Leather is a natural and dense material from which durable crafts can be made. They will bring not only benefit to their master, but also aesthetic pleasure. Thanks to the flexibility of the material, you can create a wide variety of flowers from leather, applications and souvenirs.
Preparation and restoration of old skin
Before using old leather for the manufacture of crafts, it must be prepared:
- The existing zippers, lining are evaporated, all seams are unzipped and the skin is tidied.
- This material is better not to wash, it is only washed with warm water. This is because when washing, animals, vegetable fats and mineral oils are washed out, which make the skin soft and supple. Soak the skin in water for no more than 5 minutes.
- You can restore or refresh the color by lubricating the surface with glycerin.
- After wet treatment, the skin is straightened. Wet matter is placed on a piece of plywood or a plank with the wrong side up and fixed along the edges with the help of studs. If the leather pieces are small, then you can use the press.
- Skin elasticity can be restored with the help of fatliquoring. A moist leather piece is impregnated with oil (castor oil). For effective absorption, the following solution is used: beat 1 egg white with 50 g of oil.
DIY leather applications
The advantage of leather applications is that their edges do not crumble, and the material is durable and dense. No need to rush to get rid of old leather bags, belts or shoes, because even from small scraps you can craft something exclusive and interesting.
With the help of skin residues, you can decorate and restore different things. Leather circles sew on the hands of knitted gloves or gloves, thereby thickening the places that quickly wear out. Moreover, leather appliqués are also sewn onto the tips of the fingers.
Original leather appliques can also decorate the sleeves of sweaters or knees of jeans. Men's jackets will look stylish, the lapels of the sleeves of which are also decorated with leather inserts.
Leather Crafts
We should also say about decorative items made of leather. You can make and decorate anything. Leather crafts can be decorated with even the smallest trimmings. Most often, patterns in the form of petals, triangles, circles located symmetrically relative to the center are chosen for this.
Today's handbags with leather appliques are fashionable. And if designer accessories are not cheap, then products decorated with their own hands will be cheaper, and the result will be more original.
An unusual leather keychain can also be made independently. Two parts are cut out according to the template, they are cut together on a typewriter or manually, and the allowances are cut with sharp scissors. Only in advance you need to think over possible mounting options, and if necessary, put a loop between the parts.
There are other leather crafts. With a little effort, you can create extraordinary things: stylish clutches, earrings, pendants, covers for notebooks, passports, other documents and much more.
Applique made of leather on clothes: tips and tricks
Leather applications will be the perfect decoration for any clothing. Not every fabric is suitable for decorating with leather elements. As a basis, you need to choose a fairly strong matter that does not lose its shape under the weight of the skin. A great option would be drape, gabardine or felt. If you need to decorate a lighter fabric, then the details of the skin should be small.
Decorating clothes in this way, you do not need to achieve perfect similarity in color, because in this case, leather applications are just a decoration.
Before you start decorating, you need to make paper sketches. They can be corrected by adding or removing unnecessary. Since the skin comes in different colors and shades, it is possible to make multi-colored patterns from it that will give the clothes exclusivity.
There are two ways to attach leather parts: pieces of leather can be glued to fabric or sewn on. The second method is more time-consuming, since first you need to make holes with an awl around the entire perimeter of the parts.
It is very important to prepare all the tools before starting work. They must be sharpened so that the skin can be cut without too much effort.
DIY leather flowers
Leather flowers look spectacular and stylish. These leather crafts can easily cope with the role of a brooch or other decoration for clothes and bags. They can also become decorative elements for decorating hair.
Craftswomen who want to try themselves in this type of needlework are recommended to start with simple leather colors. For their implementation you will need only improvised materials, a little patience and effort.
Leather is one of the oldest materials that man began to use. However, today it also has not lost its relevance. Leather applications, crafts, souvenirs, jewelry, shoes, clothes, furniture and other interior items - and this is not the whole list of applications for this universal material.