suzelle Report post Posted March 6, 2017 Hi Everyone! Last month I went shopping with a friend, she took me to MacPherson Leather on 12th Ave. S., Seattle. This was my first visit to that store since buying a good machine that will sew leather. She's been making leather purses and that is the type of work I've been wanting to do as well. I picked up a small piece of cow hide from the scrap bin, I just couldn't spend much that day. I think my bill totaled under $15.00. She had an arm-load of leather in various colors, and spent a couple hundred dollars. I knew my day would come when I could buy some more leather myself to get started making some larger items, like bags and purses. The following week, I found someone offering a bunch of "Nubuck" leather for $25.00...She told me there was probably about 70 square feet there, and the stuff had been stored since the 70's or 80's, owned by a good friend of hers who had recently passed. She told me she made leather pants. I had no clue what nubuck leather was, but looked up the description and figured there was probably enough there to do something with it and seller told me it didn't have any disgusting odors, or problems. So, I met up with her and bought it! After coming home with it and doing some rough measurements and examining what was there, it looks like there is probably about 140 square feet of leather, I'm not sure what the weight of it is, and don't know yet what I can possibly make with it, but I'm thinking it might make some comfortable slippers, and possibly some nice bags and things. I'm so excited! There is a little musty odor, but I think that just airing it out will help a lot. I will post some pics of what I found. There seems to be a nice assortment of colors and such. I may need your help identifying just what I really have here and what I can do with it. Just wanted to share my find. Thanks for listening! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kiwican Report post Posted March 6, 2017 I found some really great leather in a shoe store once. Good deals are where you find them! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
suzelle Report post Posted March 7, 2017 Very Nice! Any nubuck in the mix? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stelmackr Report post Posted March 7, 2017 (edited) If you treat it with http://ehub41.webhostinghub.com/~miomip5/beenaturalleathercare.com/shop.html#!/Natural-Leather-Protector-16oz/p/35500434/category=9139678 this you will have it waterproofed and more stain resistant. I have tonnes of nubuck over the years and made leather book covers. Nice and feels nice. Or try this produce: http://ehub41.webhostinghub.com/~miomip5/beenaturalleathercare.com/shop.html#!/Suede-Nubuck-Protector-8oz/p/35774868/category=9139678 Bob Stelmack Edited March 7, 2017 by stelmackr Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
suzelle Report post Posted March 8, 2017 Stelmackr, Thanks so much! I really appreciate the information. I have no clue yet what I am doing with leather, but I really want to make some chaps or chinks for my Grand-daughter who seems to be very talented working with horses. She's only 11 and I've invested in her riding lessons, but now after a few years of that, she'll need some proper gear if she continues. It's all so expensive, so I was hoping my (close to free) nubuck leather might be a good material to use for the chaps. A friend of mine said she really thought I should go for a heavier leather for the chaps and use my nubuck for purses and wallets, which I do want to make. I'm also interested in making shoes. I will have to get some of the waterproofing products that you suggest to try out. Again, not sure if the Nubuck will be the right choice for chaps, what do you think? Maybe just use it for fringe or pockets or details on the chaps? Thanks ahead for any help or suggestions. I've got a great machine, plenty of v92 polyester thread, and a great workroom. Mainly what I've been doing with the commercial sewing machine the past couple years is finishing my commercial printed banners. I usually print them on my wide format printer (HP Latex) and they can be huge... like 25 feet long, over the street banners. It's kind of boring work sewing long banners, lol. But hey, it pays the bills! So, I'm really looking forward to getting into working with leather! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stelmackr Report post Posted March 10, 2017 Just start with whatever you have. Make mistakes. Learn and most of all Have Fun! You might start a trend for nubuck chaps... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brianm77 Report post Posted March 10, 2017 I don't really see a problem with nubuck on chaps, especially on someone that young(limited knowledge of horse riding). As far as waterproofing, I have really taken a liking to half neatsfoot oil -pure not the compound- and half beeswax. When I was melting mine, I did not think there was enough oil. Thought it was going to be to hard so I added a little more oil. It is still hard but workable. As always try on a scrap first. And keep in mind nothing is waterproof but that gets pretty close. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
suzelle Report post Posted March 12, 2017 On 3/10/2017 at 1:17 PM, stelmackr said: Just start with whatever you have. Make mistakes. Learn and most of all Have Fun! You might start a trend for nubuck chaps... Stelmackr, Great advice, thank you! That is exactly what I tell people when I teach! I'm not a teacher by profession, but there are those friends and relatives who always ask me to show them how to do something. Got to apply that advice to myself! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
suzelle Report post Posted March 12, 2017 On 3/10/2017 at 2:06 PM, Brianm77 said: I don't really see a problem with nubuck on chaps, especially on someone that young(limited knowledge of horse riding). As far as waterproofing, I have really taken a liking to half neatsfoot oil -pure not the compound- and half beeswax. When I was melting mine, I did not think there was enough oil. Thought it was going to be to hard so I added a little more oil. It is still hard but workable. As always try on a scrap first. And keep in mind nothing is waterproof but that gets pretty close. Brianm, Thanks a bunch! Yeah, I guess that is what I'm going for, waterproof! I know she'll get dirt all over those Chaps and I want her to be able to get them cleaned up again. I'm glad that "neatsfoot" stuff you mentioned adds some hardness to the leather, that is also something I was concerned about, having it too soft and stretchy for chaps. I've examined a few pairs of chaps and have seen everything from soft and smooth to fairly stiff chaps. I have a brother who is a blacksmith and he wears an apron that appears to be made from Nubuck leather. Really appreciate the advice of those more experienced than myself in leather work. Have only altered & repaired leather jackets and other leather items through the years, but have not yet designed and sewn anything of my in leather. I regularly apply leather patches and fabric patches to jackets and things, so I do have the right kind of needles and machine for that anyhow. I'm not uncomfortable sewing on leather, I do quite a few very large embroidery pieces on leather, up to 17" wide for Customers, airplane bulkheads and interiors and car interiors. I charge double for the leather jobs, they just take more time, always on panels supplied by Clients. Some leathers seem very stretch compared to others, I think that is one of my biggest challenges when doing embroidery work with lots of thread coverage. It's very important to make sure you've got a good stabilizer and that the piece does not get over punched, or get wavy in the hoop when you have a lot of fill. That can really throw of your design. There are a lot of other things to watch out for too, problems I don't encounter when embroidering on fabrics. So I've learned some things about leather and how it feels under the machine, be it my commercial embroidery machines, or the big Mama, Pfaff(alina) my 545. LOL! I have a nice assortment of needles for leather that I inherited when I bought the Pfaff. I think that I'm going to enjoy sewing on leather more than I do embroidering on it! Might not be as profitable, but I don't care about that right now. I'm just going to have some fun. Thanks so much for the help! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brianm77 Report post Posted March 12, 2017 When I was referring to being hard I was talking about the mixture of oil and wax. I don't think it will harden the leather. If anything soften a bit. But every pair of chaps I have seen has been soft as anything anyway. If you want to stiffen it a bit, you could use the nubuck for the majority of it and add a border, trim, maybe other decorative pieces out veg tan. I would go for it and not look back Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
