Prehistoric people learned to make use of animal hides for many useful and decorative purposes. Leather jewelry has never gone out of style ever since. Artisans keep coming up with new ways of working with this warm, organic material.
Melissa Cable's new book,
Beautiful Leather Jewelry, which I received for review, features 25 outstanding leather jewelry project tutorials. Her creativity is inspiring! The book is also a thorough guide on the different types of leather, tools and techniques needed to create contemporary designs.
The author understands it takes time to build up a collection of tools needed for innovative leather jewelry making so she included alternatives. Many of the tools needed to create and embellish leather jewelry are common to basic jewelry making, metal work and sewing. She also goes over other tools which are specific for leather work. A tube wringer works just as well on leather as metal. I didn't know there were such things as a licorice leather cutter (makes straight cuts) or a multi-blade scissors for making tassels or fringes!
Where the book really shines is the coverage of what to use and how to dye and color leather. What you use depends on the type of leather. Some of the projects use tooling leather which is vegetable tanned leather. One excellent example is the
Dapped Leather band design below which has been shaped. Tooling leather is very versatile as it can take embossing, stamping and forming when wet.
The projects are easy to follow with many tips and tricks. Many also include other materials like metal, faux bone, felt, wood and crystals in wonderfully creative ways.
Chrome tanned leather is the most commonly encountered kind of leather. It is used in the fashion and upholstery industries. This leather is more supple than tooled leather but is not easily shaped nor can you stamp or carve on it. However, the book does include many innovative projects using this type of leather. The
Matrix leather bracelet uses flat leather straps while the
Crystal Cavern bracelet is a clever way to adorn a hollow licorice leather strip.
One of my favorite projects from the book is the
Her Bubbly Personality necklace below which also uses fashion or upholstery leather.
The last section in the book covers how to make different kinds of leather beads - round balls, leather wrapped wood beads, spools as well as cylindrical beads in this striking vertical bead necklace design :
This book is best suited to those who love working with leather and have a liking for artistic embellishments. It also serves as an eye-opener to the wonders of leather jewelry making for those not yet charmed by this discipline.
Disclosure Before You Go: ______________________________
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