Crafty Things! Making Leather Rose Part 1
Supplies and tools to make your leather rose:
vegetable tanned leather, light weight (tell your leather source 2-3oz, 3-4oz or 4-5oz)
approximately 6" by 6" for one rose
dye or acrylic paint, green for leaves, red (or your choice) for petals
stiff florist wire (or similar) for stem
a pair of pliers (needlenose are good)
good scissors or a sharp knife and a cutting board
pencil or stylus for tracing
tracing film (what you see in the photos is the liner from a cereal box)
rubber bands (3 or 4 per rose)
spray bottle (or sponge and dish) of water
a pattern for the leaves and petals
You'll need
paper
a pencil
something to make circles (approx 1", approx 1.25", approx 1.75")
a fine sharpie marker or similar
This rose consists of four leather pieces, the center petals, the middle petals, the outer petals and the leaves. Rose petals are not exactly circular, but circles give us a reasonable approximation. The center petals have a diameter of about an inch, the middle petals a diameter of about an inch and a quarter, the outer petals diameter is about an inch and three quarters.
You can use common objects to make the circles, you can use a circle template, compass, protractor, 30-60-90 triangle or combination. Or, if you have mad graphic skillz, you can construct a pattern using graphic software. If you have those mad skillz, you don't need to be here right now. Shoo, go off and make your pattern and come back later.
Common objects - Walk around your kitchen with a ruler, and check out your change purse. An American quarter dollar coin is fit for the center petals. The screw cap from a two quart juice bottle is good for the outer petals, and a stray cap from the junk drawer fits the middle petals.
Trace around the juice cap, move the cap about three sixteenths of an inch and trace it again. Shift it to a position about three sixteenths of an inch from each of the two circles and trace it a third time.
Draw a little circle in the center, touching your three big circles. Draw lines that smoothly join the big circles, touching the little circle at the bottom of a U. This will be the outer petals
Do the same thing for the quarter, and again for the middle sized object. Make another triad using the juice cap, then sketch the pointy end of the leaf over the circle.
This picture shows the relative size of the objects, and the petal patterns. Notice how the outlines are all nice and dark? Did that with the sharpie to make it easier to trace. You go do the same, please.
Using Math Tools
(that's what my youngest daughter called a protractor and compass she won at school a very long time ago, and I like the name)
Using the compass or circle template, draw three circles of radius 1 1/16", radius 1 1/2" and radius 2 1/8". Make a second circle of radius 2 1/8" for the leaves.
Take your first large circle. Draw a line that passes through the center of the circle across the circle. Draw two more lines through the center of the circle, at 60 degrees from the original line on either side. Hint: this is where the protractor or the 30-60-90 triangle come into play.
Place a 1 3/4" diameter circle with its center on one of the lines, and with its edge touching the enclosing circle. (Moving to the right, skip one line segment, repeat.)repeat. Draw a little circle in the center, touching three large circles. Smoothly join the big circles, touching the little circle at the bottom of a U. Go over the final outline with a sharpie. Large petal pattern complete.
Repeat using 1 1/4" diameter circle inside the circle of 1 1/2" radius, and using a 1" diameter circle in the circle of radius 1 1/16".
Using the sharpie, trace the dark lines onto the tracing film. I just heard someone ask "Why are we using tracing film?" We're going to dampen the leather before we trace the pattern onto it, and tracing film works better on damp leather than a paper pattern.
Now you're all set to get started with the leather.
Click here to see tracingready.jpg
See you again for the next lesson!.
vegetable tanned leather, light weight (tell your leather source 2-3oz, 3-4oz or 4-5oz)
approximately 6" by 6" for one rose
dye or acrylic paint, green for leaves, red (or your choice) for petals
stiff florist wire (or similar) for stem
a pair of pliers (needlenose are good)
good scissors or a sharp knife and a cutting board
pencil or stylus for tracing
tracing film (what you see in the photos is the liner from a cereal box)
rubber bands (3 or 4 per rose)
spray bottle (or sponge and dish) of water
a pattern for the leaves and petals
You'll need
paper
a pencil
something to make circles (approx 1", approx 1.25", approx 1.75")
a fine sharpie marker or similar
This rose consists of four leather pieces, the center petals, the middle petals, the outer petals and the leaves. Rose petals are not exactly circular, but circles give us a reasonable approximation. The center petals have a diameter of about an inch, the middle petals a diameter of about an inch and a quarter, the outer petals diameter is about an inch and three quarters.
You can use common objects to make the circles, you can use a circle template, compass, protractor, 30-60-90 triangle or combination. Or, if you have mad graphic skillz, you can construct a pattern using graphic software. If you have those mad skillz, you don't need to be here right now. Shoo, go off and make your pattern and come back later.
Common objects - Walk around your kitchen with a ruler, and check out your change purse. An American quarter dollar coin is fit for the center petals. The screw cap from a two quart juice bottle is good for the outer petals, and a stray cap from the junk drawer fits the middle petals.
Trace around the juice cap, move the cap about three sixteenths of an inch and trace it again. Shift it to a position about three sixteenths of an inch from each of the two circles and trace it a third time.
Draw a little circle in the center, touching your three big circles. Draw lines that smoothly join the big circles, touching the little circle at the bottom of a U. This will be the outer petals
Do the same thing for the quarter, and again for the middle sized object. Make another triad using the juice cap, then sketch the pointy end of the leaf over the circle.
This picture shows the relative size of the objects, and the petal patterns. Notice how the outlines are all nice and dark? Did that with the sharpie to make it easier to trace. You go do the same, please.
Using Math Tools
(that's what my youngest daughter called a protractor and compass she won at school a very long time ago, and I like the name)
Using the compass or circle template, draw three circles of radius 1 1/16", radius 1 1/2" and radius 2 1/8". Make a second circle of radius 2 1/8" for the leaves.
Take your first large circle. Draw a line that passes through the center of the circle across the circle. Draw two more lines through the center of the circle, at 60 degrees from the original line on either side. Hint: this is where the protractor or the 30-60-90 triangle come into play.
Place a 1 3/4" diameter circle with its center on one of the lines, and with its edge touching the enclosing circle. (Moving to the right, skip one line segment, repeat.)repeat. Draw a little circle in the center, touching three large circles. Smoothly join the big circles, touching the little circle at the bottom of a U. Go over the final outline with a sharpie. Large petal pattern complete.
Repeat using 1 1/4" diameter circle inside the circle of 1 1/2" radius, and using a 1" diameter circle in the circle of radius 1 1/16".
Using the sharpie, trace the dark lines onto the tracing film. I just heard someone ask "Why are we using tracing film?" We're going to dampen the leather before we trace the pattern onto it, and tracing film works better on damp leather than a paper pattern.
Now you're all set to get started with the leather.
Click here to see tracingready.jpg
See you again for the next lesson!.