SUP

@Gosut makes sense for a belt though. A narrow strip of leather, the stitching will be visible, so might as well make it beautiful. And think of how smug you will feel once it is done! Smug, not just satisfied. LOL I would, with all the stitching work involved.

@sparctek I thought all pricking irons are like the traditional ones. If the ones by Kevin Lee and Amy Roake and other allow punching through the leather, that is one good reason to buy their instruments. I do not use leather thicker than 5-6 oz anyway so they should work for me. Usually I avoid expensive tools - seem to do perfectly well with more reasonably priced ones. I am a hobbyist too and I guess if I was doing this professionally, the tools would matter more. When you say 'and others', who else, do you know? @Mablung I learnt how to use the edge of the leather for punching holes on both sides from one of the patterns I bought online. Don't remember where. If I have to do it, I use an iron with round tines since I do not have opposite facing angled irons.

LOL. Exactly. it requires a bit of practice to get the angle absolutely 90 degrees to the leather for each stitch. One way to avoid this, is to punch holes on both sides. For this you will need 2 sets of chisels - one angled in the opposite direction from the other. Maintain the proper distance by starting with one point over the edge on the same edge on both sides. I'm not sure if I am explaining clearly. Incidentally, when I said this earlier, I meant angled stitching. Else it makes no sense.

@Mablung, yes they do. They make fine, angled pricks on the leather. The final stitches look so beautiful, but a lot of extra work, pricking each stitching hole before placing a stitch. I am lazy though. I try to make items where the stitching is not on display, use thread of exactly the same color as the leather and do simple straight stitching - no angles at all. Took a bit of practice to get that but it works for me. French pricking irons take too much work, . Imagine a backpack done that way! or something bigger! I do practice saddle stitching though, in case I decide to use its beauty. But I doubt I will use French pricking irons. No patience. @sparctek, the French clam is a bit awkward to use, since it has to be positioned with ones own knees. I have an English style one, with a seat. One of the first things I bought. It's great. But people used to the French one swear by it. So to each his own, I suppose. What made you decide to get a French stitching clam?

Not for me. If I don't pierce the thread, it comes off the needle as the thread gets shorter, which is a pain. @DieselTech I tried this S-method and it works! Not had the thread tangle as yet this morning.

@DieselTech got it! thank you, especially for the photograph. That really helps.

@Mablung it is helpful. Thank you. I do pierce my thread only once. Never sure of how to do the S-thing. If absolutely needed, I suppose I could learn. But really! Such an expensive thread and then needing to go through all this trouble - thread the needle in a particular way, sew in a particular way, lay the thread in a particular way. Unless they have a color that I cannot get from any other brand, it's just not worth the trouble at this point, at least to me.

@sparctek, rather like I do with my laced bags, but that is much easier, since the lace is much wider. At this point, I am making items in which the beauty is in the pattern and leather itself and I keep the stitching discreet and in the background. Perfect time to practice until I get it right. Thank you for the detailed guidance.

@sparctek, that is a lot of useful information! I appreciate that. Ritza is lightly waxed, so it is possible it rubs off as I stitch. I will try waxing it periodically, before it knots. Seeing that it knots over time, it might just be drying out as you say. I am not sure whether I pull it at weird angles - I will watch out for that. One question - how do you get flat thread to lie flat in your stitches? Doesn't it wind around as you go through the stitches? I try to keep it flat as I stitch, rather like when I make laced bags, but this is difficult with the thin thread.

@Handstitched Thank you. Over the years, Valentine's day becomes somewhat routine. This year, since I learnt something new, I thought of making this - something different. Otherwise, I'm more of an April fool's gal - salt in tea. misleading signs etc. What fun!!

@mike02130, I have no idea whether 'higher end' work requires thinner thread than I presume 'lower end' work does. I do know that such thin thread does not work on the larger bags and backpacks that I make for family and friends. I started out recently too, about a year ago, although I am much older. I also don't know the ages of the people who consider Ritza to be one of the best or recommend it and would not presume anything. Older people do try different things too. In my opinion, Thinner thread is needed for items like wallets and watch straps. Larger items like backpacks, saddles etc. need thicker thread. It is possible that Vinymo and Meisi ranges are of thinner thread, correct me if I am wrong, because I searched and could not find thread that is 0.8-1mm in thickness. Rhino, Ritza and others have ranges of thread of thicker diameters. Comparing them would be like comparing key limes to grapefruit.

@zuludog Thank you. I'll certainly try both. I've used Rhino thread from SFL . It is a flat thread as well. It works okay.

Yes I plan to do so.

I must try it then. No more Ritza. I'm seriously annoyed about it right now.

Nice colors, @DieselTech. But it is natural fibre is it not? I am a little leery of that because I wear a lot of cotton and linen and they always break down within decades - the stitching as well as the cloth. Will these not do the same? About the Ritza, it knots at the base of my needles as I continue to stitch! I have stitched so much over the last year and that has never happened with any other thread. I'm a bit grumpy about it - I need to do some more stitching with that thread to complete a backpack and see myself using a pair of pliers or cutting the thread and re-threading the needles periodically.

@DieselTech I've not tried those. Will do so next time I need a new color. That is still not as pricy as Ritza though. I need to check how my stitching is with flat thread. The thread is exactly the color of the leather, so t is not much visible.

Why is Ritza thread considered one of the best? I have been using a variety of threads, from ones on Amazon to the Rhino thread from SFL to, recently, Ritza. I frankly see not much difference between Ritza and others which I consider good. Some are bad in that they are too extra-waxed or under-waxed, both of which can be managed, or too loosely wound but other than that, I find that Ritza is no different from many other, more reasonably priced ones. I wondered if there is any specific reason why everyone recommends Ritza so often.

You get the same cuticle trimmers on Temu too. They work great and that is what I usually use now as well. You can change angles and they are lot more manageable. @Toffe you should be able to get them very easily from China.

Tandy always mention their sales on their site. They sometimes have good deals, especially on overstock.

@fredk I tried map pins but they are sharp as well. The cork is a good idea. Might work better than earring backs. I think I will try those when I receive my metal earring bases.

@DieselTech Yes. My idea of using old earrings really works well. No idea why I bought these when I had something working well.

I like the hummingbird - you caught it very well. Same with the butterfly.

For a quite a few months now, I have been seeing a type of item to hold leathers in place, stitch holders if you will, for sewing leather by hand. I tried them and I do not like them for several reasons: - They are very sharp and can easily scratch the leather as we slip them into the punched holes and draw blood as well. - The not-so-small backs can mark the leather on the other side as well if plugged in too tight. - There is a pulling mechanism to insert it as well as to unplug it, a bit fiddly to use, in my opinion. - My thread always gets caught on the rather large parts of it. - They are rather expensive at, right now, about $1.5 a piece. Now I have been using old earrings for this and they work so well, without any of the problems described above that I thought I should mention that here. Firstly, earrings have blunt ends, so will not scratch the leather - rather like using blunt needles. The earring backs can be replaced with silicone ones or plastic ones or the metal ones can be used gently, so no markings on the reverse side of the leather. We can get flat and tiny earrings which will not come in the way of the thread while stitching. Thy are very inexpensive indeed - especially if one buys earring making kits. You can get so many for a pittance on Amazon or even cheaper on Temu. I say Temu because I have found the same things on Etsy and Amazon that have been available on Temu for a while - sold on Amazon or Etsy or eBay with a significant mark-up. I am currently using plastic earring stud bases and backs but they bend after 3-4 uses, so have ordered metal ones as well. If anyone wants to know what and where, let me know. I will put up that information here.

@Northmount sounds good and would be great to work on. Thank you. I just checked on Amazon. I will check nearby stores as well.

@toxo, patterns make it easier to work with, that's true! At least there is no worry about whether the stitching holes will match!