- 1). Place the 3-inch square of leather on a flat work surface. Trace or draw the tooled leather design on the smooth side of the tooling leather.
- 2). Place the 3-inch square of tooling leather in water for 15 minutes. Remove the leather from the water and dry with a soft cloth.
- 3). Place a wooden cutting board on a flat, stable work surface. Place the wet 3-inch square of leather on the cutting board so the smooth side of the leather faces up.
- 4). Position the desired leather tooling stamp on the leather to complete the tooled design. Place the stamp handle in the leather stamp. Hold the stamp at a 9-degree angle to the leather.
- 5). Hit the handle firmly one time with a mallet. This is very important. One solid hit prevents the tooling stamp from jumping, which causes a blurred design.
- 6). Move the leather tooling stamp to a new position, or place a new stamp in the desired position. Hit the stamp firmly to create a clear indentation. Repeat the process until the tooled design is complete.
- 7). Turn the leather hair slide, so the bottom is horizontal. Place the edge of a ruler 1/4-inch from the left edge, so it is parallel with the edge. Line up the end of the ruler with the bottom edge of the hair slide. Place a mark every 1/2-inch, beginning at 1/2-inch and ending at 2 1/2-inches. Repeat the process on the right side of the leather hair slide.
- 8). Punch a hole on each mark with a leather punch or a hand-sewing punch.
- 9). Lace the two sides together like a shoe. Use a diagonal lace, starting at the top of the hair slide. This allows the ends of the lace to hang at the bottom.
SHARE
