LEATHERCRAFT FUNDAMENTALS
MOISTENING LEATHER
Leather is moistened by rubbing a damp sponge on it.
USING CRAFTOOL STAMPS
Enhance the beauty of your leather projects with Craftool stamps.
APPLYING FINISH TO LEATHER
Leather finishes are applied to protect the leather and preserve the qualities and appearance.
HOW TO LACE
Lacing puts the finishing touch to handmade leather articles.
RUNNING STITCH
The amount of lace needed for the running stitch is 1-1/2 times the distance to be laced.
HOW TO WHIPSTITCH
Learn two different techniques on how to whipstitch.
HAND STITCHING
The amount of thread required for Hand Stitching is about 3 times the distance to be stitched.
BRAIDING 101
Learn several techniques on how to braid.
THE LANGUAGE OF LEATHERCRAFT
ANILINE DYED
Leather that is dyed all the way through with a transparent dye. Because the finish is transparent and shows the natural markings of the leather, only the best quality hides can be used.
BARK TANNED
Also known as vegetable tanned. Leather tanned by the tannins extracted from the bark of trees.
CHROME FREE
Also known as Aldehydetanned leather, this is the leather that most tanners refer to as wet-white leather due to its pale cream or white color. Used in infant’s shoes and automobiles.
CRUST
Leather that has been tanned, dyed and dried, but not finished.
DRUM DYED
The process of coloring leather by tumbling it in a rotating drum immersed in dye to allow maximum dye penetration.
FLESH SIDE
The underside of the animal’s hide. When looking at a piece of veg-tanned tooling leather, this will be the rough side.
ARMOR LEATHER
Heavy veg-tan leather used for shoe soles and for protective armor by historical re-enactors.
BELLY CUT (SNAKE)
Snakeskins that are cut on the underneath so the tanned skin shows the snake’s normally visible pattern.
CHROME TANNED
This process uses soluble chromium salts, primarily chromium sulfate, to tan leather. Most commonly used for garments, footwear and upholstery.
DISTRESSED
Leather that is aniline dyed with one color over another (usually darker over lighter) so as to create rich highlights and an artificial aged appearance. This finishing process is intended to emphasize the characteristics of the hide such as scars, scratches and wrinkles. Also called “antiqued leather”.
EMBOSSED LEATHER
Leather that has been “stamped” with a design or artificial texture under very high pressure. Our embossed leathers have textures of ostrich and gator.
FULL GRAIN
Leather which has not been altered beyond hair removal. It is the most genuine of leathers, retaining all of the hide’s original texture and markings. The hide’s best, strongest and most durable layer.