24
votes
I need an alternative to leather
What you're looking for is EVA Craft Foam sheets; these are the typical choice for costumers who want to create leather or metal-look pieces without using leather or metal. They're widely available ...
- 4,074
15
votes
I need an alternative to leather
Wikipedia suggests (and I remembered it from school) that a lot of Hoplite armour was made from "linothorax", a composite made from layers of cloth.
So for this you could use actual cloth (...
- 253
14
votes
I need an alternative to leather
While working with leather can be difficult, it's a skill you can learn.
New, pristine leather is indeed costly, but go try going through local flea markets / second hand shops. It's likely you can ...
- 451
8
votes
I need an alternative to leather
A material made specifically to imitate real leather, with similar properties but for a much more affordable price is 'faux leather' (a.k.a. artificial or synthetic leather).
It is still pretty pricey,...
- 11.5k
7
votes
Accepted
Money clip rubber cement/hot glue?
I've glued strong magnets to various other things in an industrial context, and even fairly rigid substrates have a tendency to peal off the magnets.
Hot glue is good if it sticks well to both ...
- 6,959
7
votes
How can a repair a hole in my sheepskin jacket?
I'd suggest you use leather glue to glue a patch from the inner side (with either leather or cloth - whatever suits the design of your jacket best). You can get creative with that and glue some logo ...
- 71
7
votes
Fabric alternative for leather
Waxed cotton has the weight and drape. Here's a wiki link https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waxed_cotton
Another benefit to waxed cotton is its ability to "heal". Once punctured leather, pleather, and ...
- 1,659
6
votes
Accepted
Double-sided Eyelets?
The double-sided ones are often called "grommets". Good search terms are "fabric grommets" or "fabric grommet tool". Amazon has a huge selection, including different ...
- 11.5k
6
votes
Accepted
Difference between hand sewing glove and sailmaker glove
It seems that both the English terms, sailmakers palm* and sewing palm, are used interchangeably (and sometimes combined as sailmaker's sewing palm).
The Swedish terms aren't—based on internet ...
- 11.5k
5
votes
Accepted
What materials can be used to stiffen a leather bag?
One thing not on your list is steel wire.
This is a sort of steel framing I suppose. But it can do a lot while remaining light and flexible. I would think you want something in spring temper, so ...
- 785
5
votes
Accepted
How can I remove glue from leather without ruining the leather?
Take a scrap piece of leather and apply several dots of glue to it, then let them dry. Once they are dry, try each of the following solvents to see which ones remove the glue with a minimum of ...
- 3,235
5
votes
Fabric alternative for leather
Check your local thrift and goodwill stores. You might be able to find a suitable sized duster which only needs a little repair, some leather treatment or a good cleaning to fill the bill.
If not, ...
- 3,235
5
votes
Accepted
Is this leather veg tanned?
It looks to me like you're conflating the tanning with the dyeing processes:
Tanning vs Dyeing
Tanning is how you turn a piece of rawhide into leather - it does change the colour, but that's not the ...
- 2,325
5
votes
Can any leather crafters tell me what tool this is?
Awls are typically used for punching holes into objects, awls come in different styles. This one in particular, if you look at the back end, looks very durable, and able to be hammered on the back ...
- 1,771
5
votes
Tools for etching leather?
Based on the appearance of the tool (the thick shaft and the guard around it), the person in the video is drawing on the leather using heat, rather than 'cold' etching, carving, or engraving the ...
- 11.5k
4
votes
Accepted
What thicknesses of leather are suitable for book binding?
Traditionally leather should be about 1.00 mm thick for bookbinding. I have used leathers that are much thicker as well as leathers that are thinner. The thinner leather poses its' own problems. It ...
- 952
4
votes
Money clip rubber cement/hot glue?
Those flexible sheet or strip magnets are made from magnetizable metal particles in a rubbery binder. The mixture is melted and extruded. After it's cooled down, it's magnetized.
Since the leather ...
- 11.5k
4
votes
Fabric alternative for leather
Bonded leather comes to mind.
Bonded leather is made by shredding leather scraps and leather fiber, then mixing it with bonding materials. The mixture is next extruded onto a fiber cloth, or paper ...
- 11k
4
votes
Accepted
Why can't you tool chrome-tanned leather?
So, I did some research, and although I never found anything that specifically said "This is why you shouldn't tool chrome-tanned leather," the information that I did find suggests a reason.
Lots of ...
- 1,576
4
votes
Accepted
Finishing leather edges
Looking great by the way so far!
Personally when finishing any leather edges, I find the tiniest bit of Eco-flow gum tragacanth (brand not specific but it's just the one I've used) with a quick
hand ...
- 56
4
votes
Accepted
What is a good set of tools for a beginner in leather working?
The specific tools you need will depend on exactly what you want to do and the material you're working with; the list below covers both the tasks required to make a bag and the tools necessary to ...
- 2,325
4
votes
Accepted
How to repair leather belts?
A few thoughts:
If the hole is being destroyed, you may be wearing the belt tighter than the leather will support. If the belt is otherwise in good shape, you may be able to make a cosmetic repair ...
- 11.5k
4
votes
Imitating stingray-skin texture?
A rather natural and realistic looking imitation you can opt for, is real leather that has been made to look like stingray leather. This is bonded leather, and made by pressing leather scraps mixed ...
- 11.5k
4
votes
Accepted
What kind of mid-sole and bottom-sole is used in such leather sandals?
Based on the video, the body of the sole wedge looks like cork (could be several sheets glued to create the wedge shape). The cork grain looks like sheets of solid cork rather than molded ground cork. ...
- 11.5k
4
votes
Repairing a leather and stainless steel bracelet
If the leather fits back in the clasp
It doesn't look like it in the picture, but if the leather can be inserted back in the clasp, I would use E6000 adhesive to glue it in. It bonds aggressively ...
- 11.5k
3
votes
Accepted
Glue for leather parts
There are specialist leather glues available that are ideal for this application (on Amazon, for example), but if you don't want to buy glue just for one small join then ordinary contact adhesive will ...
- 2,325
3
votes
What materials can be used to stiffen a leather bag?
Use E V A foam sheets (3mm to 8mm thickness) The EVA has many different uses but for leather crafters it is used for stiffening of bags like laptop bags and also serves for protection. The sheet size ...
- 31
3
votes
Fabric alternative for leather
There is a paper/synthetics mix out there which is advertised as vegan leather (I'm sorry, I wasn't able to find this in English). You can wash, iron and sew it, as well as paint on it and iron ...
- 352
3
votes
How can I treat leather with dyes and keep it protected?
The general order for treating leather, or at least the one which I use, is as follows:
Cut and shape the raw leather. As enderland pointed out, untreated (veg tanned) leather becomes quite supple ...
- 2,325
3
votes
I need an alternative to leather
I recently stumbled across a clever way to make impressive-looking fake leather from craft foam sheets that would be great for costume purposes:
The process is described in Make Fake Leather From ...
- 11.5k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible