HC009

Hi, I am fed up with cutting pieces of leather by hand and was wondering if anyone had made on here a cutting instrument the same thing as a draw gauge. I have had an idea to stick a blade into some wood and pull the pieces through it on a table - I have wide pieces of leather with curves so I would follow the line of the blade. Has anyone done something like this as it seems to be a faster way of cutting leather?

I have figured out how to do it now - just glue it then sew works fine!

Hi, I don't if anyone can help me I am really stuck. I am trying to sew 2 pieces of 2mm thick clear pvc sheet together by glueing a backing strip between the 2 together edges and then sewing near the dividing line on either side of the join. The pictures below show what I could be doing but I do not want to hand stitch as it takes ages I want to machine stitch the pieces close together. The problem is this is fine if the 2 pieces are straight lines like in the pictures below but these pieces are for a corset shapes with curves so when I put the backing strip of pvc on the back it is difficult to line up the edges because of the curve. Does anybody have any ideas of how I can do this so that it's easier as I do not want to cross stitch or hand stitch just use my 45k89 singer?

Hi does anyone here who maybe has a 45k89 singer ever experienced the problem of having unwaxed linen thread in a spool being thread up on the machine but then from the spool to the first tension spring clamp the area between there - the thread goes loopy and then gets stuck. I think this is a problem with the thread as someone told me that it goes loopy. Does anyone have any idea how to make the thread taughter so it does not do this. I can't think of anyway to stop this from happening. Any ideas most welcome. Regards.

Hi just would like to know if anyone knows if the 2.5mm thick skins I have died with angelus acrylic paint if, they can be rolled up and stored or will the leather dye crack if I do this? Should they be stored flat or hung up?

he, he:-)! You are absolutely right.

Hi, I have just dyed 2 skins with acrylic dye and was just wondering if anyone has any tips on how to dry them? Once I spray one side then when it is dry I have turned it over to do the other side, but then the acrylic paint still drying sticks to the polythene sheet it is resting on underneath and creates paint wrinkles. Any ideas what to do about this? I thought of hanging up from the ceiling on bull dog clips. Another thought is how to dry straps after they have been edged. Same problem.

Ok great! Thank you.

Aha! How do you melt it though - I am using thick linen thread?

Hi, I am having a bit of a problem at the moment trying to figure out how to create a sunken hole on the back side of 2.25mm leather so that when I do a stitch on the top side, the back can be tied neatly and the knot sink into the hole thus leaving a flush surface on the back. Does anyone have a solution apart from using a stitch groover which doesn't work? I think I need some sort of embossing stamp as when I have tried to either cut a hole with a clicking knife or hammered with a sharp tool it always shows through the other side of leather. Any help would be much appreciated.

Thank you guys for your responses. The leather picture looks like you've done a great job Nuttish I think I will try your method as won't gum taragacanth the easier solution, prevent the acrylic dye from sticking to the leather after the gum has been applied, as won't that make the leather less porous to absorb the dye?

Hi, Does anyone have any idea how to smooth down the 'fluff' leather edges after it has been cut on 2mm thick leather. The problem is I cannot burnish it as because of the thickness it is too floppy and time consuming to do. Is there an easier way to get a smooth edge when afterwards, I wish to apply acrylic leather dye to it so don't want any finishers. Any ideas?

Great! How do you do that - strip off the factory coatings. I thought they are nickel rivets so the coating is nickel?

Hi, I am thinking about embarking on doing this and was just wondering if anyone on here with any experience of this might be able to give me some tips. The only problem I see is the caps are very small and fragile and they might move around on an aluminium mesh sheet with holes in to place them into a more solid position. So, anybody out there - HELP!

Hi Jimi, I got lucky the machine repair man bought a dozen and there was one just one that was suitable for my machine. He charged me £40. Hope that helps.