Hair-On Cowhide Cutting Rugs: The Perfect Choice for Handbags and Small Leather Goods

If you make leather handbags, purses, wallets, totes, clutches, or other small leather goods, you already know how much the right piece of leather can change a project.

Sometimes you don't need a flawless cowhide that's going to be laid across the floor as a rug. You need a beautiful hair-on cowhide with plenty of great cutting area, character, and a pattern that can turn an ordinary leather project into something completely unique.

That's exactly why we offer our hair-on cowhide cutting rugs at Traditions Leathercraft.

These have become some of our best-selling cutting rugs, and for good reason. They give leatherworkers and bag makers an economical way to get a large amount of genuine hair-on cowhide for making handbags and smaller leather goods.

We call them cutting rugs because that's exactly what they're meant for: cutting up and turning into something new.

A cutting rug may have a small hole or two, a bald spot, or another minor imperfection that keeps us from selling it as a premium decorative cowhide rug. But if you're buying the hide to cut into purse panels, wallet accents, patches, pockets, keychains, or other leather pieces, those imperfections usually aren't a problem at all.

Simply cut around them.

The result is a lot of beautiful, usable hair-on cowhide at a great value.

And here's one of our favorite parts:

Every cutting rug is different, and you get to choose the actual rug you are buying.

We number the individual hides so when you select your favorite, the rug you choose is the rug you receive.

What Is a Hair-On Cowhide Cutting Rug?

Let's start with the question we hear from people who are new to them.

A cowhide cutting rug is a genuine hair-on cowhide that is being sold primarily as material for leathercraft rather than as a decorative floor covering.

These aren't little scraps.

You're getting a hide that gives you plenty of opportunities to lay out patterns and cut components for your leather projects.

The difference is that a cutting rug may have an imperfection somewhere on the hide.

That could be:

• A small hole
• A bald spot
• A natural mark
• An area you simply wouldn't want in the middle of a finished handbag

For a decorative rug, that might matter.

For a leatherworker?

You grab your pattern, move it a few inches, and keep cutting.

That's why these hides can be such a great value for leathercrafters.

Instead of paying primarily for a pristine decorative rug, you're buying hair-on cowhide to use as raw material for your leather projects.

Why Hair-On Cowhide Is Perfect for Handbags

There's a reason you see hair-on cowhide used on so many Western, rustic, ranch-inspired, and boutique handbags.

No two pieces look exactly alike.

A maker can build the same handbag pattern ten times using ten different sections of hair-on cowhide, and every finished bag can have its own personality.

One might feature a dramatic black-and-white pattern.

Another might have rich browns.

Another could have a more traditional cowhide look.

That natural variation is one of the things that makes genuine hair-on leather so appealing.

For leatherworkers selling handmade goods, that's especially important.

Customers aren't just buying another mass-produced purse off a shelf. They're buying something that looks handmade and one-of-a-kind.

Hair-on cowhide helps you create that look before you've even added your hardware, straps, fringe, tooling, conchos, or other details.

One Cutting Rug Can Become a Lot of Projects

One of the biggest advantages of buying a cutting rug is the amount of material it gives you to work with.

Don't look at a cutting rug and see one project.

Look at it and start seeing all the individual pieces hiding inside it.

Depending on your patterns, the hide, and the sizes of the projects you're making, you may be able to use it for projects such as:

• Handbag front and back panels
• Purse accents
• Tote bags
• Clutches
• Wallets
• Card holders
• Zipper pouches
• Cosmetic bags
• Crossbody bags
• Backpack panels
• Pockets
• Keychains
• Cowhide patches
• Hat patches
• Earrings and accessories
• Small gift items
• Western-style home accessories

Even smaller areas of the hide can potentially become useful pieces.

That's one reason experienced leatherworkers learn not to look only at the largest perfect section of a hide. They start thinking about how the entire hide can be utilized.

Your best sections can become the focal points of handbags and purses.

Medium-sized areas can become wallet panels, pockets, or accents.

Smaller pieces can be saved for keychains, patches, jewelry, and other accessories.

When you plan your cuts carefully, a cutting rug can keep providing material long after the first handbag is finished.

Turn the Natural Pattern Into Part of Your Design

Here's where working with hair-on cowhide gets really fun.

Before you make the first cut, spread your hide out and look at it.

Don't immediately start laying patterns down.

Study the hide.

Where is the most interesting color transition?

Where are the boldest markings?

Is there a section that would look incredible centered on the front of a handbag?

Would another section make a matching pocket?

Could you position the pattern differently and create two completely different-looking bags from the same hide?

The hide itself can become part of the design process.

That's very different from cutting a solid-color piece of leather where almost every section looks the same.

With hair-on cowhide, moving a purse pattern just six inches can completely change the appearance of the finished product.

Take advantage of that.

Why Small Imperfections Don't Have to Be a Problem

The word "imperfection" can scare people away from leather if they aren't accustomed to buying hides.

Leatherworkers tend to see things differently.

We see cutting opportunities.

If there's a small hole in one section, position your pattern somewhere else.

If there's a bald spot, work around it.

You are cutting the hide into smaller pieces anyway.

That's the whole idea behind our cutting rugs.

We aren't trying to hide the fact that these rugs may have a small hole, bald spot, or other minor issue.

That's why we're calling them cutting rugs.

They're meant for makers.

You're buying them because you want to turn that cowhide into something else.

And when your project only requires a portion of the hide, having one imperfect area doesn't necessarily reduce the usefulness of all the beautiful leather surrounding it.

For many leatherworkers, that's an excellent tradeoff.

You Choose the Rug — We Send THAT Rug

This is an important difference when you're shopping for hair-on cowhide online.

Hair-on hides aren't like ordering a piece of solid black leather where one piece should look very similar to the next.

Every cowhide has its own markings.

That's why Traditions Leathercraft numbers our cutting rugs individually.

When you're shopping, you can look through the available rugs and choose the one that fits your style or the project you have in mind.

There is only one of each numbered rug available.

When you order that rug, that's the rug you'll receive.

That means if you see a pattern that would be perfect for the handbag you're planning, you can choose that specific hide rather than hoping someone picks out something similar for you.

For makers, that's a big deal.

You're able to start designing the project before the leather even arrives.

Perfect for Leatherworkers Who Sell Their Work

If you're making leather goods as a business, material cost matters.

But so does making products that catch people's attention.

Hair-on cowhide can help with both.

Imagine a table at a craft show filled with handmade leather handbags.

A unique cowhide pattern can immediately draw someone's eye across the aisle.

The same principle applies online.

If you're selling through your own website, social media, Etsy, or another marketplace, a unique hair-on cowhide can give each piece an individual look.

Instead of listing ten identical handbags, you can make each one unique.

That gives you an easy selling point:

This is the actual bag. There isn't another one exactly like it.

The uniqueness comes naturally from the hide.

For a handmade leather business, that can be extremely valuable.

Pair Hair-On Cowhide With Other Leathers

You also don't have to make an entire handbag from hair-on cowhide.

In fact, one of our favorite ways to use hair-on hides is to combine them with other leathers.

Use hair-on cowhide as the centerpiece and another leather for the structure.

For example, you could use hair-on cowhide for the front and back panels of a handbag and pair it with a complementary leather for the gusset, straps, handles, pockets, or trim.

You can also combine hair-on cowhide with tooled vegetable-tanned leather.

A hand-tooled leather panel paired with genuine cowhide can create a beautiful Western look and gives the maker plenty of room for creativity.

That's the beauty of leathercraft.

There really isn't one "right" combination.

Your materials, patterns, tooling, hardware, and finishing choices allow you to build something that is completely your own.

Don't Forget the Small Pieces

Here's one tip that can help you get even more value out of your cutting rug:

Don't throw away your smaller usable pieces.

After cutting your large handbag panels, sort through what's left.

You might not have enough material for another purse, but you may have plenty for smaller products.

A leftover piece might become a wallet accent.

Another could become a keychain.

A narrow strip might become decorative trim.

Small patterned pieces can become patches or earrings.

If you sell your leatherwork, these smaller projects can be particularly useful because they allow you to turn material that might otherwise be discarded into additional products.

That's how you start getting maximum value from your hide.

Great for Beginners and Experienced Leatherworkers

You don't have to be a professional handbag maker to enjoy working with hair-on cowhide.

Cutting rugs can be a great way for newer leatherworkers to experiment with genuine hair-on leather.

Start with something simple.

Make a small pouch.

Add a cowhide pocket to a tote.

Create a wallet with a hair-on panel.

Make a few keychains.

As you become more comfortable cutting and working with hair-on hide, move into larger handbags and more complicated designs.

Experienced makers, meanwhile, can look at the same hide and immediately start planning multiple coordinated products.

That's what makes cutting rugs so versatile.

Shop Hair-On Cowhide Cutting Rugs at Traditions Leathercraft

At Traditions Leathercraft, we're leather people.

We're a family-owned and operated leather supplier in Oklahoma City with more than 30 years in the leather industry, and we work with everyone from people starting their first leathercraft project to businesses producing handmade leather goods.

Our hair-on cowhide cutting rugs are some of our best sellers because they give makers exactly what they're looking for:

Beautiful genuine hair-on cowhide with plenty of usable cutting area at a price that makes sense for leathercraft.

Yes, your cutting rug may have a small hole.

It might have a bald spot.

That's why it's a cutting rug.

Cut around it and turn the rest into something amazing.

And remember, each rug is individually numbered and there is only one of each available.

When you choose your rug, you receive the rug you selected.

So if one catches your eye, don't wait too long. Once another leatherworker grabs that numbered hide, that exact pattern is gone.

Whether your next project is a Western handbag, cowhide tote, wallet, clutch, crossbody bag, or a whole collection of small leather goods, start with a hide that gives you plenty of possibilities.

Shop our available Hair-On Cowhide Cutting Rugs at TraditionsLeathercraft.com and choose the actual hide you want for your next project.

Your next handbag might already be hiding inside one of them.