I found an old craft book a while ago from 1978 ('Crafts', edited by Mary Harding, Book Club Associates, London) and in it was a section about working with leather. I've not been drawn to leatherwork before, mostly because of my vegetarian tendencies (although I do eat meat occasionally and buy leather shoes but I make sure I'll wear them for a long time to get maximum use from the leather!) But then around the same time I bought a bag of recycled leather scraps from a leatherworker that would otherwise have been thrown away, and I really like the sturdy smoothness of the material. I've been slowly making various things from it: pencil cases and purses mostly. I like the way vintage lace looks when sewn onto the dark brown leather- it's a great contrast of textures. I made some new bags for this week's shop update from vintage fabrics, and added strong leather handles to them.
If i have enough scraps left over I might have a go at the plaited leather belt from the 70's craft book. The plaiting part looks fun but I'm not sure about the buckles, etc.
Hope you have a great Wednesday.
tiny happy 
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