Leatherworking Basics!

Creative Arts Leatherworking
#1

Hey everybody! Just thought I’d let everyone know that I’m going to be hosting two Leatheworking Basics classes this month! One for the 21st, which is as of right now almost booked up, and one for the 28th! These are mostly just to give you a guide line of what most the tools in the cabinet are, and how to use them.

I was thinking of hosting some practical classes as well. Possible topics are: Saddle stitching (making a keychain), braiding (making a leash), tooling (making a decorative… circle…), and belt making. I’m also totally open to suggestions! What would y’all be interested in?

<3 Francesca

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#2

Thanks again so much Francesca! We will also have Leather and Lasers classes listed soon, as well as another teacher for project classes. If you’ve been interested in leathercraft, now is the time to get started while we have folks ready to teach!

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#3

How about the proper way to dye leather?

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#4

+1 on dyeing leather. I have a project stalled out due to (laziness and ) lack of leather/fabric knowledge. Thanks for the heads up!

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#5

Teaching people how to use the punches properly :smile:

Edit: Yay for Francesca teaching classes!! Everyone sign up!!

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#6

I had terrible luck with the Angelus dyes at the 'Space. Streaky, blotchy, uneven coverage. I tried different levels of moisture, I tried oiling with Neatsfoot berforehand, still got terrible luck. I’ve got a baggie full of badly-dyed pieces at home in case I want to make something black… :smiley:
I started using Eco Flo Waterstain from Tandy and I get way more consistent results. You have to work it into the leather because it’s got some waxes and oils and magic dust in it that requires some friction to “take.” It has a longer working time before it blotches up and it seems more forgiving of varying dampness levels across a big piece of leather.

I would like to learn how to dip-dye - I hear that gives better results with spirit dyes and you get coverage on both sides.

#7

Talking with Jorge last night, we may start moving away from Angelus

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#8

I agree with the move away from Angelus. I also tend to prefer the gel dies to the alcohol ones, it’s… less stressful? But I understand that price is important.

When working in Angelus I tend to just go as quickly as possible, often with a paintbrush not a blotcher, and try to go in a pattern that I think is going to register interestingly. So I know it’s not going to come out completely even, I just work with it.

If I can get in a little more shop-time with dyes I’d be happy to teach a class on it. Is there anything else anyone would like to learn?

#9

Yup very likely. Dyeing technique is definitely on the list. I will also add that because it takes time for dye to set, we may not be able to do complete Start to Finish on items, but we’ll see.

I use this dye nearly exclusively, with proper coats you can get great coverage.

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#10

Did you dye the flesh side with water stain? That looks awesome!

#11

yes indeedyoramalamadingdongmorecharacters

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#12

Hahaa

:smile::smile:

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#13

I dye both sides when the flesh side is going to show. For a knife sheath or tool sheath I might only dye the flesh side near the opening, but not deep inside.

I also dye the flesh side around the edges where the pieces of leather will be stitched together in case the two pieces separate a little - just 1/2 to 1".

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#14

Would it be possible to do just a color sampler? A few small swatches of different colors and/or leathers - both to have as a future color reference and to learn technique?

#15

Definitely. The thing about dying leather thought is that larger areas are where it gets complex. So yes, we can demo smaller pieces, but the real trick is getting an even color on larger areas usually.

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#16

Veg-tan leathers (which the dyes are typically designed for) shouldn’t have waxes and oils in them interfering with the dye uptake. If you try to dye chrome tanned, oiled leather, latigo, or over-dye previously finished leather which might have wax and/or oils added, you are likely to have inconsistent results.

#17

I meant the dye (waterstain) has some waxes and stuff in it that slows down its penetration until you rub it in. Unlike Angelus dye which veg-tan leather seems to be a sponge for.

#18

Re dyeing class vs drying time/finished object

What we did in fibers that worked well one time, bamboo fiber fused with textile medium that needs a day or two to dry fully…

We had a dedicated class just to make the Thing, a sheet of the fused bamboo fiber that was of sufficient size to use in a later small project. They took home their wet object to let it dry (I gave everyone a cheap file folder so it could lay flat on that and didn’t get muck on their car seats carrying it home). From there, it could be independently used for LOTS of projects, anything you’d use paper/fabric in, covering stuff, art quilting, etc.

Then we had a separate class a couple weeks later focused on a small project (small covered box) that if that had taken the fused bamboo class, they could use that. Or if folks hadn’t taken the first class, had a few extra sheets available

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#19

can we do the leather toiletry bag again? I missed that one.

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#20

I’d like to make a small coin purse.

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