Custom Leather Jacket | How-To Engrave Leather

When using a leather/leatherette clothing item, it's very difficult to know how the leather will engrave. Most jackets will have an inside cuff, hem, or collar section where you can test your engraving. This jacket engraved in a “black on black” style, however another friend's jacket revealed a white layer (made intentionally grungy). 

It's also critical that you have good ventilation when working with leatherette and use caution if you don't know the exact material type. Only PU leather should be used. 

While my M1 might have been able to engrave all of the design at once, I found it easier to get the jacket flat and get exact placement when using my F1. I removed the base plate, manually adjusted the focus to the leather below, and aligned each section. 

You can use a strip of painter's tape on the jacket to ensure alignment of letters. I also found that working on a small table where I could put the arms of the jacket off the side allowed for a flatter working surface. 

Enjoy your new jacket! The black on black style required no cleanup at all. The black and white version we wanted to intentionally look aged and grungy, so we used a little lower power and did not do any heavy cleaning.