Mitter Joint Question

[handsw]

Hello, for the second time I tried to do a leather box using the miter joints method and for the second time the result has been the first photo, a very bad work.

I have read books on how doing miter joints but I think I lack of some practical tip.

The leather I have used was 3mm thick and I have obtained an angle of 45° using a belever. Now I have used the stitching groover and the overstitch wheel.

Until now I think that all what I have done is correct.

When I tried to use the awl to make the holes, the first time I put the tip on the exact mark (see circle in the second photo) made by the overstitch wheel and with an inclination of 30-45° I have pushed the awl.

Because in this way the result was horrible, the second time I have put the tip 0,5-1mm before the sewing channel (see circle in the first photo) and the result was acceptable.

Now the questions are:

Is there a rule about the distance of the awl from the sewing channel?

If you see the second photo the sewing is not completely straight, some hole are closer to the edge than others, is a lack of skill doing such errors or I don't know a particular method?

Edited May 21, 2014 by handsw

[WyomingSlick]

It is real simple. You are not paying attention to what you are doing!

You do not have a built in angle guide in your hand......or your eyes. Therefore you need to watch and see where the very tip of the point of the awl is coming out. If it is not in the groove where you want it.....then retreat, and adjust the angle of your awl so that it comes out where you want it to.

As you are stabbing the holes, concentrate on stabbing them perfectly in line with where you want the hole to be. Do not lift up on the awl, or press down.....maintain a straight push in line with your intended path of the awl.

[handsw]

So it's a problem of expertize. I have thought to retreat and adjust the awl if it does not come out in the right position but I thought that I had already made a channel and correcting the position 2 or 3 times could result in the creation of a bigger hole when I use the thread. When I pass the thread through the hole, the previous holes could merge (because there is a distance of mm between them) into a single bigger hole.

[Sluggo001]

Slick is correct. Push the awl through until you see just the tiniest bit of the tip. if it's not where is should be- adjust.

Stitches made through a bigger hole look better than stitches that wander up and down out of the stitching groove.

Until you get better, it may help if you start the backside hole with your awl and when you use the awl from the front...most of the time, it finds the backside hole.