would it be possible

[Wendy Moriarty]

Hi,
would it be possible to make a jewelers cushion out of upholstery grade leather, as I have almost a full skin (already cut an apron out of it) and limited funds. I thought I could double the leather if its not already thick enough, and would it be ok filled with sand?

[ps_bond]

I'm assuming we're talking about the same thing - 2 circles of leather, full of sand? I make mine out of 2.5-3mm thick leather, sewn with 2 lines of stitching around the edge; silver sand as a filler - just make sure it is dry before you dry and fill the thing...

If your leather is thinner, I can't really see any reason why it wouldn't work doubled up - I might be inclined to use some glue to hold the layers together though.

Equally, you can work with an old handbag with a bag of sand in it. A new one would probably do but that seems a waste...

[Wendy Moriarty]

Hi Peter and Thankyou, yes that's what I meant, I assume it has a proper name but if so I don't know it as I'm learning as I go along. So thanks again I'd better get sewing and glueing, fortuately I have a small bag of sand somewhere (a leftover from the kids warhammer phase). About what diameter are they? :-)

[ps_bond]

Sand pad, sandbag (although I tend to think of hessian sacks full of builders sand for that). I've made them as small as 2" up to about 12"; my usual one was around 8" diameter before it was stuffed full of sand, so closer 6" now. If you're going through a few layers, an awl & harness needles might be the solution...?

[Wendy Moriarty]

Thanks again Peter, I have a friend who did leatherwork I will see if he has an awl and harness needles, otherwise I will use a thimble and find a way to sew it. I've cut one round a mug, and one round a largish side plate, so I'm not far off the mark :-)

[FVT]

I made myself a sand bag not so long ago...I didn't have any leather, so I thought I'd try faux leather...it won't last too long, but it helps cut down the noise levels with a certain amount of hammering!

I'd like to make a leather one, but not sure the best place to get small off-cuts of hyde. Any suggestions anyone?

Somebody also suggested to me that you can use fine fishtank grit from the pet shop.

[ps_bond]

EBay has some, but I usually buy from Abbey Saddlery (not so good for the smaller stuff), Tandy in Northampton or Le Prevo up Newcastle-way. There's no point using expensive stuff for this, belly cuts are perfectly good. You can put the holes in with a Dremel & 1mm bit quite happily too - it doesn't have to be an awl; blunt needles are a must though when saddle stitching so you don't stand as high a chance of going through the threads.

There's a good little tutorial here - WIld Rose Trading Co - Leather Sewing (http://www.wrtcleather.com/1-ckd/tutorials/_leatherstitch.html)

[Lindyloo]

I made myself a sand bag not so long ago...I didn't have any leather, so I thought I'd try faux leather...it won't last too long, but it helps cut down the noise levels with a certain amount of hammering!

I'd like to make a leather one, but not sure the best place to get small off-cuts of hyde. Any suggestions anyone?

Somebody also suggested to me that you can use fine fishtank grit from the pet shop.

I just use a small square of carpet for cutting down hammering noise. But I like the idea of using an old handbag to make a sandbag. You can probably get one from a charity shop.

[Wendy Moriarty]

I love the idea of using an old bag, especially as on the one I'm making, I have only managed to put all holes for stitches in, and sew about 2 inches, oh and sunburnt my neck as I did it in the garden this afternoon :-). I used a wool sewing needle which I blunted, and to make the holes I filed a small pannel pin and hammered it through all the leather in two rows all the way around. it seems to be going ok, slow but ok :-)