Leatherworking

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SynthetiKat
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Location: Detroit, Michigan

Leatherworking

Post by SynthetiKat » Mon Sep 28, 2009 6:10 pm

I have been browsing the internet for a few hours and I haven't yet to come up with what I am looking for. I wanted to make a leather halter top for a barbarian/viking costume I want to make for next years Renaissance Festival. The problem is how to make it. I know leather stretches to fit and I know that it will stretch in different ways based off of the.. something in the leather.

So my question I guess is this. First, has anyone ever worked with leather? And second, would I have to allow room for cleavage or would I be able to make it a simple flat front panel? I've seen some halter tops with different cuts and curves sewn in to make room for boobs but I've also seen them as a just a piece of leather with some ties in the back to hold it on.

As far as my project goes I will be making a v-neck halter that will have a front panel that cuts off right after it hits my back. So the back will be completely open but I will lace it from top to bottom. Kind of like a corset laced halter top.

Any help would be appreciated. I'm doubting I'll get much but figure its worth a try. If all else fails I can just try to make it and see what happens.
-- SynthetiKat --

sammu
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Re: Leatherworking

Post by sammu » Mon Sep 28, 2009 6:25 pm

Oooh, your idea sounds great!

I also am interested in it... I'd love to make a waist cincher/alchemists belt but I am a complete nonce when it comes to leatherwork. Good luck!

SynthetiKat
Posts: 68
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 4:41 pm
Location: Detroit, Michigan

Re: Leatherworking

Post by SynthetiKat » Tue Sep 29, 2009 3:39 am

CirqueMachine wrote:Oooh, your idea sounds great!

I also am interested in it... I'd love to make a waist cincher/alchemists belt but I am a complete nonce when it comes to leatherwork. Good luck!
I've been wanting to learn the art of corsets, cinchers, and other types of renaissance wear but I can't seem to figure this out. There is VERY little information on the internet and some forums I've read say you should talk to someone who already does it and learn from someone who already does it but I definitely don't have that available to me.
-- SynthetiKat --

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kyandii
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Location: Leicester UK

Re: Leatherworking

Post by kyandii » Tue Sep 29, 2009 5:53 am

I have a link somewhere with loads of helpfull info about working with leather, if you like I can go through my bookmarks :D

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Icky-nay
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Location: Edmonton, AB

Re: Leatherworking

Post by Icky-nay » Thu Oct 01, 2009 11:00 pm

I don't know where you're located, but if you are in the States or Canada:
Tandy Leather/The Leather Factory has lots and lots of books and workshops on making leather clothing, wallets, saddles even...I bought a book and it's got lots of useful information on certain tools for leathermaking, different hides, stretch, etc. I think you can find it in the hobby section of most bookstores as I've seen it around at a few here in the city.This is a link to the book:
http://www.amazon.com/Leatherworking-Ha ... 0304345113
I also have this book:
http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/home ... =Product_9
It was a useful guide for figuring out what I needed to buy for making certain leather items.

Serena_cd
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Re: Leatherworking

Post by Serena_cd » Mon Jun 21, 2010 2:58 pm

I stumbled on this while surfing for something completely different but i am glad i found this.


I work have worked in leather quite a bit over the years boots, coats of plates, tooling and recently working on a corset I would. depending on the weight of the leather would depend on if you wanted to leave room for breasts or not. If using a glove/garment weight it would not be an issue and it would stretch sufficiently so you should not be to uncomfortable. If you are using a little heavier Oil tan/Boot weight leather then it would be prudent to factor in room for your breasts to avoid any discomfort.

At any rate the leather weights you want to work in for a project like this are between 2 and 5 oz leather

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Odonata
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Re: Leatherworking

Post by Odonata » Mon Jul 04, 2011 8:04 pm

SynthetiKat wrote:
would I have to allow room for cleavage or would I be able to make it a simple flat front panel?

As far as my project goes I will be making a v-neck halter that will have a front panel that cuts off right after it hits my back. So the back will be completely open but I will lace it from top to bottom. Kind of like a corset laced halter top.
.
i work in leather , leather will stretch because of the skins grain - this is something you can test on your own arm with two fingers pull the skin apart length wise - it wont move far but you'll find it much stretchier around. soft leathers will keep this grain even when tanned. you can either work with or against this grain - usually you will have the stretch run lengthwise the garment to prevent it stretching and loosening over time but you can also use this stretch for tighter clothing or as you have mentioned

as far as weather or not this stretch is enough to accommodate the bust or not depends on the size of your bust and the over all look you are after , there may be excess gaping and side darts can fix this i would experiment with a stretch denium or similar weight slightly stretchy cotton before cutting the leather

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Lilinth
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Location: London, UK

Re: Leatherworking

Post by Lilinth » Wed Jul 06, 2011 5:44 pm

Icky-nay wrote:I don't know where you're located, but if you are in the States or Canada:
Tandy Leather/The Leather Factory has lots and lots of books and workshops on making leather clothing, wallets, saddles even...I bought a book and it's got lots of useful information on certain tools for leathermaking, different hides, stretch, etc. I think you can find it in the hobby section of most bookstores as I've seen it around at a few here in the city.
just wanted to say theres a tandy in Northampton here in the UK and they do online ordering too, my OH has been using them since the 90s
/emmy x

K.O.
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Re: Leatherworking

Post by K.O. » Mon Jul 25, 2011 5:39 am

I have also tried working with leather, luckily my pieces were thin, soft deerhide so i was able to do a lot of what needed to be done using a sewing machine. Leather is a pain in the butt because for a lot of what you need to do with thicker leather would involve a sewing awl. which is kinda expensive. When you make the top just be use to put a cotton liner in the bra part just because depending on what color leather you will be using, sweat can cause discoloration. And be very uncomfortable. What I did was I took a look at already made tops that were available for sale online and studied them. The easiest way I found was to treat it like a bikini top, sewing a track under the bust where you can slide cord thru so that way once it starts stretching and relaxing to your body, you can still adjust it.
Kitten A.K.A
Kristin Okopski

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