Ten Cards and a Piece of Alligator
A business card holder cut from one piece of Louisiana alligator, hand stitched, lined in blue suede. A small 2017 run, the smallest thing made from the hide.
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How Long It Takes to Learn Leatherwork
How long it takes to learn leatherwork depends on what learning means: the stitch in an afternoon, a trade in years, and the feel in the hands last of all.
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Practicing on Scrap Before the Good Hide
Practicing on scrap leather saves the good hide. One strap end, step by step: where the bevel, the holes, the seam and the dye go wrong when nothing is tested.
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Casing Vegetable-Tanned Leather
Casing vegetable-tanned leather in the order the work happens: wet it lightly, wait for the color, work the window, hold it overnight, then feed it after.
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Marking a Stitch Line With Wing Dividers
Wing dividers in the order the work happens: set the gap, prepare the edge, scribe the line, steer the curves, walk the spacing, and decide on a groove.
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Slicking the Flesh Side Smooth
Six questions on slicking the fuzzy flesh side of vegetable-tanned leather: what it does, which gum and tool, the strokes, the cracking, and lining it instead.
