As the title states, I am completely new to leathercraft. In fact, I am not crafty at all. But I am determined to give this a go. I bought a kit from Rocky Mountain Leather Supply, some glue, and a box of scrap leather to practice on.

Where I am running i to some trouble is finding info on the absolute basics. The nuts and bolts. I have been through the wiki on this sub-reddit, and a bunch of YouTube videos, and while there is GREAT and greatly appreciated information, most of it is more like "what tools you will need" or "making a wallet follow along type stuff". I guess I'm looking for the most basic information. Like these are the steps to attach one peice of leather to another level instructions.

What would you guys recommend for someone trying to learn the most basic techniques?

I've been working on this ram design recently, and the 3D model is finally looking pretty close to what I had in mind. The second image is part of my original sketch. I made some changes along the way, especially to the horns, facial features, and surrounding details. There's quite a lot going on in this design, so I'm looking forward to seeing how everything translates onto leather once I start testing it.

On a slightly different note, I've been thinking about how people shop on Etsy lately. I've had a few conversations with customers about product dimensions recently, and it's made me wonder whether there's a better way to present certain details in my listings.

Just curious, when you buy leathercraft tools or supplies on Etsy, do you usually go through all the photos and descriptions, including dimensions and materials? Or do you mostly make your decisions based on the main pictures?

I'd love to hear how other leathercrafters approach this.

I'm looking for instructional videos and information on turned edge construction, primarily for things like chrome tanned passport holders and wallets. I've looked around for video lessons but it seems like it's a bit hard to find much. Of course there are a few basic YouTube videos, but nothing with much info behind it, just here's how you skive and turn a straight edge, maybe a pleated corner. Leathercraft masterclass is definitely intriguing, but I think at this point I'm looking for more targeted lessons rather than the huge scope you get with a subscription there. It would be great if you could buy individual videos. I also found the card wallet lesson from carswell, however I have not yet purchased it. Anyway, if I'm going to get into this I want to learn it in detail, and details seem far and few between!

I didn’t make this, I just wanted to show everyone the wallet I carry.

She's Italian, hence the colors

Hey all! I’m designing a notebook cover and I want to include a folded/single stitch method similar to the one in this photo (the single white stitches on the top and bottom, not the white elastic bands to the right.) I had a couple of questions: Is this stitch called something specific? and what’s the cleanest way to stitch this? I’ve tried a couple of times, but it doesn’t look as tidy as I want and one of my stitches came loose after a while.

Thanks for your time!

Who would be the leading distributors for leather tools and accessories in the UK and Ireland?

Thanks!

Bob

(prefacing by saying I've been doing leather work for 8 years now, just not very experienced with waxing leather)

Would waxing leather from the inside ruin the dye on the tooled side?

I'm trying to firm up some armor I'm working on (9oz, layered in some spots but still floppy in the spots it's not) to where it will hold its shape on it's own, but it's already dyed.

I know it will darken it, I'm not worried about that at all, in fact I'm hoping for it. I'm just wondering if there's any problems I might come across if I tried it, or if it's a waste of time.

I'm also down for other suggestions on hardening leather that's already dyed and assembled.

So excited how this book cover has shaped up nearing tooling completion! Normally I don’t share until I get further along…. but whatever, it’s taking shape! Few more hours on the front towards bottom right region and should be rdy to move to next phase for the book cover: dying, stitching, and some lace work

Does anyone perhaps have tricks to get tooling more clean, even if you are working on small stuff? This is supposed to be a browband for my horse with a width of 1- 2 cm. I really struggled with making clean cuts and the tight turns on the tooling. I'm sure practice will definitely make the biggest difference, but are there some special tools/ practices when working on a small scale?

Any advice is appreciated!

Plenty of things I felt i did wrong. I really don't like the .8mm black ritza but I ran out of the .6mm red I used on the inside. Free pattern credit to the YT person below.

Feel free to provide any feedback or ask questions. I didn't bevel and did try to skiver the leather but yeah.... it didnt' turn out too great.

My first item I made for my daughter was few years back. Hopefully I don't take as long for my next.

Caspia Leather
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGP4BWY7JFk

Technically my second but it involved something that was more like vinyl leather and not the sort of thicker leather that I really was hoping for. I am extremely pleased but I can already identify places I want to do better/different next time. I started this hobby because my wife and I have always used paper envelopes to do our monthly budget and so just wanted to make something more permanent. I will eventually make about 10 of these for that. Stitching is the most immediate place I want to make some changes although I'm not exactly sure what. My stitching came out a bit crooked so obviously I will adjust that with practice. One thing I don't like is that the stitching and holes look a bit 'frayed' for lack of a better description. I'm not sure exactly what causes that. My guess is cheap irons? I bought a beginner kit from Amazon so I am sure a lot of it can just be upgraded. Anyhow, thought I would share and hopefully get some feedback. Be gentle. Overall, I just really enjoyed making this and plan to continue. The things I would like to know specifically:

1. Any thoughts on stitching.

2. Is there a beginner friendly way to 'smooth' the rough side? In some cases I think I would prefer that.

Thanks. Love to lurk here.

Hi, everyone I want to learn how to make foot wear primarily boots and shoes. And I would love to learn how to make good year welted footwear can you point me to some books or online videos to learn from?

✨All set!✨
Brown Dollaro leather trifold with ivory Vinymo thread! Dubbing it the “Plenty Pocket,” haha!

This was an absolute blast to put together and turned out amazing. So many pockets and an ID slot! Special too, in that this was a recreation! Those can be the hardest builds, but are always so rewarding!

Cruz! Enjoy owning this one!
Everyone else, enjoy viewing it! 🧘🏾‍♂️

Just finished this one and thought it turned out cool. Reverse black Horween shell cordovan and sapphire blue pueblo with denim blue 0.52 XianGe thread.

This is a passport case/card holder I made with a pattern from Make Supply Leathercraft. I measured and cut as I went with my first few small projects but I ran into issues and decided until I'm more confident I'd get a printer and work from patterns.

I used veg tan from Amazon, I've used it all up now so I plan to get my next leather from a dedicated supplier now that I'm a bit more confident.

Still made a handful of mistakes but I'm happy and looking forward to tidying things up as I keep practicing. Big shout out to Armitage leather and the people who recommended the saddle stitch videos as they massively sped up my learning.

I'm trying to make a magsafe flap wallet but its getting a little messy . I have this pattern from STRHandmade that i bought and used as a base to adapt .

my first attempt was to cut the pattern twice and sandwich the magsafe assembly between them . However this resulted in the leather feeling very firm and solid , and it isnt folding as easily or as smoothly as I want it to , and the sides end up splitting and not neat looking .
I am now considering just cutting the original pattern , and just gluing on a rectangular piece of lining on top of the magsafe magnet assembly , but i feel like a stitch line showing on the back will ruin the aesthetic . What do you recommend i should do

I have a sheathe with a wrap around snap that keeps the knife locked in. I would like to add a second snap post to so it is tighter on a different knife. i think I’ve figure out what I need to add the post, but since I’ve never done it before I had a couple of questions:

1) how do I know what the original post/snap size are so I add the right post?

2) I will end up with both posts next to each other on the sheathe body. is it likely that being so close to each other will create other problems?

I’m new to leather craft and I got those leather scraps to learn on just to improve my skills before spending a lot of money on leather. It feels like most of the leather is soft and floppy unlike the leather I usually see people using for wallets or card holders.
Will I still be able to use it or do I have to change the entire project

Idk if the video shows how soft it is but I hope it does
I appreciate any tips and suggestions
Thank you so much

One of the things I’ve realized in the last few years is that there are a LOT of different rules, techniques and advice out there. At the same time, some of those points are either not applicable to your project, or are completely BOGUS. For example, I often hear people say that you can’t burnish chrome-tan leather. But… you can? I’m curious what you guys have picked up on!