I didn't want to hijack the "Stitching Holes" thread so here goes-
My leatherworking experience consists of a few purely functional knife sheaths, a leather wrap on oar shafts and one poorly made and unfinished bag.
A few obstacles that I've tried to address are matching the awl/ needle/ thread size and making a clam to hold my work. Another issue was when I realized that all those little C shaped scars on the leather were coming from my fingernails.
Thinking about the bag I want to eventually make, I'm unsure of how to bring it all together. I want it to be lined with cloth. I have some heavy cotton ticking that I could use Or some canvas. Both are cotton. But how do I dye the bag and not get dye on the lining?
I know I could dye the leather first, then sew it all together, but what about the edges of pieces like binding or a welt that needs to be cut after assembly?
I want to use fringe around the gusset. I guess the fringe will have to be dipped in the dye in order to make a decent job of that. But that brings me to another set of questions. I hear people asking how to get a nice even color of dye onto their work. I don't want an even color. I want a range of value in the color, darker around the edges and lighter in the middle. I don't know how else to describe it. So dipping it in dye seems like the wrong approach. I have some Fiebings dye but it is alcohol and it sure does make the leather stiff. I don't want my fringe to be stiff. What do I do to fix that?
Also, If the leather has been dyed, then treated with neatsfoot oil or something to soften it, can it still be wetted with water to sew it or will the water leave stains? Do I glue the fabric to the leather after dyeing and oiling? Do you use something like shoe polish to get a range of colors on the finished bag? That's not going to work on the fringe, is it?
As you can see, I have too many concerns to even begin. Can you make sense of any of this? Any help will be greatly appreciated.
