leather was created same way the as cloth (cut up/recycled) just was not as popular as cloth as it does not retain it's hue.
The bugged tubs were able to be created in two formats, a reverted cloth tub that kept the metallic hues, or a reverted metal tub that kept the cloth hues. (being able to dye metal items with the neon colors of a cloth tub..)
Tinkered items (including the candlewood torches, -1 sc ones) were able to be dyed for a very limited time as the bug was fixed very quickly. Most of these bugged items originated from the Asian shards.