newmexican66

I have no idea! I've tried to reverse engineer it by looking at the pictures and I can't figure it out. There's another very similar one where it is stitched through the top. The precision is insane, I'm wondering if there's a special technique to forming it that exactly to the lighter, maybe some type of wet moulding? Also, the holes look like a tiny punch and not an awl to me, was wondering if anyone had experience with that. It looks like some type of saddle stitch as the back stitch is visible around the hinge, but it's not making sense to me at this point.

Recently I've begun to be interested in making cases. I absolutely love the examples I've posted, the one with the feather. I'm fairly satisfied with mine, the one with the cherry blossoms, but I'm still not thrilled with it. The other one is so clean and perfect I really struggled with getting the fit as exact and the box stitching on such a small piece of leather on top. If anybody has any advice on the stitching (like the techniques the maker of the feather one possibly used, if the holes were made by an awl or just barely poked through), measuring for form, etc. that would be fantastic.

Any special way you like to make sure the holes on the gusset match up with the bag/measure your gusset when pre-punching? I mean, I imagine you use the same size holes/distance between said holes, of course, but as far as making sure everything is peachy between all the pieces when you put it together?

Great stuff, thanks again!

Interesting! Do you still use a diamond awl, just flat instead of the typical 45 degree angle? Also, in regards to your first post, you say you have the outside piece marked, typically with a wheel, and that instead of glue you hold with needles, thread, tacks, etc. Would you just push a needle/tack through the pieces or tie them together every couple of marks?

That's good to hear, I'll look into a set. Yes, I'm not terrible, but the drawback to the beauty of a nicely angled saddlestitch is that, in my experience at least, it is unforgiving to even slight variations. On your "beefier" items, when you use the chisels, do you intentionally go through multiple layers of leather before they reach a limit and then finish with an awl, or do you us them as if they were irons and just mark the holes to be made by and awl? I have been playing around with the thought of using my chisels as irons until I get a set of proper irons and while I intend to do my own research I'm curious to your experience. Do you think that a chisel could serve as a pricking iron on smaller items or is that when the finer marks or the irons are necessary?

I agree as I suppose the only "right" answer is whether or not your piece looks like you want it to and serves its purpose well. However, being newer I am interested in all the different routes people take to arrive at the same destination, especially the "whys" in regards to their preferred techniques as it allows me to retain and discard information as they suite my purposes, sometimes combining two thoughts from different schools.

Oh cool, thanks, I appreciate the advice and suggestion. Yeah, I have no problem paying 4 bucks to view content as Mr. Armitage has already been very generous with his information. I've been recently looking into stitching irons as I've pretty much either used a cheap overstitch wheel or a chisel. The wheel I have doesn't leave slanted lines, just points, do you find that the slanted markings that come from the irons help you to keep the proper angel with your awl? I have my awls sharpened to a point and do admit that I have difficulty making consistent marks in conjunction with the overstitch wheel.

Thank you for taking the time to share your preferred method with me. Can I ask why you dislike pre-punched holes? Not to challenge you, but I find I learn more if I understand the reasons for someone's likes and dislikes. Also, still very much interested in hearing from people who agree, disagree, or use methods I may not be aware off.

I'm newer to making "3d" projects such as bags and purses. One thing that has been of constant frustration to me is the techniques people like to use to design and sew their gussets together. I can't find many good videos and have searched hi and low. I understand how the concept works, but the trouble I find is that many videos offer a pattern in which the holes are premarked. At this point I am quite capable of copying a pattern, but for my own knowledge I would like to know how people like to sew gussets when they are not following a pre-designed patterned so I can create my own designs. Do you like to pre-punch your holes in both the gusset and the body? Mark the points where the hole should go, either with a wheel or an iron, attach the gusset to the body, and then stitch both pieces, punch the holes in one piece to use as a guide/lessen the thickness the awl must travel through, attach the pieces, and then finish off with an awl? Also, if anyone has any good resources, books, videos, posts, on the subject that they could link me to I would greatly appreciate it. Edit: Also, I find a lot of tutorials are sorely lacking on the design phase and get the gusset to the proper length seems challenging, so if there's any insights to that anyone could offer, I would appreciate that as well.