Leather Craftspersons

Key Responsibilities

• Check the texture, color, and strength of leather to ensure that it is adequate for a particular purpose.
• Re-sew seams, and replace handles and linings of suitcases or handbags.
• Place shoes on lasts to remove soles and heels, using knives or pliers.
• Dress and otherwise finish boots or shoes, as by trimming the edges of new soles and heels to the shoe shape.
• Prepare inserts, heel pads, and lifts from casts of customers' feet.
• Draw patterns, using measurements, designs, plaster casts, or customer specifications, and position or outline patterns on work pieces.
• Stretch shoes, dampening parts and inserting and twisting parts, using an adjustable stretcher.
• Cut out parts, following patterns or outlines, using knives, shears, scissors, or machine presses.
• Shape shoe heels with a knife, and sand them on a buffing wheel for smoothness.
• Clean and polish shoes.
• Read prescriptions or specifications, and take measurements to establish the type of product to be made, using calipers, tape measures, or rules.
• Drill or punch holes and insert or attach metal rings, handles, and fastening hardware, such as buckles.
• Repair and recondition leather products such as trunks, luggage, shoes, saddles, belts, purses, and baseball gloves.
• Estimate the costs of requested products or services such as custom footwear or footwear repair, and receive payment from customers.
• Repair or replace soles, heels, and other parts of footwear, using sewing, buffing and other shoe repair machines, materials, and equipment.
• Attach insoles to shoe lasts, affix shoe uppers, and apply heels and outsoles.
• Align and stitch or glue materials such as fabric, fleece, leather, or wood, to join parts.
• Attach accessories or ornamentation to decorate or protect products.
• Construct, decorate, or repair leather products according to specifications, using sewing machines, needles and thread, leather lacing, glue, clamps, hand tools, or rivets.
• Select materials and patterns, and trace patterns onto materials to be cut out.
• Make, modify, and repair orthopedic or therapeutic footwear according to doctors' prescriptions, or modify existing footwear for people with foot problems and special needs.
• Nail heel and toe cleats onto shoes.
• Inspect articles for defects, and remove damaged or worn parts, using hand tools.
• Cement, nail, or sew soles and heels to shoes.
• Cut, insert, position, and secure paddings, cushioning, or linings, using stitches or glue.
• Dye, soak, polish, paint, stamp, stitch, stain, buff, or engrave leather or other materials to obtain desired effects, decorations, or shapes.