Crafty Tips Arts & Crafts Directory
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Crafty Tips / Leather Crafts

Leather Crafts

leather crafts Whether you are looking for top quality leather goods for small crafting projects or full hides, we have several tanneries that can help you out.

We also have a pair of talented leather crafters who are offering fine handmade leather jewelry for sale.

All of the crafty websites here have shared their favorite leather crafting tips.

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Great Leather Crafts Websites

Buckskin Leather Company
Buckskin Leather Company

Wholesale Leather Supplier, Retail Leather Reseller and Tannery Distributor for North American Leathers , European Leathers , & International Tanneries. Our company is family owned with 3 generations of expertise in the leather tanning industry. We supply raw materials in quantities for crafters and hobbyists up to industrial producers.

Leather Crafting Crafty Tip
Full Grain or Top Grain Leather - This is the upper layer of a hide which is split into layers by a splitting machine to various thicknesses. The thickness can vary depending on the gauge set at the time of splitting and the application. Thereafter the hides can be colored & given various protective finishes. Uncorrected natural grain will show the natural scars and haircell patterns. Full grain or top grain leather is most often used for Upholstery, Garment, Shoe or Saddlery, because this is best, strongest, and most durable and valuable layer of hide.
 
 

Julishland Leather Jewelry
Julishland Leather Jewelry

Fine jewelry and gifts from Julishland. Your store for leather jewelry, beaded jewelry, rings, earrings, necklaces, pendants and bracelets.

Leather Crafting Crafty Tip
Identifying Leather

Wet a piece and then stamp a mark into it. If the mark has a crisp impression afterward, the leather is vegetable tanned. If the impression is just discernible, it is chrome tanned.

If the leather is a chalky white color, it is probably alum tanned.

Chrome tanned, undyed leather is a pearl grey with a faintly bluish tint. Dyed chrome tanned leather often retains a grey blue or white center core. Beware of chrome tanned leather for knife sheaths - it can corrode the metals.

 

Barbarossa Leather
Barbarossa Leather

Barbarossa Leather, USA makers of upholstery leather, embossed leather, and custom colored leather hides. Our creative leathers use only the finest materials from all over the world. Expert color, texture and finish matching service. Our products are used by the fashion industry and the interior design market. No minimum purchase requirements and we can fulfill large volume orders.

Crafty Tip
How to buy leather: Leather is sold by the square foot. An average hide can range in size from 48 to 53 square feet. The irregular shape of the hides means there will always be a waste factor in the cutting of leather. Industry standard is that one linear yard of 54" fabric is equal to 18 square feet of leather, based upon hides averaging 48 to 53 square feet. Whenever you need really large cut sizes, always inform the tannery when you make your order so they can select specific hides to meet your requirements.
 

Leather Jewelry by Wristbandit
Leather Jewelry by Wristbandit

My jewelry is wearable art. The pieces become small paintings, collages and sculptures. I utilize scrap leather, old leather belts, pieces of costume jewelry, found objects, and hand painted images and designs to make my jewelry. Inspiration comes from the art of other cultures, the great masters and the components themselves.

Thrifty Crafting Crafty Tip
Leather can be expensive and hard to find in small amounts for jewelry making.
 
I find my leather and belts at thrift shops, garage sales, and from friends.
 
Thrift shops offer leather apparel, skirts and coats at a reasonable cost. These are good to line a cuff or as collage material because the leather is thin. Belts are good to use as a base for the cuff/bracelet. They also have finished edges.
 
Scrap leather, left over from manufacturing, comes cut in pieces with holes and stretch marks. This inspires me to use those shapes and marks as part of the jewelry design.
 
Scrap leather can be found at hobby shops, leather stores and shoe repair shops.
 

Alchemical Moxie!
Alchemical Moxie!

Alchemical Moxie offers unique, handmade leather goods and chainmail jewelry. I take inspiration from motion pictures as well as steampunk and my own imagination. Whether inspired or completely unique and original, all of my items are based on original designs and are made by hand.

Leather Crafting Crafty Tip
There are a variety of leathers out there. Clothing, such as jackets, can be made from many different types of hide - cow, goat, horse, lambskin, sheepskin - but when it comes to other item,s the choices tend to be more limited. Most accessories (such as bags or belts) tend to be made from cowhide tanned in different ways. This is largely because cowhide is durable and, as a non-exotic leather, less costly than some other varieties.
 
 
 
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