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First Project That Wasn't A Pre-Bought Kit

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So this is a kindle holder I made for my mom. Its the only thing i've made that didn't come in a kit so any and all mistakes you see please point out and how to fix them! This is just the first attempt. I'm going to be making a few more almost exactly like it so I can give her a really nice one so seriously any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

post-60902-0-77553100-1446881776_thumb.j

post-60902-0-90567000-1446881786_thumb.j

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If you done your parts cutting free hand, begin using a pattern that is the same always. JoAnn Fabrics and many more, carry a double sided tape that is almost transparent but sticky, to hold material while sewing for instance. When using a pattern to cut your leather apply this tape to backside of your pattern then to the leather you are cutting. This stuff will not leave residue if you remove it promptly when finished.

Round corners are always a mystery when beginning. Your radius must terminate at the straight line so it flows.

Use a stitching gauge and a compass or anything you can make a mark evenly for your stitch line.

Using pre-made/cut kits is a great way to learn. It normally makes you want to do the cutting yourself.

ferg

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for your corners use something to trace around to keep them consistent. Can lid, plates etc work. Cut your pattern first on poster board so if there are mistakes you can toss it and not cost more than a few cents for the mistake.

Look carefully at your spine area. It looks like you will not be able to fold it, there should be a wider gap there between the sewn in pieces.

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Welcome! You're off to a great start.

Rounding your corners smoothly will add a lot to the overall appearance of the project. I'll third what 50 years and electrathon said: use a template if you can. If you're making your holes with a diamond-hole chisel, move down to the 2-prong chisel as you go around the corner. This will give you an even curve instead of a straight shot across the corner.

Beveling and burnishing the edges of your leather is an almost imperceptible change, but one that will make the whole project look much better.

My very first leather project had the same kind of inch-long stitch marks on the outside of the cover. Mostly I've learned to change my designs so they won't have that, but recently I had a case that had partial stitching on the outside that was unavoidable. To make it look even, I just went ahead and stitched all the way around the edge of the cover. On the inside you can see that I'm just stitching cosmetically, but on the outside it looks like a nice even outline.

Work on consistent tension when you're pulling your stitches tight. If you don't have a stitching pony, try one; you'll never believe you ever survived without one. For me the trick to consistent tension was to actually ease up a bit. I was pulling way too hard on some stitches. If you concentrate on a firm steady pull as you tighten each stitch, you'll avoid the "clumping" effect. Also going up a size in stitch spacing can save your sanity. I used to do everything at the smallest spacing because I thought it looked better. Now I've found that larger stitches done evenly look better still. That's just my opinion, though--you'd have to try it to see and if you don't like it, don't do it. :)

Drink Coke, not Pepsi. That's not opinion, that's SCIENCE. :rofl:

Welcome and good luck! Can't wait to see your version 2!

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If you done your parts cutting free hand, begin using a pattern that is the same always. JoAnn Fabrics and many more, carry a double sided tape that is almost transparent but sticky, to hold material while sewing for instance. When using a pattern to cut your leather apply this tape to backside of your pattern then to the leather you are cutting. This stuff will not leave residue if you remove it promptly when finished.

Round corners are always a mystery when beginning. Your radius must terminate at the straight line so it flows.

Use a stitching gauge and a compass or anything you can make a mark evenly for your stitch line.

Using pre-made/cut kits is a great way to learn. It normally makes you want to do the cutting yourself.

ferg

I used a cardboard template that I made. I used some masking tape to hold it down while I cut out the actual leather. I tried to use wing dividers to mark a stitching line. To be honest I should've practiced with it more before actually going to the project with it. And Im sorry but I do not understand what you mean about the rounded corners.

Welcome! You're off to a great start.

Rounding your corners smoothly will add a lot to the overall appearance of the project. I'll third what 50 years and electrathon said: use a template if you can. If you're making your holes with a diamond-hole chisel, move down to the 2-prong chisel as you go around the corner. This will give you an even curve instead of a straight shot across the corner.

Beveling and burnishing the edges of your leather is an almost imperceptible change, but one that will make the whole project look much better.

My very first leather project had the same kind of inch-long stitch marks on the outside of the cover. Mostly I've learned to change my designs so they won't have that, but recently I had a case that had partial stitching on the outside that was unavoidable. To make it look even, I just went ahead and stitched all the way around the edge of the cover. On the inside you can see that I'm just stitching cosmetically, but on the outside it looks like a nice even outline.

Work on consistent tension when you're pulling your stitches tight. If you don't have a stitching pony, try one; you'll never believe you ever survived without one. For me the trick to consistent tension was to actually ease up a bit. I was pulling way too hard on some stitches. If you concentrate on a firm steady pull as you tighten each stitch, you'll avoid the "clumping" effect. Also going up a size in stitch spacing can save your sanity. I used to do everything at the smallest spacing because I thought it looked better. Now I've found that larger stitches done evenly look better still. That's just my opinion, though--you'd have to try it to see and if you don't like it, don't do it. :)

Drink Coke, not Pepsi. That's not opinion, that's SCIENCE. :rofl:

Welcome and good luck! Can't wait to see your version 2!

This was actually the first thing I've ever stitched. The kits i was building were all lacing and I HATE the way they looked so I decided to try stitching. And i really, really, really, tried to get the edges to burnish but no matter what I did they would not burnish. I tried everything. At first I thought it was just because i couldn't hold it tight enough so I put it in the stitching pony to hold while I burnished and went at it and it still wouldn't burnish. :/

Thank you all for the advice and pointers!

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And Im sorry but I do not understand what you mean about the rounded corners.

What they are talking about is how the curve intersects with the straight sides. The curve you use should be 90 degrees of a circle. For that size of a curve, you should use a glass or can & line the straight sides of the cover up with the edges of the glass & trace the curve. It looks like you have 30 - 60 degrees of the arc, not the full 90 degrees.

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