Leatherworking is a fascinating (and potentially lucrative) hobby that almost anyone can do. It is fairly economical to begin, although you can easily spend a lot if you aren’t careful! Leather work does not take a lot of time; although, just like anything else, the more time you spend, the better you will become. If you want to start leatherworking and don’t know where to begin, you have come to the right place. This is a compendium of some of the best leatherworking articles and should take you from the beginning to the point where you can make some decent pieces that you can be proud of. Following this series, you will choose the right leather and leathercraft tools, learn how to saddle stitch, make a simple cell phone case, and finally, make a more difficult knife sheath. It will also give you some references for more information.

Starting from the beginning:

1) Leathercraft – How to Choose Leather for Custom Leather Working
This page covers the main types of leather and gives some hints for choosing the right leather for your project. This is
the place to begin if you want to try a leather project.

2) Leathercraft – Essential Craft Tools for Leather Working
This hub is an overview of the tools and accessories needed for normal leather work. The tools covered are oriented
toward heavier leather used for knife sheaths, holsters, belt pouches, and phone cases. If you do more specialized
projects such as lightweight women’s handbags, you may need some slightly different equipment.

3) Leathercraft – Hand Sewing or Stitching Leather with the Saddle Stitch Tutorial (The Best Stitch for Leatherwork)
The saddle stitch is the basic stitch in leatherwork. If you are sewing heavier leather for the types of projects
mentioned above, the saddle stitch is the stitch that you want to use, unless you choose to using lacing. It is the only
way to hand sew leather giving that kind of strength and it has two threads running so that, if one side breaks, the
other side will still hold the seam.

4) Leathercraft – How to Make a Custom Leather Cell Phone or iPhone Case
This is the first basic tutorial showing how to make a simple, yet practical and attractive cell phone or iphone case out
of one piece of leather with minimal tools. Anyone can make this and do a good job at it if they work carefully.

5) Leathercraft – Making a Custom Wet-Molded Leather Knife Sheath Tutorial
Knife sheaths are a very popular area in leatherworking. This is a more difficult project than the cell phone case,
entailing more wet-molding and careful leather work. The knife sheath is still easy enough that someone who can
make the cell phone case can make this sheath will little trouble.

6) Leathercraft – The Best Leatherworking and Leather Craft Sites and Forums
Once you have reached this point, you can do some decent work of your own. This hub has a list of some of the best
leatherworking websites and forums. Check these out for more advice, ideas, and patterns.

This is a great hobby and one that can be enjoyed by any age! I hope that you can learn from these and get started!