Leather goods are made after tanning. A maker chooses the leather, designs a pattern, cuts the pieces, thins the edges, joins them, finishes the edges, adds hardware and checks the result. The steps are similar for a hand-made wallet and a factory-made handbag. The tools and scale differ.
What leather is used to make
Leather goes into a wide range of products:
- footwear, often cited as leather’s largest single use (estimates vary)
- bags, wallets and belts
- jackets, coats and gloves
- upholstery, including furniture and car seats
- saddlery and horse tack
- watch straps
- bookbinding
- balls and drumheads
Baseballs have had cowhide covers since 1974, before which horsehide was used. The leather in these goods comes from the tanning stages described in how leather is made.
Step 1: Design and patterns
Every product starts with a design. Makers turn the design into patterns, full-size templates for each piece. The patterns show where each piece is cut and how the pieces join.
Step 2: Choosing the leather
Leather is chosen by four main properties:
- Grade: full grain, top grain or split. The grade ladder is explained in how genuine leather is made.
- Tannage: vegetable, chrome or a combination, compared in types of leather explained.
- Temper: how firm the leather is, from soft and drapey to stiff and structural.
- Thickness: measured in ounces. One ounce is 1/64 inch, or about 0.4 mm.
Typical thicknesses are:
- wallets: about 2 to 4 oz (0.8 to 1.6 mm)
- belts: about 8 to 10 oz (3.2 to 4 mm)
Thickness also depends on the animal, as explained in hide vs skin.
Within a hide, quality varies. The back and bend, the central area, is the most valuable and even part. The belly is the weakest. Good cutters plan around scars, brands and blemishes.
Step 3: Cutting
Industrial cutting often uses a clicker press, which pushes steel-rule dies through the leather. The person running it is called a clicker. Other factories use CNC knives, lasers or waterjets. Small workshops use round knives or utility knives. Cut away from your body, and keep your fingers clear of the blade.
Step 4: Skiving
Skiving thins the edges of a piece, or thins an area, so that seams and folds lie flat. The bell skiver is the standard machine in many factories.
Step 5: Joining the pieces
Parts are usually held together with contact cement before stitching. Solvent-based and water-based cements both work. Two stitch types are common:
- Saddle stitch is hand-sewn with two needles and one thread, through pre-punched holes. It doesn’t unravel if one stitch breaks. It isn’t stronger per stitch. Its advantage is that it doesn’t run.
- Machine lockstitch is faster, and leather stitching machines are built for it. If one stitch breaks, the seam can run.
Small goods typically have about six to eight stitches per inch. Heavier goods often use fewer. Hand stitching commonly uses waxed polyester or linen thread, and machines usually use bonded nylon or polyester.
Use solvent cement with good ventilation, and keep it away from flames.
Step 6: Edge finishing
Edges are beveled and sanded, then burnished with water, gum tragacanth or wax, or coated with edge paint. Burnishing gives a smoother finished edge.
Step 7: Hardware and quality checks
Rivets, buckles, snaps and zips are added at this stage. Makers check stitching, edges, alignment and hardware before the piece is finished.
Common misconceptions
- “Handmade” guarantees quality. It doesn’t. Materials and finishing matter more.
- “Genuine leather” means full grain. It doesn’t. See how genuine leather is made.
- Bonded leather is leather. It is shredded fibre held together with a binder.
- Saddle stitching is stronger. Not per stitch. Its advantage is that it doesn’t unravel.
Workshop safety
Solvent cement needs ventilation, and you should cut away from your body. Leatherworking safety for beginners covers both. When cutting, sanding or working with chrome-tanned leather, keep dust down and ventilate the space. Burning chrome-leather scraps can form chromium VI, so don’t burn them. See is chrome-tanned leather toxic? for the details.