Zachary

I was about to post this same question. I just got some oil tanned leather to make wallets with and am finding little info on finishing the edges. I wonder why there hasn’t been any responses yet. Might be time to do some original R&D and share the results ourselves :D

Hey I didn’t know about Rocky Mountain Leather Supply. I’m going to check them out. Thanks a lot for the feed back everyone.

I’m making a project for myself. Whenever I do I want to get the best and get exactly what I want so that when I’m done I’m happy with what I’ve made for myself. A spool of this carriage hemp hand sewing thread is like 30 bucks!! That’s bonkers! I’ve got plenty of flat nylon thread, and it’s not the material that I don’t like. It’s the shape. When I hand stitch with flat thread it twists or folds over on itself and never looks the same thickness along the stitches. I mean, unless you get out your magnifying glass and look at these millimeter sized stitches you won’t notice, but I can see it and I know it’s there, making faces at me. So I figure if I get a higher quality round thread it will look perfectly uniform and even all the way along. But would it be worth the expense? The thick, round, cord-like sewing thread looks so nice. Not huge, but visible enough to show off your nice handiwork. Is there a reliably less expensive alternative than a $30 spool of thread? Like heavy duty upholstery thread or something else that will look nice on leather? What have you used?

I really appreciate the feedback so far. Unfortunately the nearest Tandy store is 4.5 hours from where I live and that is the nearest place to buy leather, so when I buy leather it has to be ordered. I wish I could be more selective about the pieces I buy. But putting that aside, I didn’t realize the parts of the hide had such different properties anyway so I’m glad to know that. The straps I cut myself were parallel to the spine but along the belly. However, the side I was cutting from did have some noticeable stretch marks. It wasn’t the highest quality. But like I said I didn’t know that made much of a different except aesthetically. I’m glad you mentioned the stitching though. That’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time anyway. I’ve never liked having a rough side left out for things like suspenders and belts. I’m going to remake my own suspenders but glue then stitch two pieces together so the flesh side is facing out on both sides. Every project is better than the last. I’ll keep working on it.

I need help. Some time ago I made myself a pair of leather suspenders. Over time they have stretch a good couple of inches or more all the way around. Recently though, a friend of mine saw them and asked me to make him a pair, which I sold him. He has had his for only a couple months and has now asked me to rework them to make them shorter because they have stretched out also. Why has this happened? I can’t charge for my work if the things I make change sizes after a month or two! I’ll explain, when I made mine originally I used pre-cut straps I bought from Tandy leather. They were 4-5 ounce 1 inch straps. I’m not as surprised that they stretched over the amount of time that I have worn them. But the suspenders I made for my friend I cut from a side of 8-9 ounce veg tanned leather. With both pairs that I made I dyed the pieces with Fiebing’s pro dye and finished them with Aussie wax, and that’s all. Why has the leather stretched out so much? Is it something I have done, or something I have neglected to do? Is there something in the crafting process I need to do to make sure this doesn’t happen. I’m very disappointed 1) with my work now that it is sort of ruined and 2) that I charged someone for something that needs re-worked. Other people I know have expressed interest in these suspenders and I want to begin making belts, but I have to make sure they don’t stretch out! Or, is the leather stretching out so much just inevitable and I need to anticipate that when making measurements? I think my work is of decent quality but I don’t have the experience over time to know how things end up after they’re broken in.