BASIC LEATHER CARVING PROCEDURE PAGE 1

LEATHER PREPARATION

1. Casing the leather - Using a moistened sponge wet the leather. Do not soak it. The leather should be slightly moist throughout. Once the leather dries to near its original color, it is properly "cased".	2. Prepare a pattern - Lay your tracing film atop your pattern (matte side up) and trace the pattern as accurately as possible with a pencil. If using a Craftaid, skip this step.


3. Position the pattern on the leather. Trace all the pattern lines with a stylus using gentle pressure. If using a craftaid, place it texture side down on the leather. Use a spoon shaped modeling tool to burnish the back of the craftaid to transfer the pattern.	4. You are now ready to start carving. Try to avoid letting the leather dry out as repeated moistening and drying will make it harder to carve. If you need to take a break place it in a ziplock bag. If the leather starts to dry while working with it moisten again as needed. Please note: do not store wet leather for more than a few hours this way, or it may get moldy.

The pattern used here is from the excellent tutorial book The Leatherworking Manual and I highly recommend this book.