Cuir Bouilli 1
Jan. 31st, 2010 08:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
teleribHaving a racetrack in town means having some tack shops; Outback Leather does tack, motorcycle gear, shoe repair, custom work... if it's leather-related, they'll give it a go. I brought in three pairs of shoes for repair and bought two leather scraps. The proprietor couldn't say for sure that they were veg tanned but he thought they probably were.
Experiment 1: I soaked a small leather scrap in water for over an hour. Then, I heated up some water to "almost too hot to touch" and put the scrap in for two minutes. There were no visible changes. Then I pulled it out and tried putting a curve on one of its flat edges. It worked just fine. Then I wrapped it around a pen to dry, to see how stiff and hard it would get.
Preliminary results as of last night: Surface finish has remained smooth, but the leather is just barely stiffened. It might have still been damp, so I'll check it again later. Also, after leaving it at room temp for most of the day, I relocated it to a heating vent overnight. Not exactly uniform warm drying, but at least it'll get periods of heat.
Problem: I really don't know what stiffness I'm looking for, and "live fire" testing is not in the cards.
Next up:
Fabric mock-ups of different shapes (two petal, four petal rounded end): Fewer seams vs. better shape
Comparing stuffing materials (wool roving vs. something like rice or barley: Enough roving seems like it would make a lot of thread, but would a "beanbag" work?
Trying to figure out which leather stitch is the best option: Are abutted edges water-tight enough? How uncomfortable would seams be?
Ordering awls and needles from Tandy: I forgot that you can't just run this through the sewing machine (or even do it by hand without pliers)
Experiment 1: I soaked a small leather scrap in water for over an hour. Then, I heated up some water to "almost too hot to touch" and put the scrap in for two minutes. There were no visible changes. Then I pulled it out and tried putting a curve on one of its flat edges. It worked just fine. Then I wrapped it around a pen to dry, to see how stiff and hard it would get.
Preliminary results as of last night: Surface finish has remained smooth, but the leather is just barely stiffened. It might have still been damp, so I'll check it again later. Also, after leaving it at room temp for most of the day, I relocated it to a heating vent overnight. Not exactly uniform warm drying, but at least it'll get periods of heat.
Problem: I really don't know what stiffness I'm looking for, and "live fire" testing is not in the cards.
Next up:
Fabric mock-ups of different shapes (two petal, four petal rounded end): Fewer seams vs. better shape
Comparing stuffing materials (wool roving vs. something like rice or barley: Enough roving seems like it would make a lot of thread, but would a "beanbag" work?
Trying to figure out which leather stitch is the best option: Are abutted edges water-tight enough? How uncomfortable would seams be?
Ordering awls and needles from Tandy: I forgot that you can't just run this through the sewing machine (or even do it by hand without pliers)
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Date: 2010-02-01 12:41 am (UTC)We are having a performing arts event up in Philly March 6. How are you feeling? Would you like to come and teach? Love to have you.
-S.
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Date: 2010-02-01 12:16 pm (UTC)But, drat and darnation, March 6 is our Kingdom A&S Festival, for which I am preparing all these items. I can't make both. :(