Leather Area Calculator
Work out the usable area of a hide and how many projects it holds, once the unusable belly, neck and defects are taken off.
At a glance
- What you enter
- Hide area, Usable percentage, Leather one project uses, Price of the hide
- What you get
- Usable area, Usable area, Usable area, Unusable area, Unusable share of the hide, Whole projects from one hide, Projects per hide, unrounded, Fraction of a project left over, Usable leather left over, Left over as a share of the usable area, Leather cost per project, Leather cost per usable square foot, Cost of the unusable part, Hides for ten projects, Leather cost for ten projects
- Formula shown
- Yes, every step, right below your results.
- Cost and privacy
- Free, no account needed, and nothing you type is stored.
See worked examples ↓ Read the FAQ ↓ Share this calculator ↓
Results are estimates for general information only, always verify with a professional or official source before acting on them.
How to use the Leather Area Calculator
- 1 Enter Hide area (sq ft), The area on the invoice. A full hide is usually 18 to 25 square feet and a side about 12 to 18.
- 2 Enter Usable percentage (%), 75 to 85 percent is normal. Use the lower end for a lower grade hide or for a project that needs large clean panels.
- 3 Enter Leather one project uses (sq ft), Include the cutting layout and trim allowance, not just the area of the finished panels.
- 4 Enter Price of the hide, Optional. Used to work out the leather cost per project and the cost of the unusable part.
- 5 Press Calculate. You get Usable area, Usable area, Usable area, Unusable area, Unusable share of the hide, Whole projects from one hide, Projects per hide, unrounded, Fraction of a project left over, Usable leather left over, Left over as a share of the usable area, Leather cost per project, Leather cost per usable square foot, Cost of the unusable part, Hides for ten projects, Leather cost for ten projects, and every intermediate step stays visible under "How is this calculated?"
- 6 Change one number at a time to see what moves the result, that is usually the most useful thing a calculator can tell you.
Worked examples
Real numbers run through this calculator. Open any example to load it into the form above and change it.
A 20 square foot side at 80 percent
A standard vegetable tanned side and a project taking 3 square feet.
You enter
- Hide area
- 20 sq ft
- Usable percentage
- 80%
- Leather one project uses
- 3 sq ft
- Price of the hide
- $120.00
You get
- Usable area
- 16.00 sq ft
- Usable area
- 2,304.00 sq in
- Usable area
- 1.49 sq m
- Unusable area
- 4.00 sq ft
- Unusable share of the hide
- 20.0%
- Whole projects from one hide
- 5
- Projects per hide, unrounded
- 5.33
- Fraction of a project left over
- 0.33
- Usable leather left over
- 1.00 sq ft
- Left over as a share of the usable area
- 6.3%
- Leather cost per project
- $22.50
- Leather cost per usable square foot
- $7.50
- Cost of the unusable part
- $24.00
- Hides for ten projects
- 2
- Leather cost for ten projects
- $225.00
Sixteen square feet usable, which is five whole projects of 3 square feet with about a square foot left over. Leather cost about 7.50 per square foot usable.
A wallet run from a shoulder
A 10 square foot shoulder and a bifold wallet taking 1.5 square feet.
You enter
- Hide area
- 10 sq ft
- Usable percentage
- 78%
- Leather one project uses
- 1.50 sq ft
- Price of the hide
- $75.00
You get
- Usable area
- 7.80 sq ft
- Usable area
- 1,123.20 sq in
- Usable area
- 0.72 sq m
- Unusable area
- 2.20 sq ft
- Unusable share of the hide
- 22.0%
- Whole projects from one hide
- 5
- Projects per hide, unrounded
- 5.20
- Fraction of a project left over
- 0.20
- Usable leather left over
- 0.30 sq ft
- Left over as a share of the usable area
- 3.8%
- Leather cost per project
- $14.42
- Leather cost per usable square foot
- $9.62
- Cost of the unusable part
- $16.50
- Hides for ten projects
- 2
- Leather cost for ten projects
- $144.23
Seven and eight tenths square feet usable, so five wallets, with a small remainder. This is the calculation a small maker runs before quoting a batch.
A lower grade hide
A 24 square foot hide bought cheaply, with visible brands and scars.
You enter
- Hide area
- 24 sq ft
- Usable percentage
- 70%
- Leather one project uses
- 2.50 sq ft
- Price of the hide
- $110.00
You get
- Usable area
- 16.80 sq ft
- Usable area
- 2,419.20 sq in
- Usable area
- 1.56 sq m
- Unusable area
- 7.20 sq ft
- Unusable share of the hide
- 30.0%
- Whole projects from one hide
- 6
- Projects per hide, unrounded
- 6.72
- Fraction of a project left over
- 0.72
- Usable leather left over
- 1.80 sq ft
- Left over as a share of the usable area
- 10.7%
- Leather cost per project
- $16.37
- Leather cost per usable square foot
- $6.55
- Cost of the unusable part
- $33.00
- Hides for ten projects
- 2
- Leather cost for ten projects
- $163.69
Just under 17 square feet usable, so six projects. The lower grade costs more per usable square foot than the better hide in the first example.
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