About Us
We make leather patterns.
It actually didn't start out that way. We've been working with leather for ourselves since the mid '90s. We opened a shop on Etsy in 2009 that sold handcrafted headbands and leather barrettes. And we made smart phone cases for the folks at the job site. Then one or two folks needed a flip phone case....then someone else wanted a different style of phone case. Once we got so far into the making end of it, we realized that we were way too slow to keep up with the demand.
WHY do we make leather patterns? That's the $64,000 dollar question! We got a CHANCE to create patterns for other people. A guy we knew wanted a smart phone case pattern for his leathercraft class....and another one needed an archery arm guard pattern for his group of boys. One other had a pattern that needed to be translated into simpler instructions. And it went on from there. We decided that pattern making was a lot more fun! And so....The Leather Pattern Store opened on Etsy in July of 2013. We opened our Indiemade site in late 2019.
You can make wallets, handbags and belts anytime you want! Those patterns are so easy to find. But have you ever made a mug out of leather, that you could actually drink from? A weaver style messenger bag that doesn't require sewing to put it together? Archery equipment that you can customize to suit your taste? Well, why not? It's because there’s not that many leather patterns out there for anything that's not a wallet, handbag or belt. Patterns that aren't in the popular mainstream just aren't readily available. We try to think outside the box!
You'll like the simplicity of our patterns. In fact, they're so incredibly easy, that a beginner can make something so awesome, that you’ll think they’ve been working with leather for years! And even a pro will enjoy the end results!
Every leather pattern that we create has been tested thoroughly. We make sure all patterns are easily assembled using our instructions. And once the examples have been made, we take pictures and include them in every pattern we make! If there is something that is difficult to explain with words, we add a pictorial instruction guide to lend you a helping hand and keep you on the right track.
All of our leather patterns are drawn using an old fashioned drafting machine mounted to a drafting table. We DO NOT use a fancy computer CAD program to draw any of our patterns. So all of our patterns are created the old fashioned way, by hand, right in keeping with the tools used to create them! Yeah....they're not perfect. That's the beauty of hand drawn! But we do use a computer to combine them in a downloadable PDF file, complete with printing instructions to make your pattern pieces print out just right from a standard home printer, on 8.5” X 11”, paper! With very easy-to-use overlap marks, (with the directions right on the pattern), that are so easy to use!
There's a lot of leeway in these patterns to adapt them to your own style. We do recommend following the instructions for the 1st time or 2, just to familiarize yourself with the pattern, but after that......let your imagination run free! And send us a picture!
Our approach to leathercraft is easy. Keep it simple and HAVE FUN! If you’re not having fun, then you're not doing it right! And we hope you'll enjoy taking the journey with us as we grow!
Mitz & Keith