Leather Hide Square Footage Calculator
Enter your hide's size and cut type to see how much usable leather you actually have, and whether it's enough for your pattern pieces. Works with leather from any supplier. Nothing uploaded.
Coverage
Enough leatherLearn more: hide square footage vs usable square footage
Why the stated size overstates what you can cut
Part of a hide is not good for structural pieces. Weaver Leather Supply's guide to leather cuts says the belly has softer, looser fibers than the rest of a side and is often viewed as waste. It describes the bend as the thickest and firmest part of the hide, and says the shoulder has more natural blemishes than the bend.
The calculator turns that into a usable percentage for each cut. Its figures are 82% for a whole hide, 87% for a side, 72% for a shoulder and 85% for a bend. They are the tool's own assumptions, not tannery numbers, so adjust your expectations if your hide has more flaws than usual.
For example, a 20 sq ft side gives 20 x 0.87 = 17.4 sq ft of usable leather. A pattern that needs 15 sq ft fits with 2.4 sq ft to spare. A 20 sq ft shoulder gives 20 x 0.72 = 14.4 sq ft, which is short of the same pattern.
Hides needed
The tool compares your pattern area with the usable area. If the pattern is larger, it divides one by the other and rounds up to whole hides. A 30 sq ft pattern on 14.4 usable sq ft needs 3 shoulders, since 30 / 14.4 is 2.08.
The pattern area is the total area of your pieces. The tool does not add space for the gaps between pieces on a hide, so if you cut it close, add a margin to your pattern figure. You can enter pattern size in inches, and the tool divides length times width by 144 to get square feet.
FAQ
Why does a bend have a higher usable percentage than a shoulder?
In the tool's table a bend is 85% and a shoulder 72%. Weaver Leather Supply describes the bend as the thickest, firmest part of the hide and says the shoulder has more natural blemishes, which fits the gap.
Do I enter the hide size or the cut size?
Enter the square footage of the piece you are buying, whether that is a whole hide, a side, a shoulder or a bend, and pick the matching cut type. The percentage is applied to the size you enter.
What if my pattern needs a little more than one hide?
The tool rounds up to a second hide. It does not try to combine part hides. If grain or color has to match across pieces, plan to cut them from one hide or check the second hide against the first.