Does anyone have advice on homemade EKG/ECG leads?
The most advisable to obtain an ECG signal is to use conventional electrodes. The alternative to the conventions is to use a textile ECG electrode, but this is experimental. You can put "ecg textile electrodes" in google and you will find many PDF files that contain research. This type of electrode is usually more expensive.

If you want to make a conventional ECG you should use general purpose electrodes, if you want to implement a wearable small size if you can try to work with a textile electrode.

I am currently working with the AD8232 and trying to use only 2 electrodes is to have an ECG signal with a lot of noise. I recommend that you use the configuration of 3 electrodes, the electrode of the right leg is there to reduce the noise of the electrical network.
Techniques to reduce noise in your ECG signal: have the electrodes as short as possible, that the electrode cable is shield to GND, that the area of ​​the electrode is as large as possible. Using quality electrodes significantly improves the quality of the signal.
Also, applying a pre-skin preparation helps to diminish the impedance of the skin, which allows to reduce the noise and have a signal with greater amplitude.

When working on the design of an ECG you must be very careful, and respect the electrical standards. In the case of using a self-developed electrode, you should request the certification of the electrode you are going to use. I mention this as a little advice.