Analysis, Discussion and Tips for Success

General Discussion

Making clothes and armour from cowhide leather is a popular low-level category of activities in the Crafting skill, especially among non-members. That said, it is not at all a profitable activity; even though leather is relatively inexpensive and easy to obtain, most of the items made from it are produced in such huge quantities that the value of the items is very low.

Most of the plain leather items in the Crafting skill use regular (soft) leather; hard leather bodies are the single exception. Hard leather costs a little more money than soft leather but hard leather bodies provide the most Crafting XP from leatherworking in F2P, and close to the most in P2P as well. Note that despite the confusing way that leather items are portrayed in the RuneScape knowledge base, studded leather bodies are made from soft leather bodies, not these items.

Location and Access

You can craft leather items at any bank, but a one-click bank is preferred. Castle Wars is my favorite; non-members can use the bank chest at the Duel Arena.

Required and Recommended Equipment

A needle.

Required and Recommended Supplies

You need one piece of hard leather per item made, and roughly one spool of thread for every four items. (Thread is cheap, so I recommend just buying lots of it so you don't worry about running out.)

Familiar Suggestions

Summon a foraging familiar to earn extra money for you while you work -- I prefer the magpie, given the high value of rings and gems today. There isn't a really worthwhile forager below Summoning level 47, so I wouldn't bother with a familiar at lower levels.

Technique and Tips

With a needle and thread in your inventory, withdraw a full load of hard leather. Click the needle and then one of the pieces of leather; when the interface box comes up, right-click and choose "Make All". When all of the items are complete, bank them and repeat the process.