Leather

Leather is available in an enormous variety of tannages, weights, textures, colors, finishes, and cut sizes for bags, belts, wallets, footwear, upholstery, garments, tooling, tack, accessories, repairs, and countless other projects. Understanding a few key characteristics makes it easier to narrow the options.

Begin with the finished project. Consider how much structure, flexibility, stretch, weather resistance, and surface durability it requires. Leather weight describes thickness, while temper describes how firm or soft the material feels. Tannage affects how the leather responds to tooling, dye, moisture, edge work, and use. Grain and finish influence both appearance and maintenance. Also check the size and shape of the available cut to ensure it will accommodate the pattern. Selecting leather by performance rather than color alone leads to cleaner construction and a finished item that behaves as intended.