Technical Abstract: The conversion of animal hides to leather involves many complicated chemical and mechanical operations. Drying is one of the mechanical operations, and plays a key role in determining the physical properties of leather. It is where leather acquires its final texture, consistency and flexibility. We have investigated a drying method using a combination of vacuum and biaxial stretching. Total area loss often accompanies drying of leather; however, by adding a stretching action during vacuum drying one may significantly increase the area retention and dimensional stability. Moreover, this method is particularly advantageous to heat-vulnerable organic tanned leathers because vacuum drying offers fast moisture removal at a low temperature. We investigated this dual functional drying method and observed how drying variables affected the mechanical properties and area retention of chrome-free leather. We used a Central Composite experimental design to formulate the relationship between drying variables and resultant leather properties into second order polynomial equations. Results showed that the stretching applied in a drying operation significantly affects mechanical properties, area retention and thickness of leather. Moreover, studies showed that biaxial stretching increased the tensile strength but had less effect on fracture energy. A significant area increase with good properties can be achieved under an optimal drying condition.