Learning Leathercraft with Jim Linnell – Lesson 3: Floral Centers and the Camouflage Tool
Join us in this weekly series on tooling a floral wallet back with tips and tricks from award-winning leatherworker Jim Linnell!
Find the free pattern for this project on the Leathercraft Library at bit.ly/LearnWithLinnell
Materials Used In Lesson 3:
4-5 oz Vegetable Tanned Leather
A few things learned from this video:
Using the right amount of moisture is important when stamping. The ideal amount of moisture will allow for deep impressions and create a rich color. If you are not getting crisp impressions or getting the correct color, it may be because the leather is too dry or too wet.
Getting the flower centers defined is a good place to get a flower design started. To get good, even stamping with design stamps such as flower centers, slightly rock the tool in a circular motion to ensure every part of the stamp has made a deep impression.
A center shader can be used to bevel around the seeds to give the appearance that the seeds are standing out. To do this, angle the tool slightly so that the impression fades out from the center.
The camouflage tool is a crescent shaped tool with a series of lines on it, somewhat resembling an eyelash. This versatile stamping tool can be used independently to create borders or patterns, however it also is used to achieve several different textures in floral carving.
When only a portion of a flower center is showing, a camouflage tool can be used similarly to a beveller to outline flower centers where the seeder will later be used. It is also often used in defining the curve of a design, such as a scroll.
The camouflage tool can be used in a series impression to create texture on leaves. To achieve this, lean the tool back and towards you to get just the corner of the tool making an impression right on the cut line. This will allow the design to fade out and disappear, providing a wavy and ribbed texture.
It can also be used to create a light texture on flower petals. For this, start out near the flower center, space the impressions evenly and gradually get lighter as you move away from the flower center.
Join us next week as we continue to tool the wallet back and learn about more stamping tools along the way!
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