So I'm a total noob at crafting of really any kind, but want to get into it as a hobby and make stuff either for myself or my friends. As the title states I'm looking for lower budget friendly alternatives. I've seen Cl3ver use faux fur and faux suede in some of the older videos (which I've been binging a ton of over the past week or two since I found the channel). I'm mostly curious about faux leather/pleather as a potentially cheaper alternative and how it behaves compared to real leather. I plan to get into real leather eventually, just aiming for something to get me started while on a tighter budget as well as help myself get an idea of what I want to do without worrying as much about messing up the real stuff. Any advice is appreciated, and I'm more than open to other budget friendly alternatives of any kind. 
#Budget Friendly Alternatives
cursive coral
old grail
Faux leather does not carve at all like real leather you can’t really hammer it due to the cloth like properties it has. But you can sew it like regular leather I have used it for patchwork on my old leather coat
pure charm
Please don't use faux leather/pleather! It's so difficult to work with and it falls apart if it ever comes into contact with heat, sunlight, humidity.... It's just not worth it! Like Monster said, it doesn't do any of the cool things leather does, and it's honestly not much cheaper ... And it's so bad for the environment!
Take the time to save a bit of funds and just go straight into true leather, a lot of craft and leather shops sell bags of scraps or remnants that you can practice with cheaply
If you're interested in sewing soft leather garments or accessories you can practice with a fabric called micro suede, which sort of mimics real suede or chrome tan leather, but it's also kindo of trick to work with.
cursive coral
All fair enough, and good to know, especially about not being able to work it nearly as well. I was just curious, and at least for now because the nearest leather store for me is like 2 hours away, and any good craft store is an hour plus, i found a couple packs of scrap leather on Amazon that i'm gonna look into more for starter work.
And whenever I have the money and chance I'll get bigger pieces of leather. Conveniently the closest leather store is a Tandy's, it's just like a 2 hour drive and i don't want to go all that way just for an hour or so
sweet patrolBOT
GG @cursive coral, you just advanced to level 1!
pure charm
When you do make the drive, also look to see if you have a "creative reuse" store in the area! It's basically a craft secondhand/thrift store and they're gaining in popularity in the US, if that's where you're located 😁
cursive coral
I'll make sure to look into them!
calm yoke
Amazon has bags of scrap leather, also, if you have a Tandy near you, they usually sell strips of Belly for around $16 - $20, this is a great way to start without breaking the bank, it will do all the things that expensive leather does, you just don't want to use it for anything you don't want to stretch, likes belts or straps. Belly is what I started with.