Spyros

I wanted to try something with gussets on this machine for the first time. So I bought a pattern that had a couple of different types of gussets and I made this: Throughout the making of this bag the machine was a total charm, I was honestly mesmerised by how well it was stitching. It was doing things like this (front): And back: I mean I don't know about you guys, but I couldn't tell this apart from the best handstitching I've ever seen anywhere, only the slight feed dog marks on the back give it away that this was machine made. I was stoked at this point. Then the bag was 99% ready and only one thing left to do: stitch the gussets. This bag has two different gusset stitches, on the front it has a turned gusset as you can see in the first photo, and on the back it has a visible external one that connect the gusset to the back panel. So I did the turned one and started the other one. And at that point, the machine just randomly and for no apparent reason decided to do this: and back: Unfortunately because I was focused on manhandling the bag I didn't see it until it was too late. So I had my WTF moment sitting there in silence facepalming myself for 5 minutes, and then I decided to finish the stitch and ask you guys after. What the hell do you think happened? At this point judging from the thread I've consumed I've done a few hundred metres of stitching on this machine, and it's the first time it's ever done anything like that. Earlier I realised it did the same thing on the turned gusset too, but being a turned gusset that would be invisible I was a bit careless so I thought maybe I had forced it or pulled the bag or something and I didn't think too much about it, just made sure I was very careful on the next gusset. And I was, making sure I don't force anything, the presser foot moves freely without touching the bag, I don't go too fast or too slow etc. So the machine just hates gussets for some reason. If you are wondering what I did and how I did it, I did exactly what this guy does on this video from 11:45 onwards. Exact same bag, same gluing, same machine, same presser foot, same technique, even the same thread as far as I can tell. Love the machine, but I just can't have it randomly destroying bags without any warning. Any ideas are welcome. Cheers SP

Love the ostrich, well done If you end up making another wallet, here's a couple of ideas for improvement: a) you are definitely piercing your threads, I can see it from the way your stitches are not aligned but "jump" up and down (look at the stitch line up top, on the back of the ostrich panel). What I mean is, when you pass the second thread through the hole, you are piercing with your needle the first thread that is already in there, and then when you tension the thread it pulls the first thread up. You have to avoid that entirely, and if you see it happening go backwards a couple of stitches and correct it. To avoid it, try and remind yourself to hold the thread in one end of the hole and pass the other needle from the other end of the hole, to keep them as separate as possible. b) the top of the wallet is a bit wobbly, to avoid that you can add a strip of thin leather on the inside of the exterior panel up the top, and stitch it only at the top. That will give you some rigidity and a nice straight edge without adding much bulk.

I know, and the range gets worse and worse as you go to thicker threads that I use. I think my best hope is ordering from o/s, I just have to find someone with not insane shipping charges (ie not threadexchange). The changing stitch length happened on a turned bag gusset with some pretty stiff bridle leather so there were a few things at play: me trying to push a whole bag under the needle, the leather not being equally glued flat around the bend, jumping from 3 layers to two layers in another spot.... God knows what caused it. But when the circumstances are normal it holds the stitch length perfectly in forward and reverse so I'm not worried about it (yet). The chewing the thread part happened when I decided to do a long stitch in reverse (don't ask, it was just more comfortable), so maybe it's just not supposed to do that. On the 20th stitch or so the thread just frayed and snapped. Not worried about that either, I was probably just being dumb. I still need to iron out my tensioning method though. The top dials seem to do nothing at all, I started with quarter turns and half turns, and ended up turning them 10 whole turns either way with pretty much zero change in the actual stitch. The only way I have to sink the loops inside the leather is from adding bobbin tension, which I can only do so many times before I strip this little machine screw and then good luck finding a replacement. Again, I know it's me and something I've done, because the machine was stitching perfectly when delivered. I just have to figure out how to dial it back to those settings and start from there little by little every time I need to adjust tension. To be fair I'm probably fussier than most, I want the loop *exactly* in the middle, I always do a trial on an offcut and then cut the leather to see exactly where the loop is LOL Might be a simple matter of threading the machine differently, I've seen a couple of videos that have little differences between them.

I think it will take me a while to fully trust the machine for critically visible stitches. Sometimes it does things that I can't predict (yet), like chew through the thread or change stitching length. But I realise it's probably just me pushing it to the limits, sometimes I hold the piece too tightly because I'm nervous, sometimes I start stitching 4 layers of bridle without testing the tension first, things like that. One thing I know for sure is I love the machine but I hate every thread I've bought so far, machine thread is a total joke compared to a hand stitching thread like Ritza or similar. It's fragile, I don't trust it at all and it makes me want to do weird things like double and triple stitch some high tension areas like gussets on turned bags. Maybe I need to find a better brand, not sure.

I always struggled to find quality footwear, nothing lasts very long on my feet. Probably because I'm tall and heavy and I walk a lot, I don't know. One day last year I was visiting a friend in a small town and my eye caught a sign "chromexcel". That was enough to get me through the door, and from there I was sold. One man operation housed in an old shop, beautiful smell of leather, old boot making machines. I had no idea how boots are made but the guy walked me through everything, I picked chromexcel exterior, kangaroo interior, layers and layers of veg tan for the soles, Daynite outsoles, and a custom design based on an old Czech army boot with goodyear welts. Then he took a bunch of measurements and found a hardwood last that roughly matched my foot, and started gluing strips of thin leather on it until he was confident he had the shape and size just right. Days later I went by for a fitting and he had made one boot out of cheaper leather, with soles, laces and everything, just for me to try it on and then he was gonna throw it away. I was blown away that this is what he had to do to make a pair of boots, I actually kept it as a souvenir. Then I wasted a lot of his time talking about leather and leatherworking. Of course I had to. And then finally my boots were ready: Was it cheap? God no. I still struggle a bit thinking how much I paid but I'm not regretting it. I know how chromexcel ages and I absolutely love it, and I know how these boots are made and I have no doubt they will last a lifetime, just change soles and laces every few years. Some companies make boots like that, Nicks Boots comes to mind, but man, it's a different experience wearing something that is exactly cut to your foot... easily the most comfortable footwear I've ever owned. If you can swing it I highly recommend finding a local boot maker in your area and having a pair made, do it once in your lifetime. Great experience, great product, keep the craft alive. Shout out to James Roberts of Reboot Supply in Kyneton, Victoria, Australia.

I would also avoid edge kote. I used to hate painting chrome tan edges and I used to avoid chrome entirely for this reason, but I found a lot of my struggles was because I always tried to do it with edge kote. When I finally gave Fenice and Uniters a go it felt much easier, I don't know why, maybe the viscosity was just right for my method (I use an awl to apply it). Also when I made mistakes and I got a little paint over the edge it was easier to clean up with a bit of isopropyl alcohol and/or a rubber crepe, or let it dry and pop it off with a blunt knife.

If you want consistency you have to buy name brand leather like horween chromexcel, walpier buttero, sedgwick english bridle, H&O skirting, that sort of thing. These brands are more expensive for a few reasons, one of which is consistency. And even they are not 100% consisten because after all all it is leather, a natural product, so there will always be variations from animal to animal and of course different parts of the same animal. For example you get the best belt leather out the bend, but some cheaper straps you find in various shops include partly shoulder, and that's not as consistent because shoulders have stretch marks.

Eh it depends if I'm in a hurry, I try to aim for two, but sometimes it's once, sometimes none

Thanks to everyone who contributed in the other thread asking about combinations of fabric and glue for wallet pockets. While waiting for materials to arrive I made a couple for myself to choose from. Which one would you keep?

Sorry I misspoke before, for some reason I thought Buckleguy makes their hardware in the US but now I noticed on their website it says "All items are manufactured in our own factory overseas" https://www.buckleguy.com/custom-manufacturing/

Well the one I used is brass, those guys are selling steel. Steel also looks great if polished, like the one from that Russian seller on Etsy that you linked, but honestly paying all that money and then waiting for the package to arrive all the way from Russia, and worry if the size and holes and thickness will work well for your bag, I don't know... it feels easier to grab a piece of metal from your local hardware store and make it yourself. I mean if you can make bags this is nothing, all you need is a hacksaw and some sort of a sander. If you're making many, you can always find a metal fabrication business near you or even an amateur knife maker / welder who has some tools in his garage, these guys (if they agree to it) can churn those out in minutes, probably for a small fee.

I like the ones from Buckleguy. They say they're American made, I don't know, but they work well.

https://www.leathercraftpattern.com/Leather-supplies/stainless-steel-bar-for-Kelly https://www.leathercraftpattern.com/Leather-supplies/stainless-steel-bridge-bar

This stuff? https://www.amazon.com.au/Tyvek-Envelopes-Professional-Rip-Resistant-Construction/dp/B07D8F81CR That might be the go, someone else also recommended Tyvek

Thanks Fred, that's great to know.

Yes sir I'd love to give it a try Next time you make your way to the post office can you please let me know?

Well I'm not that worried if the glue seeps through, this is not a liner as such, just something to hold the cards in place. I doubt anyone would open up the card slot to look inside and take exception that the liner is not pretty, then again you never know, people are weird sometimes. In terms of fabric, have you ever noticed what those clothes labels are made out of? Not the brand labels but the bigger white labels usually somewhere on the inside seam that have all the washing info etc on them? this stuff is paper thin and very tough, I think that would be the best material to use, I just don't know where to get it... any idea what it's called? Would you trust this to hold for many years?

Thanks, do you remember the composition of the fabric?

Hey guys are you aware of any combinations of glue and fabric that you know held well over time? It's for this type of wallet below, the card pockets are simple fabric loops that are glued on the leather from the back, with no stitching. Just glue holding the fabric together with the leather. I've run some tests with every fabric and glue combinations I had available. I don't think anything epoxy or CA based will do because they have no flexibility once dry, some people tend to sit on their wallets in their back pockets and eventually the glue will crack. So far I got the best results with the type of contact adhesives they use for shoes, these are flexible and make a very strong bond with leather. However I couldn't get it to hold well with any type of fabric that has a high polyester content, which is really what you want, because a cotton fabric will fray over time as the cards go in and out of the slots. Are you aware of any leather and fabric combo that has worked well long term for this application? Wallets have a hard life, I'm confident the leather and thread will last for many years but if the card pockets come apart then it's no use.

Hey, I've done tonnes of wallets and I still get stuff wrong. Doesn't matter, the point is to improve a little every time

I mean, if you're gonna be using an awl you're gonna have to sharpen it frequently anyway, so what's the point of paying them to do the first sharpening for you? Make no mistake, the awls that come properly sharpened have definitely built it into the price, because it does take a while. I would bet most of us have a couple of darts in a drawer somewhere, it's part of learning.

Maybe then stop quoting me just to tell me that you don't want to talk anymore LOL

Yeah good luck, if sharpening an awl doesn't put you off leatherworking nothing will. Seriously though, take it slow. A diamond shaped awl has many surfaces, they all have to be sharpened separately, and they also have curves that need to be followed. And remember, if you get it wrong, a destroyed awl can always make an excellent dart

nah I'm good, thanks anyway

Yeah but you're still telling me that I added steps, and I still have no idea what those steps are.