widths you need at no extra charge.

[Austyn]

The apron will be for a barista.

[Nuttish]

Oh yeah. There's only one choice for a barista. Chromexcel. They won't care that it's hot and uncomfortable. Because hipsters and Horween.

I'd suggest asking Maverick if they have any in ~3 oz. Anything heavier may make the piece too hot to wear all shift. It will be cheaper than Springfield.

[TinkerTailor]

When designing your apron, multiple piece designs may be preferable as large blemish free pieces are not plentiful without alot of waste or added cost. With multi-piece designs, you can place pieces around blemishes to minimize waste, and possibly use a lower grade of leather. I sometimes find great hides that have a hole in the middle or something for half price. With designs that have smaller pieces, no prob, just place them around the hole. With a one piece design, you would have a hole in the middle of the apron.

Also, a full front apron with pockets will likely use well over a half a side of leather, which would make the leather cost per apron about the same as a cheap chinese fixed gear bike, another thing hipsters can't get enough of. You might get 4 small belt type aprons out of a side. I suggest leather and waxed canvas mix. It keeps material cost down and hipster level up.

Did you hear the one about the hipster that burnt his mouth drinking coffee?

He was doing it before it was cool...

[billybopp]

Yeah... You just made me snort coffee up into my nose, Tinker. LOL!!!

Thanks!

Bill

[Austyn]

Great! Thank you for the feedback,.

 

im thinking about using a Naturl Veg Sheepskin for the apron, this will be between 1.5oz - 2.5oz.

I'm also going to be using this for my leather work studio as well.

Below is a rough sketch of my design, any feedback would be awesome.

Thank you,

Austyn

[JMWendt]

That sheepskin is going to get pretty stained by coffee pretty fast, I imagine.

[JLSleather]

All the leather aprons I've seen were made from about 3-4 oz suede cowhide.  And I would absolutely recommend S-T Leather.  Great leathers, but they keep costs down by not having you pay for their (excessive) advertising   

Personally, I probably would go with denim or canvas for myself, maybe add some lightweight leather POCKETS.

 

 

[Nuttish]

For that kind of leather, you're talking about 1/32"-3/64" thick very light material. It would make a better garment or bag/lining than apron.

I second JLS' inclination to go with canvas. Have a look at Carr or Big Duck Canvas. They're both among the last US duck mills and both sell any quantities to the public with a cutting fee. Plus, hipsters love waxed canvas almost as much as single origin coffee beans, CXL, and listening to Carly Rae Jepsen without irony.

[kjcreamer]

I'm a little slow to respond here but your drawing looks REALLY similar to this one:

for sale at Rocky Mountain Leather Supply https://www.rmleathersupply.com/collections/tools/products/trvr-work-apron but as you can see it's a mix of waxed canvas and leather to keep costs down. I think this is what others were recommending for incorporating some fabric.

[imstephenjones]

On 12/4/2015 at 8:09 AM, Nuttish said:

Oh yeah. There's only one choice for a barista. Chromexcel. They won't care that it's hot and uncomfortable. Because hipsters and Horween.

I'd suggest asking Maverick if they have any in ~3 oz. Anything heavier may make the piece too hot to wear all shift. It will be cheaper than Springfield.

Amazing response. I'd also check maverick leather. Great prices on Horween. I'd stay at or under 4oz.