A quick guide to sculpted leather bags for beginners

I did somethig similar last year with a ghoulish face pouch for my sister's Halloween party, and your point about the ballpoint sketch hit home. I skipped that step and freehand-carved the mouth first, ended up with a crooked grin that no amount of dye coud hide. Had to cut a patch over it and it showed through the finish for months.

On the wrinkling, I found that wrapping the leather in damp cloth overnight works better than just casing it if you want deeper folds. I used a sponge to press the creases in on mine and some of them flattened back out as it dried. Yours holding the texture suggests you got the moisture level right, which took me three tries. One thing I'd add for anyone copying this is that thin dye layers will save you if you mess up. I used Fiebing's on mine and went too heavy on the shading around the eye sockets on the first pass. Took the color down with alcohol and reworked it, but the tone never came back quite right in that spot. Two thin coats beat one thick one every time on that project. The jagged raw edges are a nice touch. I left mine square and it reads more like a tote and less like something severed. Might try the torn look on the next one.

Agree with the point about creases flattening as it dries. I made a wrinkled mask piece a while back and lost half my folds the same way. What saved mine was packing the inside lightly with crumpled newspaper so the leather dried around the shape instead of relaxing back flat. Had to swap the paper out once mid-dry when it got damp through.

Also found that pressing the wrinkles in with a blunt spoon instead of fingers gives deeper creases that stay put. Fingers work fine for the small stuff around the eyes though. Curious if anyone else dries these projects slowly in a cool room, mine always came out better than when I rushed it near the stove.

This is the first time I've seen leather treated like that, wetting it and squishing the wrinkles in by hand. Sounds almost like working with clay. I always assumed leather stayed stiff and smooth no matter what you did to it.

I want to make a creepy prop for my porch this fall and this might be doable even for someone like me who has never cut a piece of leather in my life.

When you pushed the wrinkles in while it was soaked, did the face keep moving around on you, like the eyes drifting out of place before it dried?

One thing to watch on these is strap attachment. I built a similar face bag for a customer a couple years back and initially stitched the strap only through the soft top layer. It started pulling loose after about six months of use. Redid it through both layers at five stitches to the inch and it's solid ever since. The thin skin alone just doesn't have the strength for shoulder carry, so bury those stitches in the structural base.