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Showing results for tags 'stitching'.
Found 135 results
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Stopped into SLC today on my way back to St. louis from Joplin, MO. In addition to some mindblowing $20 side specials they have some new tools for sale. Diamond point chisels, 6,4,2 and 1 prong in a nice size, not too big or too small. Also several strap punches and rounded corner punches. The kicker, all are very reasonably priced. I bought a couple chisels for less than $20.00. I'll get some punches next time through. A 1-1/4" strap end punch for under $10.00 is a deal IMHO. Especially for those of us that only use them occasionally.
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I am fairly proficient with a saddle stitch, but have never used a lock-stitch hand sewing leather. I find myself with a project where I have to stitch deep into a case where I don't have access or visibility to saddle-stitch from the inside. I plan to use a lock-stitch for this section, so I did a practice run on some scraps and it looked terrible! I am thinking that waxing the thread will help. I am using an automatic sewing awl with the thread on a bobbin in the handle. Should I take out what I think I will need, wax it and respool it on the bobbin? Any ideas or help on how to make a decent looking lock-stitch? Thanks Bill
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So I'm moving past dog collars and belts and looking to get into stitching items like wallets, bags, cases, etc... I bought a pricking iron set on amazon from some chinese company http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LKUWN5O/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 because I'm not dropping $250 on a hobby yet for some french tools... The iron set is 7.5 SPI. Wondering if this will be good for trying out some simple wallets or card holders?
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I purchased my first Dixon pricking iron - 6SPI, 1 inch - two months ago. I noticed that the prongs are not centered. I was told by the distributor that this is how they are designed. When I held the iron perpendicular, it flew out of my hand when I struck it. My other irons (Blanchard, Seiwa) are symmetrical. My questions: Why does Dixon grind them this way? Is there a special technique for using them?
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here is a picture of my first Roper Wallet that i have made without pre made interiors. it is all saddle stitched. i made it for my friend that works in the oil field here in TX and tooled a simple oil derick. and tooled his last name on other side. -
So I would like to try making flat back holsters and I am not sure how. Recently I have been playing around with making the front piece larger than the back piece. This forms a pocket which helps but does not get me all the way to a flat back. -Do you mold/form the entire front half first? If so do you use a press? if so what type and thickness of foam? -Do you use an oversize cut out of the gun to press around the form? -If the front is molded first can you stitch on a walking foot machine? Any Help would be greatly appreciated. Tony
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Some 20 years ago I stopped doing leather work when I started a business related to my engineering training. I'm retired from that now so I'm blowing the dust off my tools I kept in storage all those years. I never had a stitching/lacing pony so decided to make my own. I didn't want a horse because of storage space. There is only so much room in the garage (not allowed to work in the house). I had the intention of just copying a basic design but my engineering mind could not help itself. Staring with a computer aided design (CAD) I did of a typical pony, then testing and modifying as I built, it appears I finished up with a portable pony thsat has the stability of horse. My "pony" has an extension to move the jaws out from my body to accomodate my "thick" build. When I did this, it was not as stable as I liked so I used a piece of built-in vacuum cleaner pipe I had, made a recessed socket in the bottom of the extension to hold the pipe. The stability pipe can be cut to suit any chair height and is removable for storage and transport. Now I have a very stable, comfortable and portable pony-horse. As built drawing are next.
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Hi Everyone! I have a Tippmann Boss for sale in Michigan. I posted it on craigslist.com here: http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/for/4882037532.html Shipping is available by UPS for $25-$40, depending on zip. If you have any questions, or would like additional info, please call/text or email me anytime. My name is Sarah. 269-2one3-0150 sarahleta616 (at) yahoo (dot)com Thanks for looking!
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This is the second project that I have ever done. I think the hand stitching is a bit better than the first project I started. Still had a little trouble going around the corners. Not sure if I would start from scratch with veg tan leather again, but I like the feel of it. I enjoy stitches, to me they are art when they are done right, so I like them to show really well, which is why I chose the heavy white thread on a dark background. I think most would prefer a black thread here, let me know. The color is one I came up with myself, let me know if you like it. Constructive criticism is always welcome, as I am trying to do this art well! YinTx -
tiring a vat died black leather and white stitching a little harder to case the leather but here it is -
Hello awl Does anyone have any tips on how to do a butt-stitch with only a straight awl blade and needles? I know that most people use a curved awl blade but the only ones I can get are from Tandy Leather and I have found their awl blades to be sub-par at best. (Yes, I can get them sharp enough to work, but they don't seem to hold an edge worth a darn and the last ones took hours of work to get them sharp enough). I have a Bob Douglas awl blade and haft and I am supremely happy with them. I hope that they can somehow be used for this method. Any tips, tutorials or videos would be very helpful!
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I made this after seeing Rawcustoms post on making a new Awl blade holder. I used his idea for the blade holder and bought the double collet pin vise from EBay. I don't make my own blades, I buy them. The handle is turned out of Cocobolo with a brass ferrule turned to flush itself with the Cocobolo. The business end of course is the pin vise. I struggled with how to handle the reference point on the handle. I've read where folks sand down a flat spot for reference. That would serve to keep the handle from rolling around too. You would not have to look either but in my case I've been sewn back together enough to know I'm not real found of that. I prefer to watch myself stab myself so I went with an orientation inlay so I have to watch. The inlay is Ivory from a late 1800's piano that went to the scrap yard, I harvested the keys and soaked the ivories off to use as inlays. Figuring out how to cut the ivory was interesting to say the least. I am about three weeks into leather work and this site has helped me greatly. What drove me to leather work is unprotected sharp pointy things. My friends have a hard time not cutting themselves when they visit. I warn them if it's meant to be sharp and I own it, well it's sharp. I'm forced to either make sheaths for my sharp pointy things or get new friends. I see it this way, if you pick it up, unsnap the sheath strap, pull it out of the sheath and proceed to insert the sharp pointy thing into you body all by yourself you must have wanted it there. Thank you all for helping to protect my friends from themselves.
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Does anyone know what type of stitch was used on this wallet. It's fitted very tightly together without gaps. Any suggestions? Thanks! -
Hi, Posted on here a while back but couldn't retrieve my login details so here I am with a new account. Hoping I can get some expert opinion on what is going wrong with my Cobra Class 18. Basically we are having tension issues every few seconds while using it. We will be stitching and there will be a small 'thump' from the machine which will result in the tension going slightly off and showing an inconsistent stitch. The stitching is for a product that we are trying to sell and we can have these issues constantly keep being a problem. We've fought with this issue since we got it and after having a technician come and try and address things on two occasions, and helping temporarily, the same issue keeps coming back. The tech that came said it could be the servo motor and would recommend removal as a fix............ I've made a video (apologies for my drab presenting style!) to show the problem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjTBUKUask4 and would welcome anybody's opinion on what might be going wrong (what I might be doing wrong) and how I can permanently fix it. All I need is a 100% consistent stitch. Nothing fancy. The video is deliberately non public on YouTube and only accessible via the link in this post. I'm conscious that Cobra is run by good people and I don't want to be detrimental to them, but I still need a solution. I'm not out to adversely impact anyone. This is super frustrating and is holding us back. Any help, no matter how small, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance from the UK. Grant
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I have a brand new spool of Barbours #6, white, 918 yards, left twist, still in original box. I would like to trade this for the same thread in a right twist or even #5 in right twist. Surely some of you machine owners could use this and we could work out something, please. I bought this left twist by mistake and would really like to trade or sell it, can't afford to buy another spool and have this one sitting around. Please pm me for any questions or offers. Thanks Paul
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I completed several pancake and IWB holsters recently. Please take a look and let me know what you think. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I would particularly like comments and suggestions on the cross draw holster. -
Just wondering do you guys so a stitch groove on front and back of a wallet before punching the stitch holes ? or just do one side and do the other side after all holes are punched
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I am wondering how you would sew the piece that contains the phone. how it is rounded over and then stitched. I can see how you would do the one side, but after that is done, how would you stitch the opposite side together? You cant see the bottom side, but I'm assuming it's done the same way. Thanks Zayne
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Hi there, I had finished this case of mine around the first week of January and I've been using it ever since to hold and protect my Microsoft Surface Pro tablet while I go to college. Anyway, I ran into a couple problems partially due to my inexperience and my fondness for my "just winging it" strategy. I had a rough time trying to knot the ends of my stitching without it ending up loose. Is there a way, and I'm sure there is, to end the stitching so that the stitching is super tight? Actually, that is the only problem I encountered. The stitching was some waxed bankline that I typically stitch with because it's super strong and holds its knotting very well. My leather was just a veg tanned shoulder piece that, if I remember correctly, was 6 mil leather? Maybe, it's some thick stuff. I used white treated canvas for the flap and stained it brown to match the stain of the leather a bit. I made the design stenciled it onto the piece and then burned the design in. Oh, and I glued some very soft blue fabric on the inside to protect my tablet from scratching or rogue leather particles from it. Lastly, I clear coated everything except the canvas to protect it a little. I know that was a long post, but I appreciate your feedback. -Chris Paton -
So I've been making these wallets for a little while now, and have a question about my process. I glue all the card slots onto the liner and assemble the entire thing before gluing it to the outer shell. This means that I end punching the stitching holes last ( I use Tandy's 4 prong Craftool punch). This seems to work fine, but occasionally, the force needed to punch through multiple layers of 3oz inner plus the 4/5 oz outer shell seems to be too much. I have to wiggle the punch out and sometimes the holes just seem to big after the stiching is done because I had to whack the punch so hard to get through the layers.. This picture shows what I'm talking about: So my question is: Should I be punching the holes for each piece individually, THEN gluing them together? This seems like it would result in cleaner stitching, the only problem being that the holes never seem to line up. I've tried it before where punch the holes for the outer shell, then punch the holes for the inner, and try to line them up when gluing together but I always end up having the needles going through at crazy angles and had a tough time with that. The attached picture shows what I'm talking about, (taken from Corter Leather) I just wonder how the heck all of the holes stay lined up, as cutting out pieces by hand always seems to ensure slight variances in dimensions. Thanks for taking the time to read this! -
Ok, so, just a few months ago, November of 2013 to be exact, I bought a brand new, Tippmann Boss sewing machine. Straight out of the box, using a size 200 Needle, with 277 thread, it works perfectly. I purchased the flatbed accessory, the other presser feet, and size 160 needles and 138 thread just a couple weeks ago. Using the new size 160 needle and 138 thread, it no longer makes stitches. I checked the needle alignment - the scarf spot is going where it is supposed to go. I've tried turning it a few degrees either direction, several times. The thread tensions are set up according to instructions. It misses every single stitch. So, I live in central time zone, and I call customer service. They all leave at 3pm my time. I have a full time day job. Kinda tough to talk to someone.... So I email them... 3 days later, I get the response "One thing we can try is taking some pressure off of the take up arm spring.There is a spring in the back of your machine that lifts your take up arm up you can bend this spring out and take some pressure off of it." .... literally, that's it. So, it took 3 days to tell me that I need to bend a spring to fix my problem? That seems like terrible customer service. Since when did we start bending things and breaking precision equipment in order to fix it? At any rate, I tried this method. Didn't fix it. I took the needle plate off, and watched the needle enter the shuttle bay. The little finger that catches the loop of thread on the needle, misses it. It's as if the shuttle doesn't go close enough to the needle. Thoughts?
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hi guys, i am working through my first project where i'm doing a good amount of hand-stitching. the stitching is turning out nicely; i don't really have any problems there. however... i did have quite a bit of trouble in the beginning with the 'stitching needles' i got from tandy (linked below). they're much, much too big and i snapped 8 needles (8 needles to do about 12 stitches!) before giving up on them. http://www.tandyleat...g/1195-033.aspx i went to fabricland (which is a fabric and sewing supply store here in canada) and bought a few packs of needles in the hopes of finding a good size. luckily i did find one (shown in attached image) that is a better size for what i'm doing. using these needles i did about a hundred saddle stitches without any trouble. problem is: i don't really know what size/type of needle i've got! based on the packaging i would guess the pack i bought has needles in sizes 3-9 (and probably i was using a size 3) but not sure. can anyone take a guess at what size/type of needle i've picked? and also i've you could share a supplier for quality needles? i don't really want to keep buying these 'variety packs' of needles when i really only want the one size. thanks a lot! braden
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Hi All, Quick question about the process of dyeing and finishing when stitching a project by hand. I am working on my first sheath and will also be hand stitching for the first time. In general, should I start stitching with the leather already dyed and finished? Should I be stitching first and dyeing and finishing later on? Should I wait to finish the piece after dying and sewing it together in order let the acrylic finish protect the thread and holes from the awl? I'm not sure what the proper method should be for this and any guidance would be most appreciated.
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I was wondering if anyone had a preference between Dixon pricking irons and The Blanchard pricking irons. Is it worth the extra money for the Blanchard ones over the Dixon models? I am stitching with 3 cord Barbour linen thread and was debating between a 9 or 10 TPI tool. Any thoughts would be wonderful and much appreciated.
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Hello, I am about to get a die cut from Texas Custom Dies. I am having them put stitching slots in the die for me to save some time on my end. Usually I use a diagonal shaped 4 prong punch to cut my stitching slots. However TCM is not able to put diagonal slots in their dies. They can only put horizonal or vertical ones in. I am wondering which is better and what are some of the issues with either I may not know of? I still want the nice diagonal looking saddle stitch, but not sure which will have the better effect. The photo below should explain it better. Thanks for the help! Evan
