Pabs

interesting debate my post has generated I truly enjoy reading the different points of view. I do some wood working as a hobby and I can appreciate the "do it the old fashion way " style of learning.. but at the same time in certain cases you will opt for a quick fix just to get something done...depends on what you are making I guess. in my case there will not be any heavy forces applied...however, I do want to make some swings for my kids... I want to set up some ropes,swings, etc in the basement for them to play on when it's too crappy out...in that situation I would want to have the strongest possible result and I must say the level of decency you guys have shown in your "disagreement" is to be commended. it's refreshing, much too often these days people just trash each other online and discourse turns to muck and serves no purpose. in this case I'm actually learning...so thanks!

could you please elaborate on why one method would produce a stronger stitch than another? pre punching all the holes vs punching them one at a time the only thing I can think of is the ease of pushing the needle..if the hole was just punched the opening would be larger for a little bit... but long term I don't see how it could make a difference. but as we all know, I'm a rookie and here to learn!

wow...awesome info and insight gents! it seems I have lots to learn! I've been watching the videos all night. loving it! thanks again for the feedback

awesome...I'll check those tonight when I'm home!

hey Martyn what do you mean through a clean wine cork? you punch your holes on a cork surface? I had mine on a piece of pine... soft wood so the awl would go into it fairly easily. cork would be softer I guess.. but don't you need for the surface to be as hard as possible to prevent the bottom part from tearing and stretching?

ha, same as in wood working...chisels can never be sharp enough!

hi Tugadude. thanks for the prompt reply. funny, this morning I thought about using my drill press with the awl blade in it to keep it straight! I can't get pictures up right now as I'm not home... but I would say each layer of leather was about 1/4 inch thick...when trying to punch a hole it felt like it would bounce back the awl...it's home made. took an old awl and took the grinder to it to flatten the blade with the intent to get the diamond shape. what I found was that even after I made the hole it was still hard to get the needle through.,.. had to pull it with a pair of pliers I've seen the stitching chisels and they look like the thing to have..I may very well invest! as for spacing.. I made a jig..basically two nails through a piece of wood and another piece on top to keep the nails from coming out. scored a line with a gauge marker I have for wood working and simply pricked the leather with my little jig.. worked well to set the spacing. I've seen that spacing wheel... something else that I will eventually get! I love making stuff with my hands so this craft drew me in...plus I get to make some cool stuff!

Hi all, New to this forum…also, just getting into stitching leather by hand. I`ve been watching videos online and would like to play with this craft. The other night I tried making something. It sort of worked but I struggled like a fool on a few things. I had two thick pieces of leather I was trying to stitch together. I scored a nice clean line about 1é4 inch from the edge to put my holes. I glued both pieces together and then made the holes (using a homemade diamond shaped awl ). It worked but was real hard to get the needle and thread in. One thing I had a difficult time with was making sure the hole on the backside came out on the line I had scored. The front side looked pretty good but the back was a little wavy… didn`t come out exactly on the line on every hole. Are you supposed to make the holes with both pieces glued or should I have made the holes in each piece prior to gluing? And for stitching, is it better to use the two needle technique or single needle? I did mine using one needle and simply going back in the holes to cover the gaps. Worked ok but not sure I finished it properly. Time will tell! J Anyway, real rookie questions but hey, that`s what I am! Thanks Pabs