Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Cross Cutout Tutorial

I've had many requests for a tutorial on cross cutouts since I posted photos of my latest gaming set.
Here we go!

First, you'll need some supplies.  Man this is a lot of stuff for just a simple cutout! I'm making a saddle blanket for the cross set shown above.  

First, I trace some corner saddle plates and wear leathers onto the flesh side of some petite tooling calfskin.


I cut them out with some fine scissors, cutting all the ink off the leather. Then I use a paint brush to dampen the leather with water, ready for tooling when it looks like the water has almost completely faded.


Using a swivel knife, I trace a line where any stitching would be, then add stitch marks with a pounce wheel.

Now I draw the cross with my tool where I want it, pressing down and going back and forth several times making a indented image. If you do this before any cutouts, the lines will be much smoother, such as latigo keepers and other slits.

Now I punch three tiny holes in the shape of a triangle at each tip.  You could also use a slightly larger round punch if you want a smoother end on the cross.




Then "connect the dots" with a SHARP X-acto knife by pressing firmly, if you "drag" the knife it will stretch the leather.


Then I trim the edges of "fuzzies" with my fine scissors, and time to dye! I  like to use q-tips for tiny dying projects, less mess.  


After it's dry, I buff and seal it in a shiny finish. I also take a super thin piece of skiver (goat skin in this case) and paint it with leather paint.


When everything is dry, I apply a small amount of super glue to the back of the cutout, making sure not to leave any big globs that will be pressed onto the inside of the cutout. 

 Then put the colored skiver on the back.


Then I apply Tacky Glue to the leathers, and ta-da!

If you'd like to purchase some of my new "camo" saddle blankets, check my Etsy store: Click Here to visit my store.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/RFModelHorseTack


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