Doing the flesh side (bracelets)

[monicaj]

Looking for a few sweet souls to help me.  I'm making bracelets, necklaces, and stick hair barrettes and I really don't want to put backings on them, I'd rather put color on the back but I'm worried about bleeding.

I took a scrap strap and put fiebings black pro dye on the back, then tested these things for bleeding... Resolene, gum trag, angelus satan finisher, and edge kote.  They felt a little rough to the touch, so I took a wood burnisher and burnished a little.

Then I took a damp white rag and rubbed each spot (kinda hard), and some black came through on all 4 things.

My questions are many.  

- I only used 1 coat of those, should I have used 2?

- Should I have let the products sit over night before rubbing?

- Should I use something else instead of black dye?

- Maybe my rubbing is too vigorous, and the bracelets really won't bleed if sweated on or caught in the rain?

- Or maybe I DON'T need to color the back?  Does it look completely unprofessional?

- Maybe I should try to burnish the edges in a way that keeps the black from getting on the back?  

My current method of burnishing isn't quite right, and I know it.  What I'm doing is taking a lip gloss applicator and using it to put black dye around the edges (after I bevel), and then running a bit of beeswax over it while it's still wet, then using a wood burnisher in a dremel.  It gets smooth, but I don't know if it will stand the test of time or elements.  I know I'm going to have to do it a more correct way eventually.  

- But could I just find a way to make sure the black doesn't get on the backside, and then use gum trag to smooth it?

A consideration:  The necklaces are somewhat shaped so they fit snug around the shoulder, but they're shaped to my shoulders which are kind of small.  I tried a necklace on my sister, and her shoulders were a little bigger, so it didn't lay flat as it does on mine.  So I re-wet it and put it on her for a bit to get her shape, and let it dry and it worked fine.  

- If I find a way to color the back so it won't bleed, is it going to seal it too much for it to absorb water and be reshaped?

Sorry for all the questions.  I thought my test on the strap would clear things up for me, but it only put me at more of a loss as to a solution.

 

[monicaj]

Sorry for pic quality... stupid cheap phone...  You can't tell it much but I'm so worried about bleeding, I used Angelus satin finisher around the edges where the black is, but it made it look a little sloppier because it discolored it... maybe I should have just used it over the whole back.  Worried that it'll be harder to get the leather wet for adding some shape.  The last thing I do to everything is wet it and shape it... it makes the bracelets the bracelets easier to try on when it's roundy rather than straight as a board.

Thought about going the other direction and seeing if I can make things really soft and pliable with maybe pure neatsfoot oil.  Would that be better than giving them shape???

And thanks in advance! I really appreciate the help!

Edited November 29, 2016 by monicaj
Adding thanks!

[TinkerTailor]

37 minutes ago, monicaj said:

Thought about going the other direction and seeing if I can make things really soft and pliable with maybe pure neatsfoot oil.  Would that be better than giving them shape???

I usually oil after forming to soften it up . Water forming will stiffen leather and it is advisable to get some oils back in after, If it is too hard, it may be uncomfortable and/or crack in use. It should still hold shape, just be softer. Careful with the oil, it can take a day or 3 to fully have an effect. It is much better to put too little oil  on, wait a day or 2 and then see if it needs more. Over oiling can ruin leather and is really easy to do with neetsfoot. The leather will absorb way more than it needs.

Now as to finishing the back and bleeding, Back finishing is one of those difficult things that can vary greatly with the tannage and the texture of the back. The flesh side of the leather absorbs a dye a whole bunch faster than the grain side and tends to collect dye particles caught up in the nap. Buffing will only go so far. It is kinda like getting sparkles out of shag carpet.....In addition, the water, oils and soaps,sweat and other stuff a wrist cuff/hair piece is exposed to will effect the leather and finishes.

As far as finish, many use beeswax based finishes but be carefull, over application can cause them to be sticky. Others use thinned resolene, but this can make the back rougher and scratchier....

Short answer is, use the smoothest/firmest backed leather you can and only dye if you have to. Do some experiments on scrap to see what works for you.

Edging is a whole other topic. There are many threads on here about it. One piece of advice to prevent bleed is to use several light coats. Don't worry if the first dye coat does not cover, you will get it the second time. Oversoaking the edge to get even colour the first application can cause bleed easy. Again, the edge absorbs product way faster than the grain, so go slow and sparingly.

[LatigoAmigo]

You might consider using an "edge paint" like Fenice. It will provide full, even coverage.

[monicaj]

TinkerTailor, thanks for the wealth of info.  I'm really glad it's ok to leave the backs un-dyed.  And I'm glad too for the info on the oil, I have wanted my leather stuff to be softer but thought putting oil on afterward would make them lose shape. I'll definitely start with a minimal amount of oil so I don't overload it.

I'll give edge paint a try LatigoAmigo, thank you.

It will be a lot less worrisome, to just work on making the edges nice and keeping the back clean. Relief...

 

[monicaj]

Getting sparkles out of shag carpet... lol great analogy. 

[robs456]

Hi,
I'm just starting up a leather jewelry business, and have looked into this quite a bit.
The best way to go is to use lining leather on the inside of the product, or even doubling the leather to have to grain sides, which I do with thinner leathers. 
This will of course affect your cost and effort and thus the price as well (I hope...) and if you're not going for the higher end of the market you may not want to do that.

In that case my advice is to use quality leather with a smooth flesh side or sand/split it down so that it is suede like. Then use an edge paint like the Fenice mentioned for example, making sure the back stays spotless. Using dye on the edge only could work but it's easy to have it bleed into the back or otherwise make a mess.

In my experiments coloring or dyeing the flesh side I have always managed to get color transfer some way, but there are ways to minimize it. 
The best way I found on some cheap(ish) leather was: Dye the flesh side, Rub out as much as possible after an hour or so, Dye it again, Rub after an hour or so, Apply Gum Trag, Burnish the entire back, Dye again, Let dry 24 hours, Rub, Gum Trag if necessary, 3 coats of Resolene/water 50/50 -let dry between coats. 
This still transferred when rubbing vigorously with a white T-shirt, maybe because of friction, but wearing it on my wrist for a week in the summer produced no transfer. 
Things I think about when designing are climate, where the product is worn, will it have contact with clothes, what kind of clothes (jeans, dress etc) and how it will be used.

Attaching a pic of a few bracelets, these all have pigskin lining and Giardini edge paint, leather is Tärnsjö veg tan.

Hope I could help some.

 

[monicaj]

Robs456, I hope whenever I start to line my backs that they look as nice as yours.  And thanks for letting me know your steps when you dye the backs.  I'm going to try to just keep the backs clean but it would probably be a good idea to practice a few dyed backs just to know how.

[robs456]

Thanks. And yeah, keeping it clean is always a good way to go. Please post some pics when you get your process down pat. I quite like your artwork, especially on the hairpin.

 

[monicaj]

Thank you.  I will.