Society - Arts

Leather Craft Projects For The Novice

Preparations For Leather Projects

When you have decided on your leather craft you will need the right tools and a designated area in order to do the work efficiently and well. Preparing before you're ready to do the leather craft should make what you are doing far more gratifying.

Marking the Cut:

Get a pencil and a ruler or straight edge to trace the cut on your leather pattern. Just make a light mark with the pencil. An unsharpened edge helps if you are trying to cut a curve. Use the edge of an X-acto knife on a metal edge and cut carefully along the line keeping the blade pressed against the edge.

Tools:

As you work with leather crafts, think about the basics: a retractable knife with a break-off blade, an awl and spare point, a rotary punch and an X-acto knife with spare blades.

In addition, you'll need needles, beeswax, strong scissors for cutting the leather, a pair of pliers to pull the needle through the leather, and some waxed linen thread.

Then you'll find bevellers and edge slickers to smooth the edges, thong cutters for making laces and drive punches for making bigger holes. A yardstick and straight edge are necessities to assure that the leather craft is correctly measured.

The Cutting Surface:

Whatever the leather project, you'll need to cut your leather piece. Find a surface that's leveled and protected by a rubber mat. The rubber will help to protect your supplies and tools and keep them from becoming dull. As an alternative, you can try a cutting board that self-heals. Cuts made in this type of board, seal themselves automatically. A product like this is readily available at Office Max or art supply stores.

Trimming the Edges:

To trim the leather craft pattern's edges, lay it out on a leveled work surface. Make certain the leather is slightly wet, and keep it wet with a spray bottle full of water handy.

You'll need to have what's called an edge beveling tool to flatten the cut edges. The prongs that make a V should be placed so that they are facing upward on both sides of the edge.

Steadying the tool at around a forty-five degree angle with your index finger on the top of the tool, then push it away from you along the cut edge, holding the leather project rigidly in your opposite hand.

As you're working, small leather strips will come off. It's a great idea to try it out on small leather pieces prior to using the leather craft beveler on your final project, so you feel comfortable with what it can do.

Summary:

If you are a novice with leather craft projects, you might not want to spend a lot of money on crafting tools. Once you've worked and practiced with a basic set and done a few projects, you will have a better concept of which tools and supplies you will most likely use.

After this point, a little research and making comparisons might help you to buy a better quality leather craft tool when needed. Unquestionably, even the costliest tools will not help if you don't allow for the time to perfect and develop your skills.

As long as you do your best with the things you've got, it will not matter if you don't have the money to pay for the most expensive leather craft awl or the very best knife. Your crafting skills will be apparent once you have got the basics down.

You can commonly find a leather supply store in your surrounding area when you search through the yellow pages. Most centers have a leather shop that is nearby.