r/Leathercraft

I wanted to share my latest completed project: a classic zip-around long wallet.

This piece was a massive test of patience, especially when it came to achieving clean zipper alignment and maintaining a slim profile despite the multiple internal layers.

The biggest challenge with a full-zip wallet is always the bulk management and the zipper teeth alignment around the corners. To keep the wallet from bloating, I had to carry out extreme precision skiving on the interior card pockets and lining layers to keep things incredibly thin yet structurally sound.

The stitching was done entirely with a traditional saddle stitch, ensuring tension is perfectly balanced across the entire perimeter. For the edges, I opted for a classic burnished finish rather than edge paint to let the beautiful layers of the Italian veg-tan show through.

I’m really happy with how the zipper tension turned out—it glides smoothly without any warping on the leather frame.

📸 See the full process, interior details, and workshop updates on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/tripley\_leathercraft

I’d love to hear your feedback or answer any questions about the dimensions and skiving breakdown! What’s your preferred method for gluing zippers perfectly flush?

A few people asked to see more process work after the green leather jacket post, so I thought I’d share another custom project that was a lot more complicated behind the scenes.

The 3rd pic is the original reference the client sent me. The goal wasn’t to make a 1:1 copy, but to reinterpret some of the ideas into something more wearable and structurally realistic.

The whole thing took around half a month to make, plus another 8–10 days just waiting for materials and hardware to arrive.

When the client first sent over a huge folder of reference photos and ideas, honestly my first reaction was “this is going to be difficult.”
But at the same time, that’s also what made it exciting. I spent around five days just sketching ideas on paper, figuring out how to reinterpret everything into something actually wearable and structurally possible, while also searching for hardware and materials that could realistically be sourced.

Once we had a long phone call and agreed on the direction, I started ordering everything. Most of the parts came from different suppliers, so it took quite a while before all the pieces finally arrived.

After that came the pattern and construction stage. Even after deciding on all the materials, the technical side was still exhausting - especially sewing leather onto heavy 17oz fabric panels and trying to keep everything clean and balanced.

The metal badge on the chest was another challenge. It’s made from a copper alloy, so I had to build up multiple layers of leather underneath it before mounting it securely to the jacket. Even the circular stitch details around it had to be sewn very carefully to avoid ruining the shape.

The sleeve panels with the “47” and “DN” details were also incredibly time consuming. I had to trim and place each piece individually, counting stitches and adjusting spacing constantly. Thankfully the final color balance worked out exactly the way I imagined, which made the whole process worth it.
Each sleeve alone took almost half a day from measuring to final stitching - both sleeves together basically took an entire day of work.

Honestly, projects like this are exhausting, but also the reason I enjoy making custom jackets in the first place.

Since there is a limit to how much I can fit into 1 post, I can share Part 2 later if you guys are interested.

I’d like to incorporate a thin leather covering on the outside portion up and around the top of spring clips for my wallets. How would you go about it?

Hi everyone. I made a journal (or journal cover I guess depending on how this is deciphered) with no hardware just saddle stitching the closure and making a small leather sleeve type thing to secure the book. I'm just wondering does this look good or are there better ways for me to achieve a journal that's mostly leather without external hardware.

This bag is cut and stitched by hand. I don't ever use machines in any of my projects.

Fun fact on this project. I stitched in black, hated it. Then stitched in a matching brown which was alright. Then I had a khaki colored thread come in the mail and thought, "god dammit, now I have to unstitch the bag again". So I ended up stitching this bag 3 times. All told it took about 16 hours to make from all the unstitching I to do.

I'd love to know what you all think since you're the experts on handbags!

It seems like I’m causing a little ripple at each stitch but I’m unsure if this is expected or not

Also my thread doesn’t seem to sit at the corners of each French iron slanted hole

Would really appreciate any tips!

Hi all,

I currently use a traditional hot foil stamping machine (Foilcraft EZ Pro) for PU leather but it is quite time consuming to use since you have to manually put the die into the holder and then stamp.

I’m looking for a machine that is more automated and came across digital foil stamping machines. Like the one I’ve attached.

Has anyone had any experiences with a machine like this? Is the quality poor on pu leather in comparison to a manual stamping machine? Would you recommend it?

Having a time learning to deboss

A well-crafted pair of leather shoes should age gracefully rather than wear out quickly. Factors like leather quality, construction method, frequency of wear, and proper care all play a major role in longevity.

With regular maintenance and occasional resoling, many quality pairs can remain in excellent condition for years.

What lifespan do you personally expect from a good pair of leather shoes?

Made Tony See's new canvas backpack...had to get my wife to teach me how to use her sewing machine. This was a beast of a project probably the most complex one I've done.

Giving thought to stitching through all four pieces, it's about 14mm thick.

Secondary option is to stitch the top two and bottom two.

The layers... Top to bottom

-Rivet cover (to keep the rivet from rubbing the knife handle)

-Snap closure, wrapping around the handle

-Main sheath body

-Belt loop strap

Going to use a rivet going from the belt loop strap up through the snap closure.

(First actual complete project, big time rookie)

Idk - should I just do the rivet and only stitch the cover to the closure???

been at it a couple months, learning from every project. feedback is welcomed but not really looking for it. just kinda showing off and hoping the person that sells this template on Etsy sees it. sees? that can't be right

This is an older project, but I finally got around to showing it off. My dad designed and crafted this backpack (with me helping out on the build). We used a mix of nubuck and veg-tan leather, and hand-stitched everything with 1mm thread. The Loxx fasteners were a game-changer for quick access. Really happy with how it turned out what do you guys think?

I apologize if this isn’t appropriate, just not good at this part. What to price the pieces shown here (3 total). Hand tooled. Going to be sold in a local art shop (owner takes 20%).

Moth/Vertebrae is 12” x 12”,

Octopus is 4” x 12”

Dragon (leather, not including frame dims) is 23.5” wide x 38” high

Hi there! My girlfriend recently fell in love with this wallet by Dior, but there's obviously a very heavy markup because it's a branded product. I really won't spend any amount of money on such a heavily marked-up product, but I thought well, maybe I could rather let the commission go to someone I actually want to pay. I really don't have any idea how much something like this would cost, so I'm certainly open to negotiations or offers - please just message me, I'd really appreciate it!

I am based in Austria, so I'd need you to be able to ship to Europe.

One more quick thing - I believe on the webpage it says this product is made from lambskin, which I couldn't care less about - I just want it to be high-quality.

Thank you for taking your time to read my post, please feel free to reach out for any inquiries, I'd love to get in touch!

This is the actual product for reference: https://www.dior.com/en_au/fashion/products/S2400PUKI_M933

Hello all, Im new to leathercrafting. My mom had gotten me a kit last year as a birthday present and while I did practice some tooling and whatnot I only just finished my first thing. My Fiance needed a new belt for work and I took it upon myself to make one for him.

It took a while and a LOT of trial and error, and going back and forth between different crafts, but I finally got around to finishing it today. Its far from perfect but im proud to have finally finished it and thought id share it 😊

What do you think of this collection ?