Contents Introduction 4 Basics for Leatherworking Leather 6 Types of Leather 6 Tanning 7 Weight 8 Purchasing Leather 8 Tools 9 Cutting 9 Piercing 10 Marking & Texturing 11 Setting 12 Hardware 13 Snaps 13 Eyelets 13 Rivets 14 Spots 15 Screw Posts 15 Finishing 16 Leather Endings 16 Adhesives 17 Special Effects 17 Leather Dyes 17 Edge Coats 18 Distressing 18 Sealants 19 Preparing Your Workspace 20 Bare Minimum Essentials Basics to Grow With Making Leather Jewelry Basic Cuff Techniques 22 Cutting Embossing/Texturing 22 Dyeing Applying Secondary Color 23 Acrylic and Antique Surface Treatments on Tooled Leather 24 Finishing Piercing 25 Dapped Leather Band 26 Fourth Eye Pendant 29 Mesa Pendant 32 Chic Shack Cuff 35 Four Seasons Collar 38 Negative Space Cuff 40 Opposites Attract Cuff 42 Learning About Faux Bone 45 Leather Ooh Là Là Bracelet 46 The I Hope You Like Pomegranate Juice Bracelet 49 Matrix Leather Bracelet 52 Matrix Earrings 54 Laurel Necklace 55 Lattice Bracelet 58 A Day at the Beach Bracelet 60 Textured by Nature 62 Hoarder s Excuse Cuff 64 Rippled Bangle Redux 66 Wicker Wrap Bracelet 68 Crystal Cavern Bracelet & Pendant 70 Mad for Mod Cuff 73 Learn Needle Felting 75 Her Bubbly Personality Necklace & Earrings 76 Create a Tension Clasp with Spool Beads 78 Beads and More Jewelry Leather-Embellished Wooden Beads 80 Leather Spool Beads 80 Leather Capsule Beads 81 Rolled Leather Column Beads 81 Leather Panel Beads 82 Finishing 83 Spool-Bead Bracelet 84 Make a Metal Core 85 Tassel Trio Necklace 86 Make a Leather Tassel 87 Mrs. Wright s Earrings 88 Rhythm Necklace 90 Cobbler s Chain 92 Contributors 94 About the Author 95 indicates in-depth technique tutorial
Leather The goal of this section is to help you recognize the different properties of leather, which will allow you to better gauge how the leather will perform in your project. You ll be able to make better choices when choosing leather for a project and you ll understand why a particular leather did or did not work in different circumstances. All leather starts off as rawhide. Rawhide is any animal skin that has begun its journey to become leather (the hair as been removed, for example) but has yet to be tanned. The tanning process turns rawhide into leather. Types of Leather The most common form of leather comes from cows and calves. Other domesticated livestock, such as pigs and sheep, and wild mammals, such as buffalo, deer, and elk, are also a source of leather for the fashion, furniture, and automotive industries. How these leathers perform depends highly on how they are tanned. Many times, these leathers can be found with an embossed or laminated pattern that mimics exotic leathers, such as snakeskin; creates fabric-like patterns; or provides a pop of metallic foil. This allows the producer to provide a sought-after look while retaining the flexibility and lower cost of cowhide. While cow leathers come in a variety of forms due to their tanning process, true exotic leathers have their own individual characteristics independent of how they are tanned. A few of the more popular ones include: Snakeskin: This leather is generally thin and requires backing in order to have structure. Other reptile skin: Alligator, crocodile, and lizard leathers can be light- to mid-weight, depending on the species. They are prized for their unique markings. Fish leathers: Varieties such as perch, tilapia, salmon, and cod have emerged as a new trend in jewelry making. Available in a variety of colors and varying lighter weights, they are strong enough to stand on their own (although they work best laminated to another piece of leather or backed with metal). Stingray leather: Stingray is a lightweight leather that is studded with glass-like beads. The leather is often dyed with a decorative white diamond shape at the center of the hide, highlighting the raised pattern. It is strong enough to stand on its own but can be a struggle to work with, as the texture can be hard to pierce and cut. Ostrich leather: Ostrich hides have distinctive bumps known as quill holes. It is one of the strongest, yet supple, mid-weight leathers that resists cracking. CHROME TANNED PATENT EMBOSSED FAUX OStRICH REPTILE EMBOSSED SNAKE FISH STAMPED FOIL 6
Hardware tip Invest in a snap setter set they are fairly inexpensive, there are few effective substitutions, and there is nothing worse than losing a bracelet because of snap failure due to poor application. Snaps Line 20 snaps have a 7 16-in. cap with a 3 16-in. post and are used with leather up to 7 oz. Segma snaps have a 3 8-in. cap diameter and are for leathers up to 4 oz. These are good snaps for lighter chrome-tanned leather. Line 24 snaps are meant for heavier leathers and are not used in this book. To set a snap 1 Place the cap through a hole on the front of the leather and load the receiver over the post. Turn the piece, and place the cap into a matching concave impression on the setting anvil (a). 2 Use the appropriate setter on the end of the cap post, and hammer until the snap is tight. Turn the piece over and place the backing eyelet on the flat side of the setting anvil (b). 3 Place the backing eyelet through a hole on the back of the leather and place the stud over the eyelet post (c). 4 Place the setter on the end of the eyelet post and hammer until the snap is tight (d). Eyelets Eyelets are a polished way to create lacing holes, attach two pieces of leather, or add metal accents to your work. A grommet is simply an eyelet that has a washer over the back post, making it stronger. Common eyelet sizes for leather include 3 16-, 1 4-, and 5 16-in. I often use 3 32-in. eyelets meant for metal, as they come in a variety of lengths so I can match them to the thickness of my leather. a c e g b d f h Leather eyelets do not often come in varying lengths so you may find them too long to set properly in thin leather. If they are too long, they will crack (e, left) To avoid this, flare the eyelet using a rivet setter instead (e, right) To set eyelets 1 Push the eyelet through a hole in the front of the leather (f). 2 Turn over and place the eyelet head in the matching impression on the eyelet-setting anvil (or simply on your piercing board). Place the eyelet setter on the end of the eyelet and hammer until the eyelet is tight (g). Hammer gently; hitting it too hard may crack the edges of the eyelet. 3 If the eyelet is too long, use a tube rivet setter instead, so that the eyelet flares out (h). TIP No eyelet setter? Place the head flat down on a bench block, flare the eyelet post with a small dapping punch, and then flatten the flared post end with a chasing hammer. 13
Basic Cuff Techniques In six easy steps, you will learn to create and embellish a simple cuff bracelet. Give yourself the time to go through this section so you can learn by doing and become familiar with these basic leatherworking techniques. pattern sheet, or other textures across the leather cuff in whatever design you desire and, one by one, use a weighted rawhide or nylon hammer to hammer the texture into the leather. Cutting Leather The two cutters most often used are a trim knife and a rotary cutter. Both create crisp, straight lines when paired with a metal ruler. The trim knife has an extra bonus: It allows one to precisely start and stop by using the tiny point at its end. Trim knives are used by pulling the knife towards you. Rotary cutters can cut in either direction. Safety Note Regardless of which cutter you use, take safety precautions. Always be aware of where your fingers are and be in control of the knife. Sharpen your trim knife with a strop before and after each use (see p. 10)! YOUR TURN: Cut a 2x8-in. piece of 4 5 oz. tooling leather using the tool of your choice. For the most crisp tooled impressions, such as those made by stamps or drawings using a stylus, the leather should be wet but not saturated. This is called casing and for fine-art leatherworkers, it s a science. These projects are a bit more forgiving, so we can use a simple spray bottle or sponge. Spray or sponge the face of the leather until the color changes, then allow the water to soak in until the color of the leather reverts back to the original. (Repeat this one or two times, until you notice it is taking longer for the color to return to normal. You are now ready to stamp impressions.) Embossing/Texturing Leather Leather accepts texture best when it is wet. The impressions will be deeper, and the risk of tearing through the surface of the leather is practically eliminated. We ll add texture to leather by making impressions from assorted metal charms, a trick I learned from leather artist Mary Tafuri. To make the leather receptive, soak it in a bowl of water until air bubbles stop rising. At this point, it should be saturated. Use the same process to prepare leather for shaping. To stamp saturated leather with charms, place the cuff on a waterproof surface, such as a cutting board. Arrange charms, a 22 YOUR TURN: Spray the leather and observe as it soaks in, as the color of the leather goes dark, and then as the color returns back to normal. Now, soak the leather. Once wet, emboss it using your favorite charms. Check each impression after you hammer, and gain knowledge along the way of how hard to hit, where to hit, and how to hold everything.
Dapped Leather Band This is one of the very first leather projects I ever tackled and it opened my eyes to the possibilities that leather holds. It was the start of understanding how the material moves, something that is central in working with any medium. This bracelet can be made patterned, as shown, or with random daps and embellishments. It also looks lovely as a thinner band. 26
Necklace what you ll need 5 in. 2x5mm flat leather strap 1x10-in. piece fashion/upholstery leather 4 1 4-in. eyelets 8 4mm cap rivets 4 6mm 18-gauge jump rings 2 10mm decorative links 16 in. chain clasp edge paint 1 Cut a 5-in. piece of 1 8-in. strap and two 10-in. pieces of 2mm strips from the fashion/upholstery leather. 2 String one end of the strap through a decorative link or jump ring. Fold it over and rivet it into a loop. 3 Create a decorative wrap (sidebar) with one strip over the strap. Slide on the pendant. Create a second decorative wrap. 4 Repeat step 2 with the remaining strap end, trimming as needed so that the loop matches the first loop. 5 Create two decorative 3 8x2-in. leather panels from the fashion/upholstery leather using eyelets and rivets. Finish the edges with edge paint. 6 Connect the centerpiece and leather panels together with chain and jump rings. Create Leather Wraps This is a great use for thin leather strips that you will collect as you trim edges of cuffs. 1 Cut a 2mmx10-in. long piece of lace from stretchy leather. This will yield an approximately 1 1 2-in. wrap, depending on the thickness of the leather, how stretchy it is, and how tightly you pull it. 2 Trim the ends of the lace to a point (a). a 3 Holding a pointed end, wrap the leather around the neckwire. I prefer to use square stock when using metal as you really see the wrapped effect more clearly (b). 4 After wrapping half of the strip, turn around and begin wrapping back over the original wraps. This time, leave a 1 2 lace width of space between each wrap (c, d). b c 5 When you reach the end, tuck the end of the lace under the last wrap, apply a little glue on the back of the tail, and pull tightly. Trim (e). 6 Test-wrap the lace first. It is not unusual to be in the middle of the wrap and find that the leather has an imperfection that causes it to split or stretch oddly. This is to be expected from a natural material. If you want a very solid wrap, you can put a very light layer of epoxy on the wire before wrapping it. d e Technique tutorial by Tara Brannigan. Read more about Tara on p. 94. 31
Four Seasons Collar By combining metalworking and leatherworking techniques in one project, it s possible to achieve complementary effects with two very different materials. Paired, they add the unexpected detail that distinguishes this very simple design. 38
The I Hope You Like Pomegranate Juice Bracelet All right, so the name is silly. But the reality is that you are going to have to buy some pomegranate juice. The shape of the Pom brand juice bottle is perfect for making this bracelet, and while I experimented with many different forms, this one really worked the best, was inexpensive, and was widely available. Enjoy the curves, both in the shape of the bracelet and the rolled edges. 49
Matrix Leather Bracelet Colorful and playful, this design is also practical. It s a great way to use up small pieces of flat leather strap, especially strap that already has dyed edges. Rivet, paint the cut edges to match, and the piece is perfectly finished! 52
Crystal Cavern Bracelet and Pendant Crystal-studded caves exist far beneath the ground and contain wondrous delights. This bracelet conjures that image crystals peeking out from an unexpected place as if they had grown there. 70
Her Bubbly Personality necklace and earrings My daughter s love of bubbles matches her bubbly personality. Sometimes inspiration is that simple. 76