Fig. 88. Leather appliqué bag
A card punch will be needed to make a hole through the four pieces for the ribbon or cord which holds them together.
It is most necessary to plan the design so that it will be appropriate to the object it is to be applied to. The leather should also harmonize with the colour of the room or gown with which it is used or worn.
For those who are anxious to learn how to design, books on this subject can be obtained from the public libraries. You should bear in mind, however, that practice makes all things perfect.
The different methods of applying the design had better be gone into before we proceed any further. Thick manilla paper or artist linen may be used on which to draw the design. The pattern is then thumb-tacked or pinned on a flat wooden surface, on the upper edge only, as it will be necessary to raise the paper off and on during the tracing.
An orange stick such as used for manicuring or hard pencil will be needed for the tracing. Trace along the pencilled design with a very heavy pressure so that there will be an indented line on the leather. A line once impressed is almost impossible to remove, so great care must be taken to keep the design true.
Every time you stop tracing there will be a deeper indentation; for that reason in tracing a curved line try to draw a full sweep without stopping. A ruler will be an aid in tracing straight lines.
It may be found necessary to dampen the leather so that the tracing will be distinct. In that case dampen the entire piece of leather with a wet cloth. Dampening in sections only causes water rings. Once the whole leather is dampened, however, it can be redampened in sections without fear of marking.