Getting Started in Leatherworking, Part 1

There are many blogs and forum posts out there answering the very common question, "How do I get started in leatherworking?" While I certainly don't have all the answers, and there are people who are more experienced, I figured maybe it will help someone to hear the things I wish I'd known when I got started.

Step 1: Ask yourself: Why do you want to get into leatherworking in the first place?

I was a cosplayer, and wanted to add another ability to my skillset. I first walked into my local Tandy, looking for gold metallic leather-looking material for a costume, and...I could NOT afford the number of metallic gold goatskins I'd need for the costume I was working on! (I ended up using some leather-textured gold vinyl wallpaper for that costume instead.) However, I had other costumes in mind, including one that would need a tooled quiver. Eventually, I wandered back into that Tandy store and took a look around....

The reason you should ask yourself why you want to learn leatherworking is because it's NOT the cheapest hobby to get started in. There are some shortcuts and cheaper alternatives to what the stores want to sell you, but there is an investment you will likely have to make, just to get started.

If you just want one piece--a journal cover, a new wallet, or even that tooled quiver for a cosplay--consider commissioning a leatherworker to make it for you. There may also be alternatives: PU "leather" (aka "vegan leather") that you can buy at a fabric store might give you a bigger variety of materials and textures to play with as you flex your design and creativity muscles. There's nothing wrong with learning how to sew and draft patterns on fabric and vinyl, and then later decide if you want to move on to actual leather.

But if you are interested in investing the time and money into it, and you can accept that mistakes WILL be made and won't always be easy to fix, then absolutely come join us! That's not meant to be discouraging...leatherworkers love talking the craft with other leatherworkers. We want more people to join in! It's just important to know that it's not something you can get into on a whim and be able to produce Birkin knock-offs.

Leatherworking is a great medium to express your creativity. A single hide can be made into many different small projects, or a few hides can provide the material for larger projects. If you can answer the question of "Why do I want to learn leatherworking?" then continue reading this series for ideas on how to get started!