Here are a couple of new projects that I have recently finished.  The first is a set of Chinks and a Vest for a 18 month old little boy.  This was the first time I have made a vest and also the first time I had made chinks with hair-on cow leather.  So I learned a lot from this project.  I had a great model for the chinks and vest pictures!  The second set of pictures is of a Scarf Slide.  The Scarf Slide is made out of rawhide and leather lace.  I haven't done a whole lot of braiding so this was a lot of fun to make.  After redoing this project a few times I think I am understanding the workings of this knot a little better.

Pillows and Belt

The latest projects I have finished are a set of throw pillows and a black belt.

Throw pillow

The throw pillows are made out of brown suede leather, with a white leather lacing design on them. The hardest part of making those pillows was the zipper in the back.  My leather sewing machine did not come with a special zipper foot attachment.  I will have to check in to see if they even make one for a sewing machine like the one I have.  Anyway I got it sewn in there with out too much trouble.  Thankfully I was able to find a zipper that matched the leather perfectly so it is really hardly noticeable.

Matching throw pillows

Back of pillow

Black Leather Belt (1" wide)

The belt was fun and easy to make. I actually got to do some dying on the edges of the belt.  I have not dyed any leather since I built a belt several years ago.  Anyway I think it turned out really clean and nice.  The sewing machine complained a little because I used Latigo leather, which is really tight grained, and so every time the needle went in the leather it squeaked really loud.  But from past experiences with a different machine we used to get the needle so hot it would cut the sewing thread.  This time I didn't have any problem with that. 



These where both good projects and I think I will try and make more of both to have for sale fairly soon.

White/Blue Chinks finished product

*Here are the finished White/Blue chinks that I stared earlier this summer.  They are now for sale for $275.00 if anyone knows of a person who would be interested in purchasing them.  They buckle only in the front and have two clasps that fasten on each leg.  The tops are tooled and stamped, there is double fringe that is twisted, blue pinked leather ribbon lining the fringe, blue pinked leather lining the tops as well as the stride reinforcements.

Top

Stride Reinforcement

Sewing and Finishing Tops and Panels

Panel - in process of edge slicking

Edge Slicking:
Once the tops and panels are tooled the next step is to bevel and slick the edges.  Slicking supplies
consist of a bar of saddle soap, a swatch of canvas, and a piece of sheep skin.  There are more high-tech tools that others might use to slick but the way I was taught is what I will show and talk about here.  Basically you need a lot of elbow grease in this process.   First I rub a little saddle soap on the leather, wet the edge just slightly with the sheep skin, and rub as fast as I can on the edge with the canvas.  For a finished product it is necessary to slick edges in this type of leather work. 

Edge Slicking Tools

Sewing:
Sewing any material becomes a whole lot easier if you have the right machine. We have three leather sewing machines now, but at this point I really only use one of the three.  When we first started leather working we purchased an old Singer sewing machine that is very cool to look at but it is not very easy to sew and get a
nice looking stitch with that machine.  I did sew my first saddle skirts with that machine so I can't say all bad
things about it.  The second machine we bought is an Adler which is mostly for sewing lighter leather like chaps and chinks, not saddle skirts.  The main biff I have with the Adler is it is increadibly hard to sew at a slow pace, and slow sewing is what I need at least for now.  That brings me to the best sewing machine I have sewn on yet.  Our newest machine the Artisan. There is hardly a need to adjust string tension -- ever, and it will slow at a snails pace if that is what is wanted or a fairly fast pace with the same quality of stitching.  I never though a sewing machine could make me happy but this one deffinatly does.
I glued some on the tops to keep them in place while being tacked down and then sewn. I use small tacks that are pulled out with needle nose pliers while I stich along.  The sewing machine mostly does the work, I just keep the needle in the stich grove. 

Sewing and trimming all finished

After sewing, need to trim and burn strings

Back side of Chinks, Backing on top.

Tops and fringe on chinks

Trimming and burning strings:
After all the tops and pannels were sewn on I used my edgers to trim the excess chap leather to match the tooling leather on the tops.  I used chap leather for a backing of the tops and so the back side needed trimed as well. 
Strings are pulled through to the back side of the chaps and then Cut short and burned to melt them together.

Now I'm ready to do some hole punching and all the finishing touches.

New tools and New pieces cut out.

The most exciting event from last week was the Rocky Mountain Leather Trade Show in Sheridan, WY.  Chris and I made a few really good purchases. We added to our tools with three new knives from Knip Custom Knives out of Rochester, MN.  They are the sharpest knives I have ever used and I am so excited to use them.  I cut out tops and panels out of tooling leather, for the dark brown chaps I am working on now with the round knife and it was like I was cutting paper.  They cut so much better then any of the other knives we have, there is just no comparison. 
The other knives we got were a curved knife used for straight cuts and getting in tight corners.  And then another called a skiving knife which should make one of the hardest processes of leather working just that much easier.  I have to say skiving is one of the biggest things I need to work on more, to do it well, and it can't hurt to have a tool sharp enough to handle the cut. 

Knip Custom Knives

Tops and Panels

Wayne Jueschke Stamping tools

The other cool tools we bought at the Trade Show are two stamping tools.  I can only buy a few a year because of the cost but these should be tools that will last a life time.  The bigger of the two is a geometric stamp and then the other is a border stamp.  These stamping tools are made by Wayne Jueschke out of Elko, NV.  I can't say enough about the quality of his tools, and we will see how the end product looks on the tops for the chaps I am working on now. 

Welcome to our blog on leather working and cowboy gear.

Hello, my husband and I are fairly new in leather working so I thought I would write about our experiences as we learn along the way.  So far we have made Saddles, bosals, chaps/chinks, guitar straps, photo albums, and some other various items made out of leather and rawhide. We have had very good help from friends and have also of course been learning from our mistakes.  So if you read and have suggestions we would love to hear them.
At the moment I am working on two different chap projects.  A pair to hopefully put in the fair this summer and one for a friend.  If you ever see something you like please ask and we may be able to make it for you.

Blue double fringe will be on the inside of these chaps, these may be to enter in the fair.

Dark brown double fringe chinks in process

I also just last week made this pair of armitas for my son.  Of course they are just for fun but aren't they cute!