Top Choice: Sedgwick 1900 Collection, 2.3mm

The Sedgwick 1900 Collection is a lovely looking leather with everything on show, available in a range of colours. The 2.3mm thickness is perfect for making a whole range of bags.

More specifically, if you are looking to make a cartridge bag, we recommend using a vegetable tanned shoulder that is around 2.5mm thick. We love the Sedgwick 1900 collection or, if you are after something a bit different, the Sedgwick’s bag hide would be a good option in the wheat print option.

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Top Choice: Sedgwick mini butts / bridle butts

Our Sedgwick mini butts are perfect for making belts. Shorter than bridle butts, traditional belt makers use these mini butts as they tend to be the correct length. This means you will end up with less wastage and you won’t have the slightly stretchy part of the shoulder at one end. If you want to make a longer belt, then the bridle butt is prefect. We stock the Sedgwick’s range of bridle butts, as well as a range of John Whites bridle butt and Italian bridle butts.

We do not advise using shoulder leather for belts but, if you would like a non-greased option, you may use the Sedgwick 1900 Collection in 3.2 mm thickness. Shoulder leather should only be used in 3mm thickness or above when making belts.

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Top Choice: Bridle butt leather, varying thickness

The type of leather you use for making dog collars will depend on the look of your final product. The weight and thickness of the leather will also depend on the type of dog you collar is designed for. For example, a 2 mm leather would not be suitable for a larger dog and a 4 mm leather would not be suitable for a small dog. Due to its strength, the best leather to use is bridle butt leather. The black, Australian nut, dark Havana, hazel or conker colour options are more resistant to water spot damage and are less likely to fade, unlike red, green, blue, light Havana and London tan coloured leathers which are not recommended. Furthermore, our mini bridle butts are a good option if you do not require the additional length of a standard butt.

If you want to add some padding to your collar, we recommend the soft plastazote in 6mm thickness. Pair this with some wonderful colours available in the nappa basil hides, and you can create some amazing colourful and unique creations.


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Top Choice: Bridle butt leather

For dog leads, bridle butts are best as you don’t want them to stretch.

If you are looking to make a longer lead, you may require bridle back leather.

Top Choice: Vegetable tanned pig skin, 1mm – 1.5mm

For wallet making, you ideally want your leather to be around 1mm – 1.5mm thick.

We recommend using vegetable tanned pig skin, which has a beautiful texture to it. Our top choice is the greased pig skin as it has a lovely soft feel.

At Abbey we love to support our local makers and hobbyists. With this in mind, we partnered up with Jo to make this video on leatherwork tools for beginners. It will help to get you started with the best tools to use on your newly selected leather.