Mike516

That's right and I agree. But what we're talking about here is a normal breed specific forum where vendors are permitted to post their wares, not a leather sales website or the like. I was simply looking for advice on how to neutralize her statement, that's all.

What she said is in my original post. And what venomous reaction are you referring to? Weather or not she meant it to be rude or troll-y, the point is perception. How will people perceive the comment, and how will they react to it? Will they allow it to influence weather they buy leather items or not? Since she made her comment, one (yes 1) inquiry and 0 sales. It won't make or break me, but it's disappointing. Whatever her intention or if it was just a simple question, her short statement made an impact.

Who ever said which, they both cracked me up. She still hasn't replied. It would seem she is a one and done troll. She probably searches for leather, meat, etc and makes sure to reply with a veganish post to just those. If I had more time and/or inclination, I would look for her and see what she is replying to. Possibly if I have a second I will take a quick look but I don't want to waste a lot of time on her. But if she is a vegan troll making trouble, I would like to out her. The moderators on this forum have booted people for less. And one thing I hate is people who get offended over everything and can't keep their nose out of other people's business.

Key fobs are one of my favorite uses for scrap leather.

That's a great article. I also googled this and found contradictory articles depending in which side of the fence the author was on. One side argued that leather was a bi-product of the meat industry, and if we don't use it it will go to waste. The other side says that leather as a resource is a lot more valuable than meat, so cows are raised just for their leather and the meat is thrown away. The first side says that is bunk because leather accounts for 1% of the cow market so raising cows just for their skin would be counter-productive. And round and round it goes. It's enough to make your head explode. There is no way I'm getting into an argument with someone who can just recite the available articles that support her side. I can contradict every one of her points, but it's sort of like once someone says "yes you did", you can claim "no I didn't" but it makes you sound petulant. So instead of giving her ammunition, I matter of factly stated, as suggested by TinkerTailor, the undeniable fact that I don't use pleather because its manufacture is bad for the environment, and left it at that (I paraphrase). Anyone who looks up 'making pleather' or the like will see that this is a reasonable statement even if the vegan wants to argue the point.

Yea I agree with all the points here. A lot of hypocrites wanting to push their own beliefs on others. But as soon as you say something like "why don't you have a hamburger and get over yourself", they have a conniption. But I believe in hamburgers. Why are my beliefs any less important than theirs? What ever happened to the axiom "live and let live"? I make leather stuff. Why can't they just let me make a living without throwing their vegan ism at me? I will post if she replies, but it seems like it was just a troll post.

LOL! Maybe she even just decided to become one and she's taking any chance to let people know.

Once it's in print, it's hard to say you didn't say it. Once it's in print on the interwebs, you're stuck with it forever. Like you say. sarcasm is best in person anyway. Not always funny though, even with the sly grin. It really depends on your position in the convo I suppose. My wife tells me if I'm sarcastic all the time, no one will ever take me seriously. I pointed out that she was thinking of the boy who cried wolf. She thanked me for clearing that up, but I could swear I heard her roll her eyes when she said it.

I believe she only posted to point out her moral superiority and by doing so try and put people off my product. Arguing with her is going to be unproductive and even if I win an argument, I will still lose. The days of speaking your mind end when you start a business. People get offended by everything these days, I can only imagine the outrage starting an argument with a nutcase, forget about the unprofessionalism. No, I have to try and be as nice as possible without seeming like I am being patronizing. I have a gift for sarcasm but that won't work either. If even one person sees through it, I'll be screwed.

This is perfect. I replaced my reply to her with this, thank you. Let's see if she has something to say about it.

Ok, I get it now. Thank you for taking the time to explain it for me. I used my wife's domestic machine a little bit so pulling the work out towards the back of the machine isn't a big deal because that's the way I learned so I do it anyway. Being able to see where the needle is I think will be worth the trade off. Still waiting to hear about a foot before altering anything. I only have the 2 feet the machine came with, and one the guy cut off the needle guard, so I'd rather not screw with them too much. He said there are a lot of feet options for the machine I chose to buy so I figure there has to be one that will work. He's just gotta find the time to look at the video because apparently I have as much hard time explaining stuff as I have understanding explained stuff

That's what I'm afraid of. I have no intention of becoming an expert on something like pleather, so I don't want to get into a debate with someone who feels the need to make passive aggressive comments veiled as interest. I don't know how bat$41t crazy she is. And I don't want to come across as an a-hole either. I'm stumped.

I just made my 2016 post on a dog forum I belong to showing my collars. This lady replies and asks, do I make pleather items because she's an "ethical vegan". I don't want to get nasty with her, but I think she isn't looking to buy a pleather collar, she likely just wanted to turn off potential customers by pointing out I use cowhide. I already said pleather can be toxic to animals, but I feel like I want to say more. Would you all let this go and just move on, or would you take this further? I'm pretty aggravated about this but beyond what I already did I don't know what else to do.

So you're marking the holes on the piece you are sewing or making like a template on a scrap piece you are then using as your training wheels?

Another good idea. One of the feet I got with my machine, the guy at the store cut a piece off it to make it easier to use, but it has a small hole where the needle goes in that blocks my view. I'm working with him to see if they make one for my machine similar to the one in the video. Yea, I still don't fully understand the training wheels but I'm kind of visual and have a hard time with written instructions. If I see it or someone shows me how once, I can usually reproduce it with written instructions again 10 years from now. I like the method in the video, I think it's something I could do. I can see where the video would be maybe silly to an accomplished sewer, but for anyone just getting started, like myself, I highly recommend watching it through to the end. I definitely learned a few things and plan to look this guy up and watch the rest of his videos.

You got that right. That's why I sold off a lot of the junk that was taking up space and made a workshop in my basement.

This is a little confusing. By training wheels (no offense taken. I certainly AM in the infant stages of sewing) you mean make a scrap piece of leather to be used as a guide? I don't think I understand how this would work. I'm finding out about new presser feet. I think if I could see where I am going to end up at the end of a line, I can use the method in this video. But I have a foot with a hole in it that blocks my view of the work.Thank you!

I love garage/estate sales, but my wife has threatened me with violence if I buy any more junk But yea I thought of doing that with the mini punch sets. It's a good idea.

Sorry, I am using a sewing machine. I am trying to expand my practices, so I just got it a few months ago and I'm still learning to use it. I'm getting frustrated trying to get clean corners.

The ones I got are super sharp. But I don't doubt they aren't high quality. I'll probably look to pick up a better set when these dull. There's a trick to the unscrewing thing. After you hammer them, you want to twist them clockwise to pull them out. You have to get used to going against the natural inclination to twist counterclockwise which is probably ingrained in you as it was myself. So you'll be tightening them instead of unscrewing them.

The only thing I can think of that was slightly more convenient with the rotary punch was the ease of changing hole size. The hole punches I use now you have to screw a different head on every time you want to make a different size hole. But it only takes about 10 seconds to change heads, so I'm not sure if it's really that inconvenient. As much as I came to hate that rotary punch, it would have to be a whole lot more than changing heads to make me go back.

I'm with you on this. I been using the Tandy rotary punch for a few years and the tubes and anvil have never lined up right making for a real PITA. Recently a spring flew out of the handle and something inside the wheel broke. I wasn't expecting it to last forever but I was kind of disappointed it broke the way it did. So I pulled out a set of cheap hole punches you hit with a hammer I had sitting unused in a drawer, and I have to say I am really wondering why I been using that stupid rotary punch all these years. I'm converted and I see no reason to go back. For now. Ask me again in a few years and see if I'm still happy with them.

How would you go about sewing around multiple corner turns, like say an octagon for instance, and keep distance from the edge uniform? Should I play with different stitch lengths going around the turns and count stitches, or is there another method? I been at this for days but can't seem to get consistent results. I'm fairly patient but I don't seem to be getting anywhere with this. I have figured out quite a bit in the last couple of months practicing but this solution eludes me.

Good suggestions. Thank you both.

I apologize if this has been asked before, but I make dog collars and recently bought a sewing machine to sew in linings. So I'm real new to sewing and have a lot to learn. Is there any way to make sure the bobbin doesn't run out at an inopportune time? And if it does, is there anything I can do to save the work? I tried again to search for this problem on these forums but didn't come up with any old threads regarding this issue.