SheltathaLore

Give it a try - it's super fun!

After reading Lisa Sorrell's super awesome book on leather inlay and overlay, which I HIGHLY recommend (https://www.amazon.com/Art-Leather-Inlay-Overlay-Techniques/dp/0764351214/ ) I got inspired to try doing some on my own. It came out surprisingly well for my first try! Lil field notes cover for a friend who loves Magic the Gathering: Practice piece with a character I love from an obscure mobile game: This one has some bigger issues - I eventually gave up on the bonded nylon I was using, because it wasn't coming off the cone smoothly and caused me to skip stitches, and my other stitching isn't as smooth as it could be. Still, I think it's pretty good for my first try!

A few other helpful videos on last fitting and modification from her channel (which has a ton of good stuff!): How she chooses a last size + last modification for a better fit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWB6Sb1C4iA https://youtu.be/LOO9rkWPZvo?t=28s For REMOVING material, she suggests using a tool like this: https://www.stanleytools.com/en-us/products/hand-tools/woodworking-tools/files-surform/10-in-surform-plane-type-regular-cut-blade/21-296 Using a pedigraph: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyKs7IRdzEg&t=147s Changing the toe shape: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqBagpkUxeA (But for just adding a little width in places, you can glue on leather instead of going all serious business with the bondo) I've attached the PDF of my pedigraph, tracing, and measurements, if you want to see what mine looked like before I sent it to her. This was her comment on fitting (and explains why the pedigraph is so helpful!): If it hasn't been made obvious by now, Lisa is a gem and super helpful and if you have questions, absolutely get in touch with her, because she's amazing. :D I don't even make cowboy boots, but I'm seriously considering saving up for her cowboy boot making book + DVD, because her inlay/overlay book was fantastic, and I bet a lot of the cowboy boot stuff carries over to regular shoemaking. paigeph - 5-14-2018 - 23-42-47.pdf

Check with her before buying the "choosing a last" option - if you do your homework and it's not a lot of work for her, she may not charge. This is how to take measurements: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONZbrTW576A For the pedigraph, I used: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009K7M1TW - Neoprene sheet, 1/16 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BYQMAM - little brayer. You'll need to squish the ink around for a while with this to get it nice and spread out. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003ZZWM9Y - stamp pad ink I usually wear size 8 in retail shoes (because I have a wide ball), but a 6.5 was the last I ended up with. A 6.5 hits the length measurements perfectly, but I'll need to add some width in a couple places - not surprising. If you scan it in and send it to her, either let her know the paper size, or make sure you have the scale otherwise indicated (like tape a ruler to the paper before you scan or something). That way she'll know whether or not she should tweak it a little bit to make sure it's accurate. I didn't do this, but now I know to do it for next time!

She's also really helpful at figuring out last sizing - it's probably not the same as your usual shoe size. I sent her a tracing and some measurements and a pedigraph (she sells a kit, but you can also do it just fine with ink and a brayer and a 1/16 neoprene sheet), and she picked out a last for me with some tips about where I'll probably want to adjust it.

She's placing the next group order for the lasts she doesn't keep in stock in early June. If she doesn't stock that one, and you want it sooner rather than later, you should probably contact her now.

Ooh, lots of good resources to look into. Thanks guys!

This might get more attention from the experts if it were in the Sewing Machines forum. Regardless, it would be helpful to know what you're specifically trying to sew - if you could take a picture, that would likely help.

Just a followup to this thread - by removing the thread wiper (which I don't use), I did manage to fit a roller foot on this machine. Not the ideal solution, but works well enough. I can also use a standard feed dog and plate set, as long as I keep the stitch length relatively short (needle feed), although that's not a problem for decorative work. And I suppose I can always ream out the needle hole if necessary. Still practicing, but so far so good; I did this inlay on a mini notebook cover. Not perfect, but I'm improving with practice, as expected. In the meantime, my friends are going to get a lot of free practice pieces.

Teal is my favorite color... can you tell me more about the blue-green hide?

I own a set of these knives from Lisa Sorrell: https://sorrellnotionsandfindings.com/product/skiving-knives/ , and I adore them - however, I'm still pretty new to sharpening, and I really wish I could find a jig that would work to hold teh angle for me so I don't have to worry about it (also I tend to injure myself when sharpening, doh). The angled edge and the bevel on both sides keep typical sharpening jigs from working, so I guess I'll have to make one myself. I have access to a milling machine and a 3D printer, but I still need to figure out a design - does anyone have any thoughts? I put a micro-bevel on mine, but I'd be willing to forgo it if necessary. I use water stones to sharpen.

Gregg at Keystone is great - I highly recommend him. Other people on the forum have also had great experiences with the other vendors, so really, you can't go wrong with any of them.

Too bad you're in Australia... I'd love to get my hands on the 236W100 - as I understand it, the wheel feed post bed machines are the best machines you can get for decorative stitching on boot tops and such. Best of luck cleaning them up and finding them good homes!

Hmm, this exists, and is $0.99 for Kindle. It's another 1800s reprint. No idea if it's any good, but I snagged the Kindle version anyway. Designing, Cutting and Grading Boot and Shoe Patterns, and Complete Manual for the Stitching Room https://www.amazon.com/Designing-Cutting-Patterns-Complete-Stitching/dp/1473338271

As awesome as 3D printing is, I'd personally favor a milling machine for something like stamps. You have a lot more material options for durability.

You can't tease us with that and then not tell us the name of the seller!

If you buy a clone from a good dealer, odds are that some of the critical parts have already been upgraded. I had a pleasant surprise when I took the hook out of one of my clone machines and discovered that it was a really nice Japanese hook. Buying from one of the dealers in this forum will already put you ahead of the game since the machine will be set up for leather and have great customer support - if you're looking for a machine, I'd start there, rather than trying to improve a slightly cheaper knockoff from an unknown seller.

That's a really great idea for supporting your daughter! You're a great dad. :D I second Rio Grande - they have a lot of good stuff, and their technical department is really helpful if you have questions

Might not be a bad idea to include information on where to get some of the harder-to-find books (for example: as far as I know, Bespoke Shoemaking is only available from Walrus Shoe in the US, and a shop in Australia).

I actually just got Lisa Sorrell's inlay/overlay book recently. It's amazing and I highly recommend it, but I wouldn't call it a shoemaking book, even if cowboy boots are how the technique is often used.

My prop game for this costume was A+, and I'm quite proud of myself, even if I didn't have time to stitch down the applique and stitch teh straps (yay for Barge Cement!) Aside from the shoes, the mask is heat-formed smoked acrylic, and I machined the jewelry from brass and powder-coated the black areas. A few more costume photos, because I'm proud of this thing, even if it does need more work before I take it to its next con: ...I suck at posing, okay. I'm still pretty pleased with how I got such a nice tailored fit from non-stretch fabric - it's all silk that I hand-dyed. With about fifteen yards of horsehair to keep it from being a sad floppy mess. I never did get a good picture of the back detailing, which was really nice with piping and stuff. Maybe next time!

Oh hey, I forgot I had this topic - I need to post finished pictures, thanks for hte reminder! I'm going to try learning how to do a lasted version next, because I just couldn't get the toe as neat as I wanted it without some sort of form for shaping, but I'm pretty pleased that it worked out as well as it did. I'll see if I can snag that book - it sounds handy.

After looking at the parts diagram, it seemed to be the thread wiper that was in the way... which apparently I had never even turned on since I bought the machine, so clearly it wasn't critical to my workflow. Taking it off made room for the foot, although it also somehow messed with the lever foot lift and the auto foot lift (knee lift still works, which is what I primarily use in any case). The only other thing I needed to do was raise the needle bar - not a biggie. My thread size is wrong and I still need to swap out the feed dogs and throat plate, but I was too hyped to start playing with it. :D Now I just gotta practice, practice, practice!

I just picked up Lisa Sorrell's book on leather inlay and overlay, and now I have a burning need to make some bags as a place to showcase the applique I'm going to make of my favorite dumb video game characters. From what I've seen and read, basic messenger bags are basically a couple rectangles with a gusset to bridge between them, which seems like something I shouldn't have trouble making a pattern of; I also have the Stohlman books on leather cases, which have a lot of nice tips for handle attachments etc. even if they're geared toward hand-sewing and veg tan. There are just a couple questions that are keeping me back from getting started: I really, really don't want to hand-sew. I do have a Consew 227 (cylinder bed walking foot) set up for leather, so I should be able to handle most reasonable bag leathers. Keeping that in mind, how does one actually stitch down the gussets? Are there any tricks I should know about? In order to sew down the applique with a roller foot, the bag (or at least the portion I'm sewing the applique to) needs to be of a light enough leather that I can sew it on the roller foot machine (I have a direct-drive, needle feed flatbed garment machine that I plan to put a roller foot on). That limits my leather choices - I don't think making the whole thing out of veg tan is going to work for me. What are my options for stiffeners? Relatedly, what's a reasonable leather choice for a semi-soft messenger bag? I have some leftover bullhide from the Hide House I'd like to use up, but it might be too spongy to work well.

McMaster-Carr is a pretty good go-to for this kind of thing - did a quick search, and they seem to have multiple options for O-rings of the size you mention (3/16 thick, 1 1/8 ID). Unfortunately, you do kind of have to know what sizes you need ahead of time, but if you have that information, you're set. https://www.mcmaster.com/#o-rings/=e970489ab84d4f2bb7c8940757c60948jdv02km9