r/Leatherworking

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I am seeking input on creating a leather charm for my notebook. I am wondering if anyone can help me figure out what type of stitch is needed for these projects? Is this a saddle stitch? Also what material I would need to start out. I appreciate any input. I am new to this!

Been working on a collection of pink leather harnesses lately. Love how the soft pink leather contrasts with the brass hardware.

Hello all! I hope it’s alright that I’m posting on this sub. I purchased a secondhand top grain pebbles leather bag that was listed in like new condition.

For like new condition I am happy with the price I paid, less than half what the bag is currently retailing for online. I paid $230 after tax and shipping and the bag brand new is currently selling for $514.

It is very clean and in great condition, with the exception of this cracking along the handle and edges of the opening of the bag. This looks more like a paint or wax coating beginning to crack, rather than cracks in the leather. Is this something that is easily repairable?

Hey guys!

I’m fairly new to leatherworking as a whole (started in January) and only recently decided to make a business out of it a few weeks ago. I’m starting to take things more seriously, so I’d love to hear some advice from people who have been doing this longer than I have.

I designed my logo and have a solid game plan for what I want my brand to mean and show. Affordable goods that doesn’t skimp of quality. Im doing this as a side hustle and out of pure passion for the craft so making large profits is not in my interests as much as it is to give people affordable armor and goods.

I’m planning to vend at local Renaissance faires and similar events. I have some social media pages set up, commissions are coming in, and I’m currently working on getting my business cards and LLC squared away.

For those of you who have turned leatherworking into a small business,

What are some things you wish you knew when you were starting out?

I’m mostly making armor, Renaissance/fantasy gear, belts, accessories, and other handcrafted leather goods.

I’m excited to see where this goes, but I’d rather learn from other people’s mistakes than make all of them myself. 😂

Any advice, lessons learned, or general pointers is appreciated!
(I posted some photos of my work to give an idea of my products)

Thank you for your time.

Bought this jacket directly from China a few weeks ago and finally opened it today. Everything fits perfectly except the armpits and biceps, which feel a little stiff and restrictive. I know wearing it will help break it in, but are there any other ways to soften it up?

Hello! Not sure if anyone's following along, but I've been on a journey to recreate this object: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGlU0QwZrv8 as a complete newbie! I had never worked with leather prior to starting part 1.

Part 1: https://www.reddit.com/r/Leathercraft/comments/1umwjfm/my_first_leather_project/

Part 2: https://www.reddit.com/r/Leathercraft/comments/1vhlj0g/first_leather_project_v20/

I started out by making a couple iterations of the keychain that HahnAtelier makes at the end, after which I felt confident enough to make the main body!

Things I acquired:

• 85 piece leather tool kit - $50 https://a.co/d/0aC2bBnt
• Fiebing's Leathercraft Cement - $9
• Shkira 2,2 lbs Genuine Brown Leather Scraps  - $9 (my interpretation of what HahnAtelier calls"split leather")
• Eva foam - $7
• 1mm PVC foam - $13
• 1000 jump rings - $11
• uniters edge primer and paint - $21.30
• small japanese planer for leather - $17 (used this to jankily skive the leather, but I'd avoid this if possible)
• Tandy Veg-Tan Single Shoulder Dark Brown $67
• Rocky mountain Plonge Protected - Luxury Lambskin Chocolate - $75 (not very happy with these people but that's a different story)
• Not super necessary:
  • beeswax - $6.50 (not sure if this was necessary, but I think it might have helped)
  • paraffin wax - $7.50
  • bick4 - $11

Things I already had:

• 3D printer - printed out the hershey's stamp and also a variety of helpful tools to assist with shaping/pricking etc.
• calipers
• small circular neodymium magnets
• awl
• random-af wood to use as a vice
• a regular printer to print out some guides
• random af cloth to use as support (?) idk

Things I wish i'd had:

• a stitching pony
• 0.7 mm thick leather (instead of arduously planing my Tandy leather)
• a boxcutter or something a little stronger than the exacto-knife to cut the leather
• a sharpening block
• bontex? support material with adhesive
• a better edge beveler (I think the one that came with the amazon kit isn't great)
• european-style pricking irons instead of the diamond chisels that came with the kit
• a sharper awl? some kind of better mechanism for making the holes go all the way through. I think I needed some kind of cork/ or pound-o-pad?
• a piece of granite to to skive on

50+9+9+11+7+6.50+7.50+13+11+21.30+17+67+75 = $304

The whole project including all parts probably only took $15 of the lambskin (I used it pretty inefficiently) and about $30 of the veg tan single shoulder

I spent a little under 2 months doing this (in my free time). Officially started June 25, 2026, maybe did a bit of studying and planning for 2 weeks prior. It did take part of my life force directly.

If people are interested I could potentially publish a more comprehensive study, but honestly I probably did many things wrong, so it's best to refer back to HahnAtelier's original youtube video, even thought it's not actually a tutorial.

But yeah, the janky amazon toolkit can get you pretty far!!!

ETA: https://limewire.com/d/cyGGY#03sA6CCxxo - link to hershey's bar stamp!

I bought this wallet not too long ago and the leather in both of the outer layers seems to be splitting in the middle of the grain. Is this something normal and just part of the patina or should I get it warrantied?

Hello, I found an old calf leather journal in the thrift store 2 years ago and I’ve been using it dearly. My mother decided to wash and condition it yesterday and it has gotten weirdly scaly in some parts and extremely sticky, some parts have darkened and the texture of it is uneven. I don’t really know if it’s normal. Or if there’s anything I can do to remedy it. I would love some advice.

The captain's hat I made before is just too big for me, so I'll give it to my friend who it should fit perfectly. Decided to try this pattern from Tony See today and it turned out awesome! Just that this one is ever so slightly too small.. Maybe it'll stretch since the leather I used is pretty soft. Last day of my holiday, so I won't have time to do as much leather working as I'd like to for the next few weeks.

Making some little skulls for Halloween.

Had coffee with mom today and she was sad her bag was falling apart. It was some faux leather thing, so no wonder. She asked if I could make her something that would last and I told her I'd love to! She picked this bag from Tony See. I'm going to surprise her with it tomorrow, because she thinks it'll take weeks to make. Took me an evening. Pattern was top notch! My first time working with a Tony See design, so I bought a few more. Hats and bags and wallets.

The strap was something she gave me to use, might make her a proper leather strap though. Chicago screws will be swapped out for brass ones once I get my order in the mail.

Again, criticism is more than welcome! I'm here to learn, won't get offended.

Love this Pull-Up leather! Making a batch of them with different threads.

This one has black stitching.

I just moved to a new home this week and just finished setting up my office/studio/workshop in the basement. This room is behind the room with the furnace and water heater.

I'm looking forward to working in this space on my software, my content creation, and my new hobby of leathercrafting. I have a few hand tools and a pegboard to add more to later.

I think this will work for now. What do you think? Thanks.

Sheath (Aug 2025)/sheath (July 2026)
First wallet (Aug 2025) and an attempt at an AirTag holder
First attempt at shoes (Aug 2025)
Proper, lasted shoes (Dec 2025)
Recent wet molded valet trays project (Aug 2026)

I still ruin the occasional piece with the skiving knife but have gotten so much better! Still struggle with saddle stitching—but while doing a fishskin wallet with edge binding last week, since regular leather goes fine. Working on the first welted shoes now and swearing a lot at the outsole, but managed to hand stitch the entire uppers and last them properly.