THE OVERS & UNDERS

Leather is an art form all its own, and one of the intricacies is in balancing the inlay and the overlay.

Inlay is when you have a second piece of leather stitched in from behind, framed by a cutout in the primary piece, like the florals in the Tulip Time Jacket. Inlay is most commonly a contrasting color and is almost always outlined by contrast stitching for both aesthetic emphasis and for the sake of structure. This is also a really fun way to incorporate hair-on hides or textured leathers, almost implying there may be a whole magical layer underneath. On the contrary, the inlay may be tonal and used simply to create an optical element of depth.

Overlay (or appliqué) is an embellishment added on top of the primary piece. Overlay is typically affixed with subtle, tonal stitching that is more for function than form. Whereas inlay provides depth, overlay provides dimension.

When done right, the two can work beautifully together to bring to life florals or stars or even whole Western scenes.