Leather for juggling balls

xfirebladex

unread,

Jul 6, 2005, 7:58:07 PM7/6/05

to

I've gotten into the habit of making juggling balls now with the aid of my
girlfriend's sewing machine and quite like the turnout. The material I
was using was a kind of blackout cloth which is really quite strong and
somewhat waterproof and it was a brilliant white. These were great but
after a while got quite dirty and I daren't take them outside.

So I'm trying to find a nice thin white leather to make my beanbags out of
but have had no luck so far in finding anything of the sort. I've been
able to find leatherette (an imiation leather from foam) which wasn't
great as it will begin to flake and chip sooner or later. I've tried to
make a ball out of the leather from one of my mother's old purses, even
though kinda thin is still too thick for a beanbag.

Where do people find thin enough leather suitable for such an application?
I tried a haberdasher, but he didn't understand when I asked if he
understood what I had said. Or suggestions of other white material that
is a bit more resiliant to the outside and grime.

Cheers,
Chiok
www.gravityvomit.co.uk
(I'm UK by the way)

----== posted via www.jugglingdb.com ==----

Peter Billam

unread,

Jul 6, 2005, 9:04:39 PM7/6/05

to

In article <42cc700f$0$38038$bed6...@news.gradwell.net>, xfirebladex wrote:
>
> So I'm trying to find a nice thin white leather to make my beanbags out of
> but have had no luck so far in finding anything of the sort. I've been
> able to find leatherette (an imiation leather from foam) which wasn't
> great as it will begin to flake and chip sooner or later. I've tried to
> make a ball out of the leather from one of my mother's old purses, even
> though kinda thin is still too thick for a beanbag.
>
> Where do people find thin enough leather suitable for such an application?

You'll probably need either Uphosltery Leather or Clothing Leather,
probably about 1/2 mm thick. In Tasmania there's a leather shop which
supplies these markets as well as its shopfront leather-craft business,
but in the UK you might want to try to get offcuts from a friendly
Upholsterer (i.e. re-covering old armchairs), or some Rag Trade friend.

Thin leathers are made by slicing normal leather. For your beanbags
to stay white you'll want a glossy leather, and this has to come from
the outermost slice; there's only one of those and it's bound to
be a bit harder to get. All leather softens up a bit with use.

Myself I prefer something more tightly inflated, with leather about
1.2 or 1.3 mm thick. See also http://www.pjb.com.au/jug/leatherballs.html

Those white beanbags could look really nice, hope you get the leather
supply worked out.

Regards, Peter

--

Peter Billam, DPIWE/CIT/Servers, hbt/lnd/l8, 6233 3061

johnnord

unread,

Jul 7, 2005, 12:57:00 AM7/7/05

to

White real leather will turn into gray leather not very long after you
start using the balls. White Ultraleather will stay white.

hydrophidian

unread,

Jul 7, 2005, 5:52:34 AM7/7/05

to

I got a set of six white ultra-leather bags from Mr.Nord here a while
ago via my friend, they're still very white. Unless you're into
armor-all, I wouldn't suggest real leather.

xfirebladex

unread,

Jul 7, 2005, 6:57:08 AM7/7/05

to

I hear Fergie's are made from ultra-leather. What is this ultra-leather
exactly? Is it a synthetic leather or a type of distressed or waxed
leather? Is this the sort of thing I would need to contact a specialist
leather handler to procure?

Some nice help here though, I'm looking forward to getting my hands on
some and completing a ball (once I also get my machine to stop skipping
stitches).

Chiok
www.gravityvomit.co.uk

Rusty

unread,

Jul 7, 2005, 7:57:54 AM7/7/05

to

For ultra-leather balls, do you have to sew them for hand, or will the
sewing machine handle the thicker fabric?

Rusty
Norway

Jay Linn

unread,

Jul 7, 2005, 12:30:42 PM7/7/05

to

xfirebladex wrote:

> ... once I also get my machine to stop skipping stitches

Check that you have the correct stitch tension set. You will need to
set the tension for each different type of fabric you use. Also, if you
are sewing leather, get yourself some leatherpoint needles - they really
help a lot ,and make seams in leather a lot stronger, too.

--
Jay Linn

Londoner.

xfirebladex

unread,

Jul 7, 2005, 12:36:41 PM7/7/05

to

For leather, you have a leather needle on your sewing machine that has a
slight cutting edge to help move through the leather. Equally a large
needle (90-110) will do the job as well, possible more effort involved. A
leather needle is recommended for thick leather. For the thinner stuff, a
normal needle is ok.

So, what is ultra-leather?

Chiok
www.gravityvomit.co.uk

Rusty wrote:
> For ultra-leather balls, do you have to sew them for hand, or will the
> sewing machine handle the thicker fabric?
>
> Rusty
> Norway
>

Little Paul

unread,

Jul 8, 2005, 6:01:25 AM7/8/05

to

On 2005-07-07, xfirebladex <chiokl...@hotmail.com.nospam> wrote:
>
> So, what is ultra-leather?

You mean you haven't already looked on google? [1]
http://www.google.com/search?q=ultraleather

3 minutes of digging on there reveals that it's a synthetic leather made by
a company called "Ultrafabrics" (See http://www.ultrafabricsllc.com )

As for finding a source for it in the UK... well... I'm having less luck
with that.

-Paul
[1] *mutters something about students that don't have even basic
research skills*

xfirebladex

unread,

Jul 8, 2005, 6:34:45 AM7/8/05

to

I did my research, I asked here and someone had the answer. Which I'm
super grateful for. So, any possible alternatives to this super leather?

Chiok
www.gravityvomit.co.uk
(If you have something to say, speak up now...)