I used to have a problem finding leather, and then I took a mudcrab to the knee... I stomped that freaking thing flat, and leather began raining from the sky as if Sheogorath had eaten a cow the size of Yffre, and pooped it over the landscape for all to harvest.

Seriously though, find the nearest beach, smush mudcrabs - the leather you get is obscene. The southeast coastline of Grahtwood, for example... 40 minutes of farming netted 4 stacks of finished leather. Just run around the coast, or find a body of water - you won't know what to do with all the leather you find. If someone else is farming too, invite em - more leather for everyone.

I'd prefer they changed it so that killing and looting creatures has a chance to give a small amount of leather, but after investing a certain number of points into the clothing line you gain the option to skin creatures to harvest a greater amount of leather at a faster rate.

Getting Leather has never been as issue for me.
The drop rate is not bad you just have to know what to hit, I also find that if I am in VR Glenumbra and I loot nodes, I would get Kresh, however if I kill a wolf I might get topgrain or I can even get the next tier up, so by getting the next tier of the crafting material I get more experience from crafting with it.

I don't even have a problem with basic availability...As stated before there are enough mobs if you find the right places (and you can always level clothing with light armour mats). But for me a huge problem is finding on-level leather. For some reason I was always outleveling content by some levels and upon reaching Eastmarch (second last EP region) I had huge problems finding thick leather there because I needed it for my armour at some point. Of course it is my problem if I outlevel content, but it is possible to find plenty hickory (same tier as thick leather) even in shadowfen, a region 10 (?) levels below the tier, but there is no thick leather until you manage to find mobs of an adequate level. I don't ask for animals many levels below to drop next tier mats, but at least making (harder) mobs 1 or 2 levels below a new tier sometimes drop new tier leather would help a lot.

The way it is at the moment, you have to enter the next region to find the leather and by doing so, you outlevel the content in the last region even more once you return. And as every other crafting profession can find mats of higher tiers than the region, this should be possible for leather, too.

I have read most of this thread and wanted to add my two cents. I am lv31 wearing lv28 leather gear. I had no issues with cloth or metals, but leather has always lagged WAY behind. I have tried mudcrabs, wolves, imps, and more. I get bored due to the grinding quickly. However, I do pick up all plants and such that I see, so I am ALWAYS selling ingots and various types of cloth. I am in Malabal Tor now and I have just made a lv30 belt, but the rest is 28. I have one piece of leather and a few scraps. I have had multiple stacks of ingots of all types, and the same for cloths. I sold them save one stack of each, and I keep finding it hand-over-fist. I too want to find more leather. Heck, I found this thread due to looking for ways to get it faster on Google. I am tired of my armor being behind me on my assassain!

Not sure this was mentioned and could be my imagination, but I seem to get better drop rates when I use bow or ranged magic over melee to take out hide bearing beasts?

Anyone else notice this?