Your Materials

The Process

Once all of your patterns have been labelled and cut out of your pattern paper, you can then start cutting your materials!

The Facts About Leather

Butt/Bend - Main part to cut patterns from. Where the strongest and most even in quality and texture leather is from.

Mid section and Shoulders - Lighter substance but still good quality.

Shanks - much lighter weight and can be good quality.

Belly - the lightest part and generally poorest quality.

Leather Categories:

Bovine - Hoofed animals; cows, sheep...

Ungulates - Even toe animals; pigs, sheep, deer...

Exotics - Snakes, reptiles, fish...

Tanning:

Before any skins can be used for your upper, it needs to be put through a process called tanning to prevent putrefaction.

There are two types of tanning - vegetable and chrome.

Chrome Tanning - 80% of leather is chrome-tanned, used with chromium salts and produces highly toxic waste. Is the only form of tanning that can be used in mass production due to its heat resistance, it can also produce a great variety of colours.

Vegetable Tanning - used with vegetable extracts, reacts to light easily, can only be produced in warmer colour tones. Used for mainly soles/belts/luggage or more expensive footwear. 

Veg Tanned:

Chrome Tanned: