Exercises:
- Making your first cut, Measuring and making square
- Cutting straight Lines
- Cutting Curves
- Creating a groove prior to stitching (in the book)
- Creating the Stitching Holes (in the book)
- Skiving (in the book)
More exercise in the ebook.
I have a pdf ebook you can download for free. It was written by Paul Hughes for my website and for you, and it is free: An Introduction to Leathercraft by Paul Hughes It has 28 pages of exercises, information and more and is a great introduction to the wonderful art of leathercrafting.
A note from Will: Paul H. Put a lot of time into the Introduction to leathercraft ebook. And he offered it to me and you totally free. Why don't you send him an email and let him know what you think of it? His email is here:
Exercise 1 : measuring and making square - the first cut.
Take your leather selection and using the metal try square mark and cut a piece into a nice true square.
Practise measuring and cutting until you feel comfortable and confident.
Exercise 2: cutting straight lines
Take a ruler and craft knife and measure off and cut a straight line leaving a strip of leather about 1\4 of an inch wide.
Go ahead and practise making strips of varying widths. Get a feel for both blade and material. * Be safe, use a ruler with a
finger groove and which has a non slip back. Make sure your blade is new and sharp. If the leather does not cut straight through on
the first cut just keep on slicing but if it is caught by a small point do not be tempted to pull it - IT WILL TEAR!
Persevere and just keep cutting.
Exercise 3 : cutting curves.
Introducing the swivel knife.
This versatile tool can be used for both cutting curves and for carving leather.
For now, we will concentrate on cutting curves.
Place your forefinger on top of the cradle and using your thumb and second finger to hold the body it
should feel comfortable and not stretched. It can be adjusted via the locking collar to adapt to the user. The forefinger just supports the tool. .
To start the cut, tilt the blade backward so that you are using a corner. “Drive” the blade by creating a wavy line swivelling the tool body from side to side as you move it.
Go and do a series of cuts and get a feel for the tool and its affinity with the material. At this stage change to a craft knife to cut right through to separate the pieces.
More Exercises in the free ebook
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