The core skills of leatherworking overlap, and most projects use several at once. This article covers the main hand skills, the forming and decorative skills that usually come later, the main branches of the craft, and which skill to learn first.
The core skills
Cutting and skiving
Cutting turns a hide into pattern pieces. Use a sharp blade held vertical, cut in several passes, and work against a steel ruler or template on a self-healing mat or HDPE board. How to cut straight lines in leather covers the method in detail.
Skiving thins leather at folds, overlaps and turned edges, often to about half its thickness. Skiving knives give fine control. A skiving knife is listed as a nice-to-have tool in essential leatherworking tools.
Saddle stitching
Saddle stitching uses one thread and two needles. Punch evenly spaced holes, then pass each needle through every hole from opposite sides. Keep the tension even on both sides, and finish by backstitching the last two or three holes.
The saddle stitch has one useful property: in a machine lockstitch, a broken stitch can let the seam come apart, while a saddle-stitched seam keeps holding if one stitch breaks. Machine stitching isn’t automatically stronger than hand saddle stitching, though. Stitch quality and thread matter more than the method alone. Stitch spacing depends on the project. Small goods are often stitched at 2.7 to 3.38 mm, and belts and bags at 3.85 to 4 mm.
Edge beveling and burnishing
Beveling removes the sharp 90-degree corner of the leather, so the edge is less likely to fray or dig in. Sand the edge flush, then bevel both faces.
Burnishing gives veg-tan edges their smooth, sealed look. Dampen the edge, or apply gum tragacanth or Tokonole, then rub briskly with a wood slicker or a canvas cloth until it shines. Sandpaper in the 220 to 600 grit range works for most edge work, and sanding between passes gives a smoother finish. Burnishing is often the slowest basic skill to master.
Chrome-tan edges don’t burnish the same way. They are usually painted in several thin coats, sanded lightly between coats, or folded and turned.
Dyeing and finishing
Dye type changes the result. Alcohol or spirit dyes penetrate deeply but can streak. Oil-based dyes give a more even color. Water-based dyes are milder and penetrate less.
Test any dye on a scrap cut from the same hide first, because each hide takes dye differently. Apply it in thin coats and buff between them. Let the dye dry, often for about 24 hours, before you apply a finish. Oils such as neatsfoot darken veg-tan, so apply them sparingly.
Forming and decorative skills
Casing and tooling
Tooling presses designs into veg-tan with stamps and swivel knives. To case the leather, dampen it with water and wait until the color starts returning toward natural and the surface feels cool rather than wet. Tooling needs veg-tan of at least about 4 oz, and 6 to 8 oz is common for deep carving.
Swivel-knife cuts usually go about a third to a half of the way through the leather. Tooling isn’t needed for most projects, and many makers never carve.
Wet molding
Wet molding shapes veg-tan around a form. Case the leather, press it around the form, and let it dry slowly at room temperature. Keep wet leather away from heat, because veg-tan shrinks and hardens when heated.
Lacing and hardware
Lacing with 1/8 in (about 3 mm) lace is joined with a whipstitch, a single loop or a double loop stitch. For hardware, line 24 snaps are a common standard. Set snaps and double-cap rivets on an anvil with the matching setter. Glue alone isn’t structural, so stitching or hardware should carry the load.
Types of leatherworking
Leatherworking covers several fields, each with its own tools and habits:
- Small goods: wallets, card holders, key fobs and similar items.
- Saddlery and tack: saddles, bridles and other horse gear.
- Holsters and sheaths: pieces fitted to a specific object, usually made from heavier veg-tan. Bushcraft leatherwork covers knife sheaths.
- Bookbinding: covers and cases for books and journals.
- Shoemaking: soles, uppers and other footwear.
- Garments: jackets, vests and similar pieces, usually made from soft chrome-tan.
- Bags: totes, purses and other bags, which ask a lot of layering and edge work.
The skills above apply across most of these fields, but each one leans on a different mix of them.
Which skill to learn first
Start with cutting and saddle stitching, because almost every project uses them. Edge burnishing comes next, since it’s what makes a project look finished, and it takes practice. Tooling and carving can wait. For a suggested order of projects, see what to make first, and for a timeline see how long it takes to learn leatherworking.
Common misconceptions
- Chrome-tan leather won’t take tooling or burnish like veg-tan.
- Glue alone isn’t structural. Stitching carries the load.
- Machine stitching isn’t automatically stronger than hand saddle stitching.
- A swivel knife doesn’t cut all the way through the leather.
If you’re working through the basics, common leatherworking mistakes shows how these skills tend to go wrong, and leatherworking tips covers the everyday habits that help.