Hand Stitching Question

[Hornbag73]

Just wondering is there some way to guage how much thread you need to cut when hand sewing something so not to waste too much. i realize this probably has been covered before.

Thanks Nigel

[Basically Bob]

I normally stitch at 7spi and multiply the length of the run X 4 and then add a bit to allow for the extra I want when finished.

[Matt S]

Thread is so cheap that, to me at least, an extra foot or two is an insignificant cost. Better to lose less than a penny of thread than having to start a new thread a few inches from the end of a seam.

[Chief31794]

I've always used the X4 measurement and it is pretty good, might fudge a little if it's on a holster or sheath at about 3/8 - 1/2" thick, but it is still pretty close I normally make it X4.25 for very thick leather.

Chief

[immiketoo]

That's got it covered. 4X has worked for me as well but I always added extra so that I have room to work. I hate feeling cramped. Thickness of the piece and stitches per inch will affect this but 6 to 7 this should work ok.

[TwinOaks]

Regardless of the length to be sewn, you shouldn't sew with more than about 3 feet at a time....just like with lace. The needle end of the thread passes through every single hole, and doing some simple math, there's 72 hoes per foot. Dragging the leading thread through that many holes can make it start looking a bit ratty. As you go, you might notice that thread isn't as tight, may not lay right, may look worn, etc. It's easy to overlap and start a new piece, so there's no reason to have ratty thread at the end of your stitch lines.

If you don't know how to splice in a new piece, here's how: Sew until you have about 4 inches of thread left, and leave the ends hanging out in limbo. Now, take your new piece of thread, back up 3 holes from the last stitch, and put one end pf the thread through. Pull it through until it is centered, and resume sewing...right over the loose ends of the previous thread. After you've gone past the loose ends, pull them tight, and cut close. When you run over the stitches with the over stitch wheel, the loose ends will disappear.