Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Despite what other reviews might try to claim, this really comes from animal hides. However, it's not what you would normally get when you order a cow hide for several times the price. I wanted leather to sew seat covers for my car and it was perfect. Some things you should know before ordering: 1 - Size. I ordered 40 square feet after some experience with smaller quantities. Why? Because I measured what I needed and came up with roughly 27 to 30 square feet (while I could only really use roughly 25). It would have been enough had I designed my seat covers to sew together 6+ smaller pieces for one seat, but I planned on 2 or 3, so I came up short, with some scraps I can use to make a handbag. I don't know how leather is measured, but count on getting about half the square footage in usable material unless you plan on sewing every tiny scrap together, in which case you can count on roughly 75%. 2 - Weight/Thickness. This leather has been thinned so that it's the weight needed for making clothes. The suede layer has been removed. It's too thin for upholstery or structured handbags. It's more flexible, easier to cut and sew and about the weight of denim. Still being leather though, it's denser and tougher, so still use leather sewing machine needles and keep them sharp. In order to have the leather hang correctly, I had to buy a soft structure material, which also made it easier to insert memory foam padding in the seat covers. 3 - Quality: The leather I received could be described as somewhat distressed. Some sections were nice and smooth and others were pocked and or had cracking. If you look at the supplier's products on Amazon, you'll see that they sell leather jackets and other clothing. My guess is that the leather they sell is excess volume and/or quality rejects. It is already colored and prepared to be sewn into clothing, so don't plan on coloring, branding or treating it yourself in any way. Also, among the three pieces I received, it was clear from looking at the backs that they came from 2 different dye lots so I had to use pieces from the different lots so that they weren't next to each other. After the car seat covers were sewn (leather and stretch denim), I conditioned the leather and it's absolutely beautiful. This leather was much easier to work with than a heavier full grain and it was already dyed for what I wanted. My suggestion is to follow the advice the supplier gave me (after returning twice) and order a box of scraps to get an idea of colors and weight. The investment is well worth it. Also, measure what you need and order twice the square footage if you plan on using larger pieces or expect a perfect finish.