Leather Crafting: How to Craft Leather

So, as the elders say, "understanding something requires the knowledge of its definition". So, wiki has given us a very easy-to-understand definition of leather crafting, one that I would like to share with you. "Leather crafting is the practice of making leather into craft objects or works of art, using shaping techniques, coloring techniques or both", so clear, ain't it? Generations of leather-artists, through times immemorial, have excelled at creating, absolutely, beautiful artifacts out of leather.

There are a few items that you could start off with crafting yourself, for yourself. Let me remind you, there is an immense sense of pride in using something that you have prepared, yourself. More so, even a glance by someone at our prized possession gives you an ego boost that could go "all night long"!

Let's begin with something simple and sweet. I am an avid reader (being a writer, it's obvious!), one of my best friends hand-crafted a leather bookmark for me. It was brilliant. This is how she did it. She cut a strip of leather about one inch wide and six inches long (size is, obviously, your discretion). Then, just for fun, she made a small fringe at the bottom and an arrow head on the top. The further personalization could be done in two ways - with a magic marker, or with the help of tools. As it always is with gifts, it's the thought that counts, but at a personal level, a thorough job has its own elegance.

Using tools can be a little bit complicated. Just follow the simple directions and you can understand the basic working of it. Fret not, relax and remember, it is your design not anyone else's, so keep it representative of you!

• Moisten the leather before the "tooling" can be done. For that, put the leather sheet on a hard surface like marble, tile or stainless steel. Now, using a wet sponge to moisten the flesh side of the leather. Make sure it is moist but not sopping wet. As in, when you press the corner with your finger nail, there should not be any water getting squeezed out. Once you have achieved this, turn the leather so that the grain-side is facing upwards.
• Now we come to the designing part. Dolce, Dior, Chanel, the works! (not really, but you could try!) Pick an appropriate but simple design (considering it is your first attempt, keep it simple). Draw it on a tracing paper. Next, place the tracing paper on the sheet, properly, making sure that that design is centered. Now using a pencil, re-draw the design applying pressure. Make sure that the pressure is not too much, but enough to leave an impression on the leather. Remove the tracing paper, and using the pointed tool, go over the design to deepen the lines in the leather.
• Next step, press down the area around the tooled design. This will raise it and make it stand out. This is called modeling (so if your design is super, you create a super model!). If you wish to do flat modeling, you will need a modeling tool, something with a spoon-shaped end. Work on the front side of the leather, rubbing the area surrounding the design with small circular motions.
Voila! You have a personalized bookmark ready!!

Alternatively, you could create a "hotter" design by burning it. You will need a special tool for this. It looks like a small electric soldering iron with a fine tip. Plug it into an electrical outlet and let it become hot. Once "that's hot!", use the burning tool as a pencil. Draw directly on the grain side of the leather. You can either do this freehand or you can trace your design on the leather and then use the tool (I suggest the latter, to be on the safe side). The heat will scorch the leather. The more the pressure, the darker the impression will be.

Leather adds a certain aristocracy factor to the artifact. Besides, having personalized objects gives a special feeling to the owner! Have fun, experiment and feel free to share your special ideas with me!