When Fabric Meets Leather, Kote & Weighty Burnishing

[Anacott Steel]

Hey leather workers - I like lining the inside of my projects with fabric. So far i have been dressing the edges with clear nail polish. It works ok but still the fabric ends up fraying after a bit of use.

1) what do you guys/gals use to treat the edges of fabric to keep the threads from fraying?

2) Edging Kote - do I need this or is it a scam dreamed up by Madison Avenue type shiny pants marketers ?

3) when burnishing edges - i understand that I need to apply a bit of "swift" to the burnishing motion, but how much weight do I need to apply ? I mean do I have to press down hard with all my weight (sadly im 92 kgs !) or is it a gentle pressure but a rapid movement ?

many thanks for any help that you guys/gals can provide a leather newbie.

[impulse]

There is no way to stop the edges of woven fabric other than hemming it. I would suggest that you use craft felt which is quite thin and comes in a wide range of colours.

Lois

[wareagle]

fold the exposed edge over and glue it down or use seam tape

[ramrod]

as for burnishing, you don't need a lot of pressure - hardly none at all. it's heat that does the work. burnish it just fast enough to build up heat and that should do it. i've used too much pressure before and it tends to mushroom the edge. looks nasty.

Edited March 2, 2012 by ramrod

[Anacott Steel]

1330726507[/url]' post='237252']

as for burnishing, you don't need a lot of pressure - hardly none at all. it's heat that does the work. burnish it just fast enough to build up heat and that should do it. i've used too much pressure before and it tends to mushroom the edge. looks nasty.

Many thanks Ramrod. I really appreciate the advice. I think I've been using too much pressure and it's not turned out that well.

[ramrod]

you're welcome.

[DoubleC]

Hey leather workers - I like lining the inside of my projects with fabric. So far i have been dressing the edges with clear nail polish. It works ok but still the fabric ends up fraying after a bit of use.

1) what do you guys/gals use to treat the edges of fabric to keep the threads from fraying?

2) Edging Kote - do I need this or is it a scam dreamed up by Madison Avenue type shiny pants marketers ?

3) when burnishing edges - i understand that I need to apply a bit of "swift" to the burnishing motion, but how much weight do I need to apply ? I mean do I have to press down hard with all my weight (sadly im 92 kgs !) or is it a gentle pressure but a rapid movement ?

many thanks for any help that you guys/gals can provide a leather newbie.

I do the same as wareagle. Actually just glued a piece yesterday. However, I can't tell you yet how well it's going to wear because i haven't used it yet. I hope it wears well.