White Thread On Dark Leather

[dsolsbery]

I've been looking at the different things ya'll have made and they are beautiful. I've asked this question before, but I thought I figured it out and come to find out, I was wrong. So I'm back seeking help. A lot of the items I have seen have such a nice saddle tan or dark color, but the stitches are very white and gives a great contrast. How do you keep the thread white without it picking up color and becoming dirty looking? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[katsass]

From the grump; I know what you are talking about. As I stitch something, the thread ALWAYS ends up looking a bit dingy - - BEFORE I apply a finish. When doing my work ,I always dye after cutting the project out. Allow 24 hours to dry , then buff the snot out of all dyed pieces, followed by a wipe-down with a damp sponge. I then assemble and finally, go to punching the holes for stitching. The result is still a rather dingy appearance to white thread - - UNTIL I apply my finish. I use a 50/50 mix of Mop&Glow and water, misted on with an airbrush. For whatever reason, the stitching brightens right up. A pic of a holster done that way. Mike

[dsolsbery]

Thanks Mike. That will be my "standard operating procedure" from now on.

[TwinOaks]

Another important aspect is to use shorter lengths of thread when hand sewing. Think about it, if you sew 2 feet of stitch line at 6 spi, that's 144 holes. If you use a single piece of line, then the ends of the thread will have been through ALL the holes and can look dingy or ratty. Using a shorter piece of line, you reduce the 'wear' on the thread caused by sewing.

Regardless of the overall length of the stitch line, I try to keep my sewing threads to under 3 feet each. That means a foot and a half on each side, presuming you put the thread through a hole and center it. Then, when I'm down to about 6 inches of line, I start a new piece and complete 3-4 more stitches and snip. Then take the fresh line and stitch over the ends of the last one which both locks them down, AND hides them.

There's also something I've noticed about using waxed linen - when it's on the spool, it's twisted and has a good color. After several pulls through stitch holes, it has lost some of the twist which makes it more translucent. If you've dyed the leather before stitching and the thread has become untwisted, you may be seeing the leather color through the thread fibers. Look closely at the stitches and see if the fibers are still twisted tightly or if they're straighter. If they're pretty straight, start putting a full twist (or more) on the line before pulling it through the leather.

[dsolsbery]

Thank you Mike D. I will try this as well.

[Rawhide]

From my handstitching experience, it took me a long time to find out that it was (for me anyway) the thread I was using. I was using some run of the mill type thread and it was fine until you pulled it tight. It would go from white, to grey! I have since switched to Barbour's Linen cord. I use 5 cord and 3 cord for most projects. When they pull tight, they stay white. Just my two cents.

[dsolsbery]

Marlon, this is definitely worth more than 2 cents. Thank you.

[Dwight]

Considering that hands were made for hamburgers, . . . machines made for stitching, . . . I don't do much of that "hand stitching" thing.

But when I do, . . . I use the sewing tool with the little spool on it, . . . and the wooden handle. Aboard my Navy ship it was called a sail needle.

Anyway, . . . never put the thread on the spool bobbin, . . . just cut off a hunk of string 3 times as long as needed for the stitching. Pull it through the first hole so that 1/2 of the length is on each side of the first hole, . . .

Then I take the first 3 inches of the thread, . . . it is always the piece shoved through the new hole first, . . . it is the piece that gets ugly, groadie, grubby, dirty, what have you. I've never done a full belt this way, . . . but I've done big stitch jobs, . . . and my string is still pretty white when I get done.

But then again, . . . I also only use the coated string sold at Tandy's, . . . that may be part of the difference.

May God bless,

Dwight