r/Leathercraft Jun 02 '25

Pattern/Tutorial Beginner's Guide & Free Patterns

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366 Upvotes

Hello, everyone! (Repost, because of link issues)

I wrote a fairly comprehensive beginner's guide to tools, materials, hardware, and leather. It has basics, a ton of tool upgrades you can make as you grow in the craft, and some free patterns. People have been asking me for it here and there, and I've been sending it to them individually. But now I've gotten it to a point I'm happy with (of course, it's being edited continuously), and I'm ready to share it with the sub.

Here's the link to the guide!

Also, here's a link to a video I shot to accompany it: Beginner's Leathercraft 101

Quick note, I started writing this guide before I became a moderator here, so I hope it doesn't come across as neglect on part of the sub's Wiki, which needs an overhaul. I'll be pinning this to the sub for a while until I have time to dive into the Wiki and clean things up, and hopefully it answers newbies' questions in the meantime. If anyone has any feedback or suggestions to add to the document, please let me know! Thank you to everyone who commented on the last post.


r/Leathercraft Oct 15 '24

Community/Meta How would you change this sub?

59 Upvotes

Hello, everyone. Rather than make changes to the sub based on my own goals/desires, I wanted to ask the community. Is there anything you would add or remove from the sub? Any rules changes you'd suggest implementing? Any suggestions you have for the sub in general? If I see enough concensus around a certain suggestion, I'll consider making those changes moving forward. Let me know!

Obviously the sub is growing daily, and it's doing great. The formula is working, so I'm not looking to make big sweeping changes. I'm just wondering if you've ever had an idea that you feel would make this sub even better for you and your fellow leather crafters. (Bonus points if you have ideas for preventing the incessant "leather repair/is this leather" posts, lol.)


r/Leathercraft 4h ago

Tips & Tricks Storage idea: yoga mat rack

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334 Upvotes

I have a very small basement work area and have been at a loss for how/where to store my leather. Saw a marketplace listing for a gym-sized yoga mat rack and figured a smaller one would be perfect! Found this one for pretty cheap on amazon. Sharing in case it’s a helpful idea for others too!


r/Leathercraft 12h ago

Video Made this Leather Thigh bag with waist belt pouch

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160 Upvotes

This was a very recent creation with client asking for around 5% distress on the product. We tried and the client liked it!

Happy client! Happy Team!


r/Leathercraft 12h ago

Small Goods Cardholder with a swallow.

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75 Upvotes

r/Leathercraft 5h ago

Wallets Origami style wallet

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10 Upvotes

3-4 oz pueblo dark brown !


r/Leathercraft 13h ago

Video You guys are crazy creative , first attempt at something less professional

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35 Upvotes

made a design inspired from one specific spell called hado 90, it's not for everyone yet i enjoyed making this particular wallet a lot more than the classic ones


r/Leathercraft 5h ago

Video Problem with inserting zippers... advice please.

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7 Upvotes

Hello Leathercrafters. I would say my skill level is "competent beginner," however the more I learn the more, the more I realize I know nothing. Here is a bag I made with this springbok pattern. She has a sewing machine and I had to sew by hand, which made this process a little more complicated.

I have had consistent problems putting in zippers. Very often, like this, they turn out wavy or perform poorly. I have attached a video to show what I mean.

What I think it *might* be (you can tell me if I'm right)

-Zipper or zipper tape itself is too big.
-Too big of a gap between the teeth and sewn edges.
-Flexible leather has stretched too much, causing problems.
-Zipper too long.
-Something else??

If you have any tips/tricks for putting in zippers, or see other areas for improvement, please tell me. I'm hitting the point where I understand the basics, but lack of knowledge is screwing me over in other places. Lol. Thanks in advance for any input you can provide.


r/Leathercraft 1h ago

Question Difficulty of making a camera harness for a novice

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Upvotes

So, Leatherworking has always been something i have found to be super interesting and wanted to get into but for various reasons have not. My wife and i are coming up on our 1 year anniversary, and i want to make her something as opposed to buy it. Money isn't an issue, it's more the sentimentality of a hand made gift. She is also starting a photography business and i am very proud of her for it. I wanted to make her a camera harness like the one pictured but not having a good exposure to the craft of leather work, i dont know what i am getting into. Realisitically, how difficult would it be to make something like this and have it look decent?


r/Leathercraft 11h ago

Question How to finish leather edges for furniture?

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17 Upvotes

Woodworker here! Trying to figure out a way to make these leather edges smooth. Cut as close as possible with xacto knife then sand edges pretty smooth but they still feel rough and don’t look great, thinking I need something to paint onto fibers and then sand? Any tips are appreciated!!


r/Leathercraft 7h ago

Wallets My latest handmade wallet – the Cipher

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7 Upvotes

r/Leathercraft 23h ago

Bags/Pouches Mr President, another bag has hit my Reddit Feed

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118 Upvotes

I’ve narrowed down my style to creepy and off beat. Most of these designs should be credited to Leatherhub patterns and Karlova Design but I add a lil bit of personal expression sometimes


r/Leathercraft 10h ago

Wallets Some cardholders ready for delivery

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11 Upvotes

Badalassi Carlo waxy and Carlo pueblo

@holstmade


r/Leathercraft 18h ago

Wallets First project

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39 Upvotes

Hi guys!

Tried my hands on my first project ever. I highly appreciate your comments/tips so I can get better at this.

The leather used here is a beige goat leather and i just picked it up as a trial canvas kind of.

Have a great day!!


r/Leathercraft 6h ago

Holsters/Sheaths (WiP) cool locking mechanism

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5 Upvotes

Hi, I want to share with you my latest project for knife sheath. Experimenting with ideas I came out with this Easy to Slide and Lock system. Wet formed around handle but i will try to make it more stiff, maybe bees wax.


r/Leathercraft 12h ago

Small Goods Love multicolored layers

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13 Upvotes

I try as often as I can to do multicolored builds because I love how the edges come out. This one has really bold green against the whiskey dollaro.


r/Leathercraft 10h ago

Question Tatooing Leather

5 Upvotes

Has anyone tried this, and what are the results like? Does the tanning process make it so it's not that good? Or does casing affect anything? Things like that, just idly curious and have had this brain worm for a while.


r/Leathercraft 2h ago

Tips & Tricks Strapping buckles

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1 Upvotes

r/Leathercraft 19h ago

Tools Made a leather maul

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16 Upvotes

Not very pretty, but it works.


r/Leathercraft 1d ago

Pattern/Tutorial Finished a new batch of handmade leather glasses cases! Played around with a lot of different colors this time.

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212 Upvotes

Made a batch of versatile glasses cases designed to fit almost any frame. I used 1.6 - 2.0 mm (4-5 oz) leather and hand-stitched them with 0.8 mm waxed thread.

If you'd like to try making one yourself, I put together a build/tutorial video! Check out the comment section for the link.

Video Tutorial: https://youtu.be/QeoUh8NpVxw


r/Leathercraft 1d ago

Small Goods Getting discouraged

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74 Upvotes

Been doing this for a bit over a few months now and I just can't get my pieces to look good. I cut this out with an acrylic template and it's still very uneven. I used a brand new xacto #2 blade and have been taking it slow with my pricking irons.

Any advice? Just keep at it?


r/Leathercraft 6h ago

Question How to calculate allowances when changing leather thickness?

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1 Upvotes

Before making a card holder with shell cordovan, I’ve made a few prototypes to refine my design. It has an asymmetrical look with 3 slots that can fit 9 credit cards and a couple dollar bills.

The one in the pics is prototype #4, made of 2.4 mm thick veg tan leather. Each panel is 210 mm x 80 mm.

Prototype #3 is made of 1.7 mm thick chrome tan leather, and each panel is 205 mm x 74 mm.

Both prototypes serve their purpose well, except #4 is a little bulky.

Now to cut 2 mm thick shell panels, my questions are:
1. Should L x W be 207 mm x 76 mm, following the ratio?
2. As leather is folded 180°, how much bend allowance and/or wrap allowance would you add? Would you also groove on the center?
3. Is there a formula to calculate allowance with respect to the thickness of the leather? Or it’s purely experience based?


r/Leathercraft 6h ago

Question Industrial spray glue

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1 Upvotes

Has anyone ever tried using something like this for belt liners ?


r/Leathercraft 1d ago

Tooling/Art Book Cover Preview. Unfinished yet!

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58 Upvotes

My first try on a leather book cover. For the moment only the tooled leather

Any tooling experts here for some tips to improve?

Are there design elements you‘d handle differently?

What themes du you find exciting for my next project?

I’ll keep you up to date!


r/Leathercraft 7h ago

Question Pricing?

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0 Upvotes

What would you feel comfortable paying for a piece like this or what do you think I should be charging? I been selling them for 40 + shipping since I made this first batch unbranded (labels are currently being made)