Random questions to which you seek an answer

[Oaktavia]

Hello buddies. I received an IHB-11-NAT today and absolutely love it! The crew was nice enough to trim an XL to a L for me. Thanks @Bailey! My question is does anyone have any ideas as to what I could potentially do with this extra leather trim? Or how to make something out of it? It's a pretty cool and gorgeous piece and I would love to use it.

[GraemeE]

@Oaktavia could be a killer key fob or luggage tag if you did some trimming and stitching

[Jett129]

@Oaktavia I think you also might be able to paint it,possibly using the holes as eyes

[Oaktavia]

@GraemeE said in Random questions to which you seek an answer:

@Oaktavia could be a killer key fob or luggage tag if you did some trimming and stitching

I was thinking this too. Just not sure how to go about it. I'll need to get some leather tools I think.

[Jett129]

@Oaktavia One of the guys on here is an incredible leather craftsman. ZeeBee Leather. @seawolf He would be a good person to talk to about tools etc.

[seawolf]

@Jett129 You rang? And thank you for the kind words!

[Jett129]

@seawolf Yes I did and how are you. If you scroll up one of the guys has a piece of a leather belt that he wants to do something with,and I thought of you.

[Oaktavia]

@seawolf yes, please see my photos below. I'm trying to figure out something fun to make with the bit of leather trim from my new belt.

@Jett129 ah, beat me to it!

[seawolf]

@Oaktavia You could do a few things with that, but the easiest might be to cut a nice strip that preserves the middle section with the two holes. You could bend the leather to align the two holes, and fasten them together with a Chicago screw. Now you're left with a short loop, a Chicago screw, and a long tail. You can put a split ring through the short loop, and it'll make for a nice little fob. I would also recommend trimming the ends of the tail (and the other end as well) in a visually pleasing way. I would probably cut it at an obtuse angle (any utility knife can do this. It's okay to take several light passes, rather than trying to cut through all of that thickness all at once) and round the corners that are left. Sandpaper works if you're not confident getting the corners rounded cleanly with a knife. The last thing that will make this look finished is, once you're happy with the final shape, lay it flat and bevel the edges. You can probably find a cheap edge beveler on amazon that would do the job, or stop by a cobbler and ask them to help. It'll take them about 10 seconds. Once the edges are beveled, you can burnish them with some water and a piece of canvas. Now it's time to put it all back together. And if you put the split ring in before you fasten it with the Chicago screw, it'll make your life a little easier. One last thing, be careful bending that thick leather and avoid trying to crease it. If it's too dry, it may crack. A little water can coax it along if needed, but it's probably better to let it naturally find its bend as you use it.

Hope this helps!

And if you want more information about beginning leather tools, I wrote up a pretty exhaustive list of everything you'll need to get started with leather. I haven't audited the links in a while, so some might be broken, but it's still a solid resource. https://zeebeeleather.com/blog/2015/6/20/so-you-want-to-get-into-leatherworking

Let me know if you need anything else.

[Oaktavia]

@seawolf Cool! That helps a lot, and makes sense. I will gather some materials, give it a try, and report back. Thanks a lot man, I appreciate the help.

[seawolf]

@Oaktavia Happy to help! It's hard to tell from the picture, but if the holes are too close together, you could punch new ones "over" the old ones to buy yourself a little distance, if that makes sense. Here's a quick little illustration to shoe you what I mean.

[Oaktavia]

@seawolf Okay cool, I actually made a little sketch to illustrate what I think you meant too. Visuals help, so thanks! Also thanks @Jett129 I had no idea we had such an knowledgeable leather craftsman on here.

[seawolf]

[meltdown]

Is it better to hem before or after break in? If doing it before, how do you know how much it will come up due to whiskers/honeycombs etc? Appreciate any thoughts on this!

[JoshC]

@meltdown It is completely personal preference and dependant on the fabric of the denim, for example if you have a pair XHS or UHR denim you will get approximately 1-2" of shrinkage in the denim so I would recommend washing them before getting them hemmed just so you take out all of the potential shrinkage within the fabric and dont end up shrinking them to a length that wouldn't work, whereas a lot of our other denim is washed once and sanforised so there should be little to no shrinkage. I would always recommend adding a 0.5" on to your normal length if you are worried about any shrinkage or loosing some length from honeycombs but that would be very minimal and you probably wouldn't notice it.

[meltdown]

@JoshC Thanks for the prompt reply! If looking at 555 or 888 in the 21oz, they are sanforized so just add 0.5" to the inseam measurement of a pair of jeans I like would be a good starting point?

Say I add the length but it still ends up being too long, could a re-hem work? Or the amount of fabric needed to be cut & rolled be too much depending on how much I wanted to take in?

[Mister_Brue]

@Oaktavia Then you put it in the vat.

[Oaktavia]

@Mister_Brue hah, I would need to make a new one. I like the natty leather just as well though.

[Mister_Brue]

@Oaktavia I know, just kidding. Good luck with the mini project.

[Oaktavia]

@Mister_Brue thanks dude, maybe I will have time tonight.