Name ______Date ______Per. ______
LEATHERCRAFT PROCEDURE
Step 1: Create Your Introductory Designs - For the first two items you can choose from a lizard, turtle, fish, cross, thunderbird, or arrowhead. Look at the INTRODUCTORY LEATHER PATTERNS and print a copy. Get out the leather tools and look at the different designs that are available. A border around the shape always looks nice to start with. Keep it simple, don’t get carried away with too many stamps. Draw your intended design on the paper for both shapes you’ve chosen. Show it to the teacher for approval.
Step 2: Stamp the Designs – Get out a rubber backing board to put under your work. Moisten the leather with a damp sponge. It should be just moist enough that it changes the color of the leather, not dripping wet or soggy! Place a stamp on the leather in the desired location and hit it firmly with a mallet one time. Complete the remaining stamps slowly and carefully. When done, put the leather in your locker to dry overnight.
Step 3: Dye and Seal – When the leather is dry you can change the color of it with special leather dye. Dye typically comes in different shades of light and dark brown as well as black. Specialty dyes come in other colors. We have brown, black, and red. Prepare your area by placing several newspapers under your work. Put on vinyl or latex gloves because dye doesn’t wash off your hands even with soap and water! Read the directions on the bottle before beginning. Use a Q-Tip to wipe a small amount of dye on the leather. Let it soak in, then rub off any excess with a dry paper towel. Don’t apply more in one area than in another, it should be applied evenly. Allow it to dry overnight and then it can be sealed.
Leather sealer is applied to protect the leather and preserve the qualities and appearance of genuine leather. Use a small paint brush to paint the clear sealer onto the leather surface and edges.. Be sure to cover the entire surface. Two to three very light coats of sealer are much better than one thick coat. Don’t go over the surface with a second coat until the first coat has completely dried.
Step 4: Create Your Advanced Design - For the final item you can choose from a coaster, bookmark, bracelet, or rectangle (3 ½” X 4 ½”). It must include lacing around the outside edges. Look at the ADVANCED LEATHER PATTERNS and print a copy. Get out the leather tools and look at the different designs that are available. A border around the shape always looks nice to start with. Keep it simple, don’t get carried away with too many stamps.
One interesting technique you may want to try is to tool everything but your design. This looks really neat because it makes your design look raised so it will stand out. In other words, you will tool the background instead of the object. This is the way most traditional leather floral designs are created. It is also more fun because you get to do more stamping and tooling. Draw your intended design on the paper for both shapes you’ve chosen. Be sure to leave a border around the edge for the lacing. Show it to the teacher for approval.
Step 5: Stamp the Designs – Get out a rubber backing board to put under your work. Moisten the leather with a damp sponge. It should be just moist enough that it changes the color of the leather, not dripping wet or soggy! Place a stamp on the leather in the desired location and hit it firmly with a mallet one time. Complete the remaining stamps slowly and carefully. When done, put the leather in your locker to dry overnight.
Step 6: Punch Holes for Lacing - Scribe a guideline all the way around your leather about 1/8” in from the edge. Put down a scrap piece of wood under your project to pound into. Be sure your rubber backing board is underneath too. A mallet is not heavy enough, so use a hammer. Start your first holes in a straight section if possible. If your project is round you will need to punch each hole separately. If the project has straight edges you can use the tool that makes four holes at a time. With this tool after you make the first four holes, put one prong of the tool into the last hole that is already punched. This will help maintain the proper spacing. There is a single punch that can be used for curved areas or other situations when the four prong punch is awkward. Make sure the holes go all the way through the leather or it will cause much difficulty when lacing.
Step 7: Dye and Seal – When the leather is dry you can change the color of it with special leather dye. Dye typically comes in different shades of light and dark brown as well as black. Specialty dyes come in other colors. We have brown, black, and red. Prepare your area by placing several newspapers under your work. Put on vinyl or latex gloves because dye doesn’t wash off your hands even with soap and water! Read the directions on the bottle before beginning. Use a small rag to wipe a small amount of dye on the leather. Let it soak in, then rub off any excess. Don’t apply more in one area than in another, it should be applied evenly. Allow it to dry overnight and then it can be sealed.
Leather sealer is applied to protect the leather and preserve the qualities and appearance of genuine leather. Use a small rag and apply the sealer to the leather in a smooth, circular motion. Be sure to cover the entire surface. Two to three very light coats of sealer are much better than one thick coat. Don’t go over the surface with a second coat until the first coat has completely dried.
Leather sealer is applied to protect the leather and preserve the qualities and appearance of genuine leather. Use a small rag and apply the sealer to the leather in a smooth, circular motion. Be sure to cover the entire surface. Two to three very light coats of sealer are much better than one thick coat. Be sure to let each coat dry thoroughly before applying the next coat.
Step 8: Lacing – Lacing puts the finishing touch on handmade leather articles. How good the finished product looks depends very much on the lacing. The lacing on our projects is just decorative, but often lacing is used to hold two pieces of leather together. You may choose the WHIPSTITCH or the DOUBLE LOOP STITCH. Print these directions and follow them carefully. It is quite difficult to splice an additional piece of lacing if you don’t have enough, and even more difficult to start over again. Ask the teacher to help you estimate how much lace is needed for your particular project. When you are done lacing, fill out the grading rubric and show the teacher your completed masterpieces!