VII
WHAT CAN BE DONE WITH ONE SKIN; CUT LEATHER BAGS, BELTS, BOOK COVERS. ETC.
There is nothing so handsome for a library table or cushion in a room of dark rich colouring as leather work. These articles are very expensive to buy and are sold in arts and crafts shops or women's exchanges and some of the department stores. You have doubtless seen the dyed whole skin used on a library table, but have you ever seen leather appliqué? That is the design cut out of a leather background and lined, or pieces of leather applied to a background.
Different kinds of leather may be used for this work. The cheapest and thinnest kind is sheepskin. Leather is usually sold by the square foot and one has to buy the entire skin. Sheepskin costs about sixteen cents a square foot; some stores charge more for it, while it is possible at a wholesale and retail shop to get it for less. The skins come dyed in all shades. Golden brown, dull gray or moss green are the most artistic for general use. Many tailors like to trim ladies' suits with leather and for this purpose many beautiful odd shades are dyed. Goatskin ranks next to sheepskin and is a trifle dearer. Chamois is good for belts or dainty opera bags. It comes in white or cream only. Calf is a beautiful substantial skin, as is also Russia calf. Pebble calf is what its name implies, very rough with a glazed finish. The other side presents an undyed appearance.
Fig. 87. A well-planned skin
If you get a skin you should not expect to get a sofa cushion as well as a large table mat out of it. A skin carefully cut will give you one large piece and the rest of it can be planned for smaller objects, such as card cases, pen wipers, blotter corners, belts, picture frames, possibly a magazine cover or a bag. The diagram of the skin shows how carefully to cut out and plan every part of it ([Figure 87]).
Let us take the sofa cushion first. A bold conventional design can be used in each corner. One that has each part separate like a stencil design is one that I have in mind.
Cut each part out carefully so as not to impair the background. A cheaper grade of leather of a tone deeper or lighter can be laid under the design, though velvet is also in excellent taste for this work. Broadcloth, satin, and sometimes taffeta are also used. If a shaded effect is wanted a different coloured background can be pasted under each different section of the design. It is a better plan, however, for the amateur to restrict herself to one colour for the background as the finishing of different pieces is no easy problem ([Figure 88]). Library paste is the best means of making the leather and background adhere, also it does not spot as mucilage does. The majority of leather workers consider that the pasting completes the piece, while others feel that it is necessary to machine stitch along the extreme edge of the cutting. Yet again others prefer to work embroidery stitches such as open buttonhole or couching stitches. Both of these are explained at length in later chapters. A pen wiper can be made from a piece cut in circular, diamond, or triangular shapes. Cut two pieces of chamois leather the same shape. A plain piece of the leather also is needed to back the pen wiper. The chamois pieces serve as leaves on which the pen is wiped.