LEATHER PATTERNING & SEWING

This course will cover all you need to know to begin patterning and making your own well-fitted leather garments!

Pattern and Tailor Your Own Custom Leather Garments: This intensive course is meticulously designed to equip you with the knowledge and hands-on skills required to pattern, tailor, and finish bespoke (custom-made) leather clothing, all based on your own unique design concepts.

Important Language Note: The primary language of instruction for this course is English. However, I'm pleased to inform you that a French translator will be present and available to assist throughout the course, ensuring clear communication and support for participants with less-than-perfect English!

The course will begin with an overview of the possibilities when tailoring and designing leather clothing. You will have the opportunity to view an extensive collection of sample garments for inspiration and ideas. We will discuss the options and uses for different types of leather in various clothing and utilitarian items.

You will learn a variety of stitches used for sewing fat tanned leather, as well as which stitch is best used for which type of seam or part of the garment. Each person will create a stitch card to become familiar with the various stitches and sewing with leather lace.

Of course, the most critical step for making well-fitted clothing is good tailoring! This course will help you overcome the challenges typically associated with sewing with leather for the first time. We promise you will leave the course with a garment that fits!

It is often difficult to visualize a 2-dimensional pattern fitting a 3-dimensional body. I will guide you through this process to help you create a pattern that is uniquely yours.

After covering how to lay out the pattern on the leather, the next step will be covered. This is crucial to do correctly so the garment maintains its original shape throughout washing and wearing.

You will work with lovely soft, oil-tanned chamois skins, which, while commercially produced, are the closest equivalent to hand-tanned brain-tan/buckskin.

The sewing will be done with either leather lace/or artificial sinew.

The course aim is to have everyone’s garment at least halfway finished by the end of the course. How far you progress on your item will significantly depend on what you choose to sew, the complexity of the stitching you select, and how quickly you sew.

Although you will not complete a full garment in the 3 days, by the end of this course, you will have acquired the skills and confidence to complete the garment on your own, as well as produce future functional works of art.

Prerequisites: Basic sewing skills are required (not necessarily with leather), allowing you to focus on bespoke techniques rather than foundational stitching.

Please Note:

1) The course will begin with an overview of the possibilities when tailoring and designing leather clothing. You will have the opportunity to view a large collection of sample garments for inspiration. We will discuss the options and uses for different types of leather in various clothing and utilitarian items. 

2) You will learn a variety of stitches used for sewing fat-tanned leather, as well as which stitch is best used for which type of seam or part of the garment. Each person will create a stitch card to practice the different stitches and sewing with leather lace.

3) Of course, the most critical step for making well-fitted clothing is good tailoring! This course will help you overcome the challenges typically associated with sewing with leather for the first time. We promise you will leave the course with a garment that fits! 

4) It is often difficult to visualize a 2-dimensional pattern fitting a 3-dimensional body. Theresa will guide you through this process, enabling you to create a pattern that is uniquely yours.  

5) After patterning, how to lay the pattern out on the leather will be covered. This is crucial to do correctly so the garment maintains its original shape throughout washing and wearing.

6) You will work with lovely soft, oil-tanned chamois skins, which, while commercially produced, are the closest equivalent to hand-tanned brain-tan/buckskin. 

The sewing will be done with either leather lace and/or artificial sinew.

7) The course aim is to have everyone's garment as finished as possible by the end of the course.  The extent of your progress on your item will significantly depend on what you choose to sew, the complexity of the stitching you select, and how quickly you sew.

8) Most participants do not finish a complete garment in the 3 days. However, by the end of this course, you will have the skills and confidence to complete the garment on your own, as well as produce future functional works of art!

The Leather:  (Price of leather is €22.00 per skin - pay on-site)

*The price of the leather is NOT included in the course price due to the variation in the number of skins needed for different garment types and sizes. We kindly request that you provide your preferred garment choice in advance, along with your basic measurements.

* Due to the time frame of the course and the complexity of some clothing, we limit the kind of garments you can choose from.

• The leather we purchase is commercially tanned, grain-off, oil-tanned sheepskin. 

• You can, of course, bring and use your own leather, provided it is grain-off fat-tanned leather (such as buckskin/brain tan). 

• We kindly request that you bring your own fastenings (such as buttons), as they are a matter of personal preference.

The options for the type of clothing you can make are:

• Skirt

• Shorts

• Tank top/Vest top

• Short-Sleeved T-Shirt

To give you an idea of the skins needed for each garment type:

• 2-3 for a sleeveless top

• 4-5 for a short-sleeved shirt

• 2-4 for shorts

• 2-3 for a skirt (depending on length)

Additional Information:

Duration: 4 days (Thursday 9:00 am - Sunday ± 4:00 pm)

Venue:

Inspiration Sauvage, located in the tranquil, rural setting of La Chapelle-Montbrandeix in the Haute-Vienne department of France. This venue offers a truly inspiring escape, nestled within the beautiful, unspoiled Limousin countryside, surrounded by forests and natural open spaces.

Catering: This course is self-catered.

Included: All course materials (except leather skins), coffee/tea.

Not included: Off-site Accommodation and food.

Payment: You can pay by credit card, use one of our gift cards, or pay over time with PayPal Pay Later.

A bit about me:

I'm an avid practitioner of traditional living skills and various forms of primitive technology. My interest stemmed in part from growing up in the Rocky Mountains of the USA, where backpacking, hunting, and fishing are deeply ingrained in the culture. This passion led me to the academic field of Experimental Archaeology, where I earned a PhD from the University of Exeter in the UK.

My work has been featured in both documentaries and popular TV shows, including Alone Season 8 and Surviving the Stone Age. I've been tanning skins using traditional methods for over 30 years. Learning to tan was a natural offshoot of my desire to use as much of an animal as possible, and it had the added bonus of producing a beautiful end product.

In my instruction, I share a wide range of information—from the intricate details of skin morphology to helpful tips for dealing with the numerous and frustrating problems often encountered when first learning to tan.