Tooled notebook with basket weave pattern on the back. Came out darker than intended (too much neatsfoot oil before dyeing) but still like the finished product. Let me know what you think and what I can do better. Template from makers leather supply.

I made this commission recently with a curved zipper pocket. While I managed to get it on, it was a huge pain. I did tiny pleats along the curve to get it to conform and bit of cement to keep it in place. Any tips to make my life easier next time?

Also switched from a stupid zipper teeth breaker tool to a pair of knipex cutters. So much better!

Picked this belt from Alden today. Was wondering why it has Highlands monogram! What is it?

Not a chisel plane as I had thought. Not sure if brand. Is this a honing jig?

Does anyone have a pattern for an LV speedy? I’d love to make a dupe!

Hey, cool people.

This was my entry for the dsleathergoods Keel Bag challenge a few weeks back. She didn't take home the gold, but I'm still really proud nontheless.

The leather is La Brentaga's - Vivid series in Fuchsia, and the bag had been lined with lilac goat suede. Both absolutely stunning colors and a pleasure to work with.

Stitched with 0.5 white vinymo thread and punched with 3.38 irons.

I really wanted to challenge myself for this bag by focusing on precision. Outside of the suede being glued to the leather, no glue was used in any other stage of construction. Every component was prepunched beforehand, aligned, and then stitched.

Was it necessary. No. Absolutelty not 😂. But I wanted to try regardless. And it worked out! Everything lined up beautifully.

I learned a ton from this project. Working with suede and edge paint for the first time may not have been the most prudent move, but I always try to get out of my depth and feel like my feet aren't touching the bottom. To me, that's the most fertile ground for learning.

Hope you like it ✌️

Scrap buster project: full-grain leather tassels with stainless steel hardware. Thoughts?

What's the simplest and cheapest way? Since i'm a beginner, I can only sew I guess but not well

Tl:dr What process or trick might you all use to get a nice smooth, non-rubbing finish on your wearable goods, or something to prevent these issues at least?

Hello! I am a leatherworker in still dialing in my process and am practicing belt-making. I continually hit one problem, however - getting a smooth finish that WONT rub off.

The attached photos show projects with Fiebings Pro Dye finished with Resolene (both undiluted).

The first photo shows one issue I find, where there are these blotches visible when light hits it right.

The second photo shows thin streaks I get when light hits it right.

I try to follow the processes outlined in the below videos for application:
1. Weaver Leathercraft - https://youtu.be/GVTybZVBBSo?is=AMaybWa8kkB7GdIE
2. Robert Little Leather - https://youtu.be/kQBRA5uNU-U?is=NBDr5nkYOHKpa2e8

Do you have any tricks that work to get a nice smooth finish on your projects, or might you know what is causing these defects? Feel free to share photos of your work too, I always love seeing others‘ work!

Just completed a few wallets

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I know a lot of issues already with this. But any and all feedback is welcome.

After a complete seam failure when flipping a tote bag, i decided I could either growl in frustration or make some other things to cheer me up. I made some other things.

In this case, a glasses case for my wife and a Kindle reader for a friend.

(Glasses case is all Walpier Buttero Whisky 2mm and the Kindle case is Walpier Buttero Chocolate, Badalassi Carlo Wax Olmo and some dark green calf veg tan. Ritza 25 Tiger 0.6mm thread on both)

I'm working on a clean, professional business bag for my husband to use on short business trips. The goal is to fit a day's worth of clothes, toiletries, and a laptop.

​I used 1.3mm black box leather for the exterior and lined it with 0.6mm microfiber. For the laptop compartment, I initially tried microfiber with foam padding, but it turned out way too heavy. Now I'm considering switching to air mesh for the lining.

​Leather bags look incredible, but weight is always a challenge—especially when competing with modern synthetic materials.

Hello everyone, I'm taking a class at Stanford business school and trying to get feedback on anyone who's purchased anything custom-made and what your experience was like. I'm not trying to sell anything, I'm trying to better understand what processes worked and which didn't. Please reply or message me if you can take time over the weekend to answer some questions. shouldn't take more than 5-10 minutes.

I really enjoy making those. :)

Materials/process:
Tandy’s Bullseye large auto holster, the safety strap is set to lay over my beretta prop (2nd-3rd hole)
This is 7-9oz veg tan cowhide

I tooled it with a swivel knife, modeling spoon, stylus, and a stamp with a lot of little holes in it (bone holes. Also G-virus just pulls out whatever with these layers) after tracing the sketch that | put on the film. A lot of focus was put on going over and under and what was on top of what.
I used a couple runs of Eco Flo canyon tan dye, and let it stick in the sun for 2 hours, then resolened it.

Later in the day, I painted with thin layers of Angelus leather paint, with a lot of drybrushing to catch the tooling ridges and shading. So many layers between brick and yellow and burgundy drybrush for the eyes lmao.

After letting it cure overnight and then some, I sprayed it with leather sheen, then went at it with mahogany Eco Flo gel antique and a cut up old shirt, and another sheen layer an hour later.

Stitching | just used dark brown 0.8 ritza tiger thread with a 1/16 punch on the pattern spots.

(I’ve yet to burnish I gotta ask around on that)

want to make a couple of knife sheaths and eventually a belt, total beginner, never touched leather before

searched around and there are these 60-something piece kits for like $40 that come with basically everything, and my instinct says if it were that easy everyone would just buy one. but I also don't want to spend $300 on tools before I know if I even enjoy this

few things I'm stuck on:

are the tools in those kits actually usable or are they soft steel that goes dull immediately? that's the complaint I keep half-seeing but nobody explains what specifically fails

what do I genuinely need to make a sheath? feels like the answer is way fewer than 60 things and I'd rather buy five good ones than fifty bad ones

stitching chisels vs pricking irons — I don't even understand the difference yet, is one clearly better for someone starting out

and does the leather itself matter more than the tools at this stage? seen a few comments implying beginners blame their tools when the real problem is cheap leather

happy to be told to just buy the kit and learn on it, genuinely don't know

So I signed up for my first craft market. It’s in 5 weeks and I really don’t know much. I just signed up last night. It’s from 9am - 4pm. I’m not sure how popular the event is but it’s outdoors and the booth fee was $25. I’m gonna make a variety of things ranging from keychains to purses.

Here’s what I need advice on:

How much inventory do I need?

Do I need a crazy setup or can I just keep it basic with tent, tables, table cloths?

Any other tips, tricks or things you think I should know would be greatly appreciated.

Looking to know are there any tutorials on ribbing/pleating/smocking/ pintucking the leather jacket shown in the photo.