REED Leather HIDES - Whole Sheep Skin 7 to 10 SF for Arts and Crafts (Antique Brown)

I bought these hides to make a leather bound notebook using hand made paper. They are a beautiful maroon and are soft and supple. The leather pieces were both blemish free making them of higher quality than average. Perfect for what I wanted them for. Nothing smells quite like good quality leather. They proved to be easy to use with a thickness perfect for the intended use of binding a book. Overall a good value. Be sure to check out the size. It will not be big enough for a full size book but perfect for a smaller binding.

I’ve now ordered three different colors of this leather, each on separate orders. All three were excellent hides. Smooth natural surface on one, out, side , rough surface on the other, in side. . Some have complained of the quantity not being 7-10 sf. All three hides I received were in the 7- 8.5 sf range. They ran around 34 inches long by 32 inches wide. All were one complete hide. I received no half hides or pieces. That’s the usable portion. Legs and neck are outside that rectangle and would actually increase the sf of the hide. If my ,long ago ,math skills are accurate 34” x 32 ” = 1088” divided by 144” = approx 7.5 square feet. A square foot being 12”x12” or 144 “. Smaller than most folks imagine I’m thinking. They run 1-2 mm thick. Thinner at the edges. Thicker towards the middle , they are natural sheep hides after all. The color was consistent across the hides and there were no tears or holes in the usable “rectangle” of the hides. These are way to thin for holsters, belts or knife sheath. You will need 7-8 ounce “tool leather” for those. They work great for projects that call for lighter leather. Very nice quality natural genuine leather hides. 31 May 2018. I’ve now bought two more hides. Same as my above reviews. For Andrew: 31x31 = 961 divide by 144 = 6.6736 sf. Darn close to 7 sf. The 5 hides I’ve bought have run a bit larger than that. Yes I’m only measuring the choice rectangular portion. Not the entire hide. A 96 x25 inch long hide would be more like a 1/3 split from cattle. A 96 x25 sheep hide is more likely 3 sheep hides seamed together. Not a single sheep. These hides are more likely than not from butcher age sheep and or goats. Not at the animals maximum attainable size. Plus imported. Perhaps a farm visit would help. Lol

A little smaller than I thought it would be. The hide is soft and silky. The color is beautiful. The mini skirt I planned on making won't come out of this piece. I'll have to rethink my plan. Maybe a small handbag.

I ordered the tan colored hide. I received two separate pieces, one appearing to be a nearly full hide, the other about half. Together they are around the advertised sq ft of 7 or so. They are not of uniform color, I would call it mottled. They are thin, very soft, and pliable. I was wary about ordering because of other reviews stating it may not be real leather, it wasn't close to the stated 7-10sqft, it had holes and imperfections, etc. Maybe other colors are questionable, but the tan color is absolutely real leather, and perhaps I was lucky as mine had no holes and was the advertised sq ft. It has some imperfections, but none that make those parts not usable. This was an excellent price for some very nice, thin leather. If you need your leather to have some rigidity to it, this may not work for you. It is excellent for my project and I was pleasantly surprised.

Pros: Product is in good condition. Shipping was prompt. Color is even throughout (i.e. not patchy or overly mottled). Consistent thickness (but not very thick). "Feel" is very nice (smooth, even, etc.) Cons: The product description does not list the thickness of the hide. If I had known how thin it was going to be, I would not have ordered it. The only clue to that is the mention of "soft leather garments." I took a chance, mainly because I have a sheepskin shearling coat and thought it would be roughly the same thickness (minus the wool, obviously). Recommendations: - Do: Use this product in places where the leather itself does not need to provide any structure to what you're crafting. Gloves, a thin wallet, a bag or drawstring pouch, etc. With careful stitching, it would make a nice steering wheel cover. If you think of this as roughly the equivalent of felt cloth, you'll do fine. - Don't: Use this product if you need thicker leather. Anything that needs structure (e.g. purse, knife sheath, belts, etc.) or is protective in nature (e.g. bracers, archer's wrist guard) should use another product. (NOTE: I do not believe that there is any such product on Amazon. Please post a comment about this review if you know of any.) Other comments: - Other reviewers have complained about small holes in edges. These (I believe) are from the stretching and tanning process. Our hide had two such holes, but they were easily trimmed away and didn't detract from the overall quality of the product in any way. - We had intended to make a leather pouch for a renfaire costume. We did manage to create one, but it was too cloth-like to maintain its internal structure. We were able to brace it with some cardboard (I'll probably use some thin pine later), so it wasn't a total loss. There was enough leather left over to make a couple of drawstring pouches, which turned out nice.

I was using this to make Christmas presents--travel cord accessory rolls (see pic). I liked that the piece I got was fairly rectangular so I didn't have a lot of waste material. I ordered a second batch in a different color. While that piece was smaller, I could still get the same number of pieces because of the shape. I also appreciate the quality of the material. I will order again.

There are small rips and flaws in the leather making it difficult to work around. The leather is of good quality but clearly the skins being sold are not ideal. The useable area is small and the advertised sq' is not accurate. Otherwise delivery and color and leather color consistency is very good. Buyer be ware.

Absolutely amazing skin...a great piece and an amazing colour ...placed another order immediately, hoping I won’t be disappointed...great for Bible Binding....hopefully you guys will add different colours of this sheepskin to your collection ...

The is as advertised. Recommended!

Exactly the quality I expected, just like the photo. Very nice feeling, both sides are diff textures. Would buy again 10/10

Thank you