Shrinkage??

[ToddMaine]

My brother wants his bar stools covered. Basically they are 11x 18 flat. He just wants some tooled flat pieces he will tack down to them. They seem like a good basic project for a newbee. Can I expect much shrinkage? Not a lot of tooling just some oak leaves and some wildlife in the center with a border so I'm not sure how much it may expand either. I guess what I'm asking is should I cut them with a little extra then when it's all done cut to size? Thanks for any help.

[NVLeatherWorx]

There is a neat little trick that is geared towards preventing the issues of stretch/shrinkage and that is to attach a firm backing to the flesh side of the leather and letting it set before you start anything else.  For project the size of what you are looking at one of those thin little kitchen mats (the flexible plastic kind) would be a great start and you can get them pretty cheap at most big-box stores.  Just apply some adhesive (recommend rubber cement) to both the mat and the flesh side of the leather, let it set a bit until it is tacky, and then attach them to each other.  Once it has set, maybe 3 to 4 hours, you can case your leather and start your process.  Once you are finished with your tooling leave the leather on the mat until it has completely dried; having the firm backing will keep the leather from stretching during your tooling and leaving on until it has dried will keep it from shrinking.  I even do all my staining while it is on the mat just to make sure that everything stays in place.  Once you are ready to start your assembly just peel the leather from the mat (be careful and take your time); you can then remove any remaining rubber cement easily and set the mat aside for later use.  Any adhesive that remains on the leather will be no issue anyway because it is either going to be attached to some other surface (in your case) or will be lined with a thinner leather or other material.

[ToddMaine]

Thanks NV sounds like a plan!!!!

[NVLeatherWorx]

You are most welcome.