Sylvia

background it out and fill the void with some shiny hooha or doodad. No one will know the difference.

You are welcome... be sure to show us your project.

Ok you are doing saddle stitching. Here's a helpful video. Do a couple stitches this way and pull it tight and trim close. Then go back 2 or 3 stitches and put your new thread in and continue stitching over the top of these 3 knotted stitches. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdVHnIcIcNY&feature=endscreen&NR=1 I'm sure there is more than one way to do this. I tend to fish the ends up in between the two layers after one or 2 knot stitches and clip them close to the edge. there are lots of videos on youtube for leather craft and saddle stitching.

It looks, from the example post, that you are trying to do the saddle stitch. Are you using 2 needles?

It is pretty advanced math and it's usually seen in geometry and physics, if the professor covers it at all. It involves "imaginary" numbers... at which point my brain goes ":wtf:." I guess I must have learned something in those classes after all.

VIK.... I think I may have ran across something that might work for you. I found this book at the library of congress (loc.gov) that has a "knap sack" pattern and instructions in it out of leather. http://ia700408.us.archive.org/10/items/leatherworking00hasl/leatherworking00hasl.pdf Look for PDF page 104 (book page 100) Hope this works for you. Sylvia

Hi Griff: Sorry I didn't see this earlier. Normally if you attach a lining like that you would.. 1. comb the wool away from the cut edge then trim the hair with scissors about 1/4" away from the edge. fairly close to the skin itself. 2. Pick the loose hairs away so you don't have to deal with fuzz. 3. Coat both flesh sides of the strap with your favorite flexible leather glue (or rubber cement) allow to get tacky and carefully meet glue sides together. 4 Sew with leather machine.... or hand stitch with a sewing awl... or use a pricking/thonging chisel and saddle stitch. Personally I would avoid wool on a guitar strap for a few reasons. The padding effect is minimal, especially on "standard" 2.25" and 2.50" straps and after several months of wear the wool becomes matted and nasty looking. (think of it like the insides of your wool slippers.) hope that helps. Sylvia

dye them, or if the leather burnishes nicely burnish the wholes with a spindle burnisher like the ones Spinner makes. It looks unsightly if you leave them natural especially if the strap is a darker color. While dying the holes.... use a dye marker if you have one. They are easy to refill and use... and you'll have a lot more control over the dye. Approach the holes from the back side of the piece... and be careful.

There is a digital version of the book Horsewreck mentioned here. Digital Download... immediate gratification... only $13! https://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/p-1133-the-art-of-making-leather-cases-volume-3-by-al-stohlman.aspx

LOL, I hear you about the math.... I am the type of person that has to learn any math process long hand. Then once I get it... I can use a calculator. This drove my professor nuts. I got a lot of "Use your calculator" written on my papers. :D Then I took an autocad class and the teacher had us figure out board feet for a project simulation. "No calculators." LOL I was one of 2 people who could actually do it long hand. The "calculator generation" had no idea where to start..... sad really. The thing I neglected to include is that "The Golden Ratio" is also known as the formula for beauty. I think that is why when see some leather carvings, even though they are skillfully tooled,.... something seems "off" about it.

Hi: I use fiber reactive dyes for tie dying natural plant based fibers. From what I understand, protein based fibers like silk, wool and in this case leather requires an ACID based dye in order for it to "strike" through and stay. It is a "hot dye" method which I am not sure it would be wise on some leathers like Veg tanned. I would change your formulation for your next test to a mild acid, like white vinegar or citric acid. Make a dilute dye, too much pigment in suspension could be the source of your wash out. (even on cotton there is a LOT of wash out with fiber reactive dyes.) You can learn a lot at http://www.dharmatrading.com http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/9236231-AA.shtml

I've been spending quite a bit of time reading old, out of copyright, articles and books on leather and design. In one particular book, the author writes about design and proportion. Something caught my eye ... my right brained eye. I didn't equate the curves of Sheridan carving with this before until I saw the simplified drawings on page 48, figure 64. See the book here: http://books.google....der&pg=GBS.PA48 Mathematicians amongst us probably recognize the term "The Golden Ratio." Some of you may even recall the formulas and logarithms involved. I personally would rather forget those math classes. But they say that "education" is what remains after you forget what you learned in School. So here I am staring at page 48, I see it..... The spiral created by the Golden Ratio. Suddenly much of what Mr. Paul Burnett said in his tutorials about "continuing the curve" and not "straightening out the lines" made a LOT of sense! For those who are not cognoscente of the term the golden ratio... or it's significance in art. I invite you to explore the topic at this site. http://cuip.uchicago...lnarain/golden/ Peruse the information under activities, especially "The Golden Ratio in Art" Basically, in quick and dirty language... The Golden Ratio is a Greek term for perfection in proportion and symmetry. (phi, (φ) ) It's also a mathematical formula. It can be applied to the face of a beautiful woman, to the items in nature and to buildings. The result of the "math" is a spiral something similar to the spiral we see in a snail shell or nautilus. I'm sure this epiphany lit up both sides of my brain as I came to the realization of what this meant in designing and carving any design in leather. I began to think about how these 'spirals" are repeated through out Sheridan style carving. I don't have a particular reason for sharing this other than to spark a moncum of understanding in those who like myself struggle with designing anything in Sheridan.

I'm pretty sure he sold them the following week.

copy and paste the link like this.

Hi Colby: I have a 1973 copy of ABC's of Leather Work. In it, it has a section on buckstitching. 1. You'll need a locking lacing needle. like this. http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/search/searchresults/1190-00.aspx or this. http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/search/searchresults/1193-02.aspx 2. It says size #1 punch which is about 3/16" apart. (of course this all depends on the project and the size of lace you intend to use.) 3. Leather lace small or large enough to fit your punched holes. Measured 1.5 times the total stitch length. I got a purse kit off of ebay that was missing the lace... it was larger stuff, so I used leather boot lace. Worked out ok. I hope this helps. Sylvia

LOL yeah, After a few thousand times of doing it, I imagine that becomes second nature.

How about something you can strap to a Tank Cover, so it sits between your legs and when you ride this bike like a crotch rocket you can "belly" into it. I see an advantage that it would block some of the wind... Of course this assumes that there is room to do this on your bike.

LOL "Since I"m Scotch.... " Golly, didn't know there was a liquor breed of human beings!?! Nice tutorial. I liked that... and the fact that the Scottish in you came out and made you frugal. LOL

Thanks! I captured the first "tail" under the next two stiches. The end I just slipped the needle under the stitches on the back and did a couple half hitches that way. I have no idea if that is the "proper" way, but it seems to work.

I looked this up for you... I don't know if it gives you enough information but here it is. The excerpt is from an old book on making leather goods published as a text book for a ladies school. Here it talks about stitches to use on gloves.

bar grounder I have one Craftool Co. 101 http://proleathercarvers.com/tools/vintage-tools/early-craftool-company-leather-stamp-101-bar-grounder-tool.html

Darn it Chancy..... I do a snow flake for you and look what happened this morning!! If that is the way it's gonna be..... how about March is an island scene?

After posting the previous picture last night I felt like it wasn't quite right.... so I took the stitches out and had another run at it. Here's what I discovered. Start on the wrong side, go up through the first hole. skip the next (2nd) hole and go down through the 3rd hole. come back up through the hole you skipped on one side or the other of the long stitch you just did. Now, skip the next hole (it has a stitch in it) and go down through the next empty hole Come back up next to the previous down stitch. It helps to hold the loop on the front side as you pull on the down stitch Move the loop up or down out of the way....then do your up stitch. That way you can consistently come up on the same side of the loop, then pull it snug. What I was doing in the previous picture was actually skipping 2 empty holes, so it didn't look quite right. Here is the improved version.