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comment by goobster
goobster  ·  2186 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: December 5, 2018

Motorcycle lover: Yes.

Leather lover: Yes.

Degree in Fashion Design: Yes.

Making a leather motorcycle seat: Absolutely not.

Leatherworking is materials science, engineering, and magic. Try just making a simple belt. From a kit. You can do that in an afternoon. Now try making a faced leather belt (a fabric-backed belt, so your nice dress pants don't get stained). It'll take you a year.

Making anything out of leather is more machining than sewing. You drill holes. You use "thread" that is closer to metal wire than fabric. But the leather stretches and deforms. And seams are INCREDIBLY difficult... and that is where ALL of your weight transfers to immediately, snapping the thread holding the seam together, and opening up a hole... that instantly expands and causes the two parts to come apart.

Leather is a PITA.

And a good motorcycle seat is a difficult thing to nail down...





user-inactivated  ·  2186 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Ayy, I'm following a guide that says about the thing when it comes to working with leather. Ive made a knife sheath before. Might try some smaller projects first though like you said to get properly prepared, got like 4 more months of cold weather so theres no rush.

Gonna follow this guide for the seat which is pretty begginer friendly and in depth

https://www.chopperhandbook.com/seats.htm

goobster  ·  2185 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Excellent!

And yeah... a chopper-style seat is gonna be way easier. Very little padding in it, so very little flex/strain on the seams. That's a great style of seat to start your leatherworking education!