Leather Crafts For Beginners

Preparations For a Leather Project

When you've selected your leather craft project you are going to have to have the appropriate tools and a prepared area in order to work efficiently and well. Preparing before will make what you are doing more satisfying.

Tools to Use:

When you work with leather crafts, think about the essentials: a retractable knife with a break-off blade, an awl and spare point, a rotary punch and an X-acto knife.

In addition, you'll have to get needles, beeswax, wax lined thread, strong scissors for cutting the leather, and a pair of pliers.

Then you'll find bevellers and slickers that are used to smooth out the edges, a drive punch for bigger holes and thong cutters for making laces. A straight edge and yardstick are necessities to make certain that your piece of leather is measured accurately.

Trimming the Edges:

To trim the leather craft's edges, position it on an even work space. Be sure that the leather is slightly wet, and keep it so with a spray bottle full of water.

You'll need what is called an edge beveling tool to smooth out the newly cut edges. The prongs that make a V shape should be positioned so that they are facing upward on both sides of the leather's edge.

Keeping the beveling tool at around a 45 degree angle with your index finger positioned on top of the tool, then push it away from you along the cut edge, holding the leather craft project securely with your other hand.

As you use the beveler, little leather strips are going ro come off. It's a great idea to practice on small leather scraps prior to you using the leather craft beveler on your final project, so you're more comfortable with the tool.

The Best Cutting Surface:

No matter the leather craft project, it's essential to cut your piece of leather. Find a leveled surface protected by a rubber mat. The rubber mat will help to protect your supplies and tools and stop them from becoming blunt. If you want to try a different technique, you could get a self-healing cutting board. Cuts made in boards such as these, seal themselves automatically. This device is readily available to buy at art supply stores or Office Max .

Marking the Cut:

Find a pencil and a ruler or straight edge to trace the position of the cut on your leather craft. You should just mark lightly. A rounded edge will be helpful if you are trying to cut a curve. Use the tip of an X-acto knife on a metal edge and cut carefully along the line making sure the knife is kept against the edge.

Review:

If you are just a beginner with leather crafting, you may not want to spend too much money on tools. When you have tried a basic set and done a few leather crafts, you will have a better understanding of exactly what supplies and tools you like best.

After this point, some comparative shopping and some research might help you to buy a finer leather crafting tool when you need it. However, even really costly tools will not help if you don't take time to improve and perfect your leather crafting skills.

As long as you do your best with what you have, it won't matter if you can't purchase the latest knife or really pricey leather craft awl. Your skills will show through once you have got the basics down.

You can usually find a leather art supply shop in your surrounding area when you search through your phone book. Several larger centers have a leather shop that is close.