Enhancing The Aesthetic Outlook of Leather Items
There are various ways of heightening the aesthetic appeal of items produced with leather. Some of these include printing, carving or incision, embossing, weaving, in-laying, on-laying, thonging, stamping and scorching. These decorative processes have been discussed in this article.
1. Printing
This is the process of transferring an inked design onto a leather material either by the use of screens, relief blocks or stencils. Oil based paints and permanent inks are used for printing designs onto the leather material.
2. Carving/ Incision
This decorative technique involves reducing the thickness of the leather around a marked out design on a leather material by chipping away or cutting off, the same as with wood or other materials. The leather material should be damp before the carving is done with a suitable sharp knife.
3. Embossing
This is the creation of a raised design or pattern on a leather material. This can be done by placing a cut-out template of the design or pattern on a hard board. The damp leather is laid on it, after which the edges of the cutout template are defined with the fingers or any appropriate tool to create a raised effect. Embossing by raising is suitable for light or craft leathers, whereas embossing with the wheel and carriage is most suitable and often used on heavy or strap leather.
4. Weaving
This is creating an interlaced design or pattern with different colored strips of leather on a leather item.
5. Thonging
This is the creation of decorative …
