Mini-Tutorial-Making the skirt
Ok, mini tutorial, after you cut all your squares like in the pics above, "punch" the oblong holes with a poly mallet, poly cutting board on top of cement or a marble block like this-(of course, you wouldn't have dyed the squares until after you punched the holes)
Then you airbrush dye it.
Ok-- here's how you seal it. You use either super sheen (in a spray) or airbrush resolene. ( I airbrushed resolene)Let dry, then you put leather balm with atom wax last with a sponge, let dry. Then buff. That seals it all nice. This is the stuff from tandy:
For the lace, you cut it, dye it, put NON DARKENING NEATSFOOT OIL aka LEXOL. I used a cup full of the stuff and just pulled the lace under a wrench to keep it dipped in the cup, then I used a cheese cloth to wipe it. This causes it to be pliable. Then you airbrush resolene, then leather balm it, then buff with a cheese cloth. I cut out a large piece of card board and wrapped the lace around it, then i did the sealing. More coverage area. Now all I gotta do is lace the skirt...
This is a pic of a lacing needle, you screw the leather clockwise into the needle for it to attatch. Then you lace.
My leather got stuck into the hole and didn't come out, so i used these pliers instead.
After using Dallas' diagrams above, I laced half of the skirt. Here is the front
here is the back: