Shaping and Molding Leather - Part Four

After a long dry spell, I am finally getting back to finishing the project. Please accept my apologies for the delay in getting this post done. In the last one, we had looked at shaping the leather over a block of wood to form the pocket for a multi-tool carrier. I had rough-shaped the leather with my fingers around the block of wood after soaking the leather with the stretching mixture of half water and half rubbing alcohol.

I had placed some inch and a half boards on each of the vertical sides and clamped them down on the board on which I had mounted the wood block. These clamps were left in place until the leather had dried sufficiently to hold its shape. The length of time that you need to let your leather dry will vary according to a number of variables that will come into play. These are the air temperature, the moisture content of the leather, and the humidity in the air. In the case of my use of the plastic wrapped boards, it could take even a little longer for the leather to dry.

After the leather has dried, it might look similar to the photo below. You can see that the top edge is not exactly straight. This sometimes happens when I clamp the leather in the manner previously shown. I have found that it works the best for me and that it can be corrected without too much difficulty. In addition, at this point, the leather is completely dry and it may show some marks from wrinkles that may have formed in the plastic wrap on the board. I would not worry about them at this time because the effect should be minimal by the time that the sewing is completed.

Dry multi-tool carrier pocket

The next step in the process will be to measure the width of the pocket and rough cut the width of the back/flap piece of leather. I don’t like to cut my leather too close to the width of the pocket on this type of project because I have found that it can come back to bite me. If you were to cut it exactly the same width, it might not make any difference. I have found that it is better for me if I glue the two pieces together before I cut the back/flap piece for width. That way I will not inadvertently get the pocket off-center from back piece when I glue them together.

I like to use a straight edge to mark and cut my lines. It is relatively easy to place a sharp knife against the edge of a metal ruler or square as the shown in the photo below. It would be ill advised to attempt cutting a straight line with a sharp knife using a wooden or plastic ruler. I say this from early experience and having ruined the nice straight edges on more than one ruler by attempting to use them to make my cuts. If you have a lightweight metal ruler with a cork backing glued on it, you can probably use when making straight cuts.

Small framing square used as a straight edge for cutting the leather

If you use one of the lightweight metal rulers as a straight edge, it is a good idea to practice extra care when getting it near your leather. The thin metal can make some nasty marks in your leather quicker than you know. I do use a metal ruler to measure and mark my projects, but I will generally use one of my framing squares for cutting. I like the weight and the thickness of the metal on the squares for making my cuts. Besides that, I will use fine grit sandpaper to smooth down the edges of my square so that it is less likely to cut or scratch the leather when I am pressing down to hold it in place.

I have a two-foot aluminum framing square that I use for cutting out most of my larger projects. One drawback to using an aluminum square is that the aluminum will oxidize and stain moist leather, which is a real bummer. After much frustration with this problem, I felt that I was wasting time by needing to wipe down my square every time I used it. I decided to try spraying it with clear spray paint. That was many years ago and I have not found it necessary to repeat the process even with repeated use. I also did that with the smaller steel framing square seen in the above photo. You might find this tip to be effective for other tools that you have that seem to get rusty or stained as well but be sure to clean them well before painting them.

Now, back to the project, I like to dry-fit my projects to be sure that I have not cut any of the pieces too short or excessively big. I purposely cut the back/flap for this carrier wider to demonstrate marking and cutting the leather for width as discussed above. The photo below the following paragraph shows that there is a lot of extra leather on the top side of the pocket and that the pocket’s bottom edge is too long. This means that both pieces need trimmed for size at some point.

Trimming can be done at almost any time in this part of the process. For this demonstration, I will trim off the bottom of the pocket to the size that I want it to be before gluing it to the back. I will then cut the back piece approximately one eighth of an inch wider than the pocket to allow a little wiggle room for when I glue the pieces together. For myself, I like to cut the back piece a little wider and trim the excess off after I have glued and sewn the pieces together. It means that I will get a more even edge on the project.

Carrier flap folded over the pocket temporarily for sizing

Before gluing the pocket on the back piece of the carrier it is necessary to attach the belt loop to it. If you plan to use a belt clip you might find it easier to line it up, mark it, and maybe even attach it to the back before gluing and sewing the pieces together. The photo below shows a simple method for determining the width of your belt loop. I measure the width of the top edge of the pocket and cut the loop piece approximately one-eighth of an inch narrower. Notice that the loop piece fits inside the pocket. The belt loop can be cut at any width you would like it to be cut. If you want it to be narrower than what is shown, make it that way. Just do not make it too wide or it might be uncomfortable to wear under your belt.

Belt loop piece inside of the pocket - example of width

It will probably not make any difference as to the functionality of the carrier or the belt loop, but I like to trim the corners on the inner part of the loop. This will shorten the straight edges that the belt tip might catch on. The photo below shows the belt loop with the corners trimmed. I do not take the time to make exact measurements on these cuts because there is no real science involved, just cutting the corners off one end of the piece of leather.

Inner corners of belt loop cropped

Once you have cut the belt loop out it is a good idea to decide how wide of a belt you want it to fit. Generally, I make my belt loops big enough to fit over a two-inch wide belt. That means that you should allow for a little over two inches when folding the belt loop over. The photo below shows one method for making the fold and ensuring that the finished product will be wide enough to accommodate almost any width belt. I moistened the area of the fold with a little water so that the leather would fold easier and so that the grain of the leather would not tear. By using a piece of leather or any other material that is as wide and almost as thick as the belt leather it make it easier to properly size the loop. 

Simple way to fold and size the belt loop

Due to the length of this post, I am going to include the finishing details in the next one, which should be very soon. In that post, we will cover attaching the belt loop to the back of the carrier, sewing the pocket to the back, and marking and setting the snap.

Have fun!