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Halter with padded crown and nose band, and a rolled throat strap. Hermann Oak bridle leather in havana. Supply chain has me waiting for more heavy brass hardware, so I guess I'll learn something new.

Hello, I really need some sewing machine help and would greatly appreciate it. I've already bought 2 machines that don't work for this purpose: I am having a problem figuring out a good machine and/or foot for a certain problem I am having. For example, when doing a 30mm padded reversible calfskin dress belt where the calfskin is roughly 2 oz each side of the belt and a thicker, but slightly narrower piece of leather for the lining. If the belt is 30mm wide, I'd say the lining is about 18mm and 5-6 oz leather, so there's roughly 6mm wide to walk and stitch on each side. On the only true walking foot machine I have currently (Cowboy CB3200 Juki 441 heavy duty unison feed clone), the stitch is too close to the edge of the belt to use both feet, so I use the left presser foot and the roller attachment on the right side with a max of 138 thread. The problem is, when the left toe presses down, the leather layers, even though they have been glued, shift enough to twist, then when the center foot pushes down on what I'm calling the stitching channel, the leather moves something terrible. So, I figured the machine was just too heavy duty, so I bought a mint condition Singer 15-91 per someone's recommendation. It came with a plastic flat foot with a roller built in horizontally. That worked fine for completely flat projects, but for example for these padded belts, I don't have enough clearance to get it on the stitch line. So, I put a narrow zipper foot on it, which works surprisingly ok...but it doesn't always feed the top layer well and I've ruined a lot of time-consuming projects because of that. Also, the Singer lacks the slow speed crawling capability that I am used to and love with the Cowboy with gear reducer. The 15-91 only seems to like to run fast with leather, so I made a guide with magnets, and that's what I've been making due with until I find the right machine. Now that this has become full-time for me, I want to invest in a nice machine. I was looking at the Pfaff 335 and the Juki LU-1508NS. I know they are different style machines, but those are the ones that caught my eye. The local industrial sewing machine store, Stadham, carries Juki, and I like to buy local, so unless you all recommend a different machine for my purpose, Juki and Pfaff are my preferences, but by no means only options. I want to be able to run up to a 138 thread. I don't always use that thick of thread, but I want the capability. Besides belts, I run into a similar problem with leather billfolds. I use full leather card slots I split to roughly 1.5oz each, and cut the hidden slot pieces narrower than the outer edges and skive to reduce bulk, except for the tab at the top of each layer, to minimize the look of the bulk so that the edges of the wallet sewn are the back of the billfold the lining, the tabs of each credit card slot (usually 3), and the bottom credit card slot. So again, the stitch channel is very narrow, and I'm right next to much thicker leather. The repair guy at the shop who has been doing it for 50 years ground a single right toe foot down on a Juki 1541, with the idea if he raised how high it walks, it would serve as an edge guide (off the leather), and the center foot with the needle would feed. This didn't work. Someone else suggested getting a big old Singer straight stitch machine (forgot the model) and using either a roller wheel on the left and adjust it to the height of the leather it is sitting on to feed, with just the needle in the much shorter/narrower stitch channel/line. I know if I leave room to cut after I stitch it would be easier, but honestly I have so much invested in clicker dies and templates that I really would rather get a machine that would do it. Bob at Toledo is making me some sort of foot to try on the Juki 1508 that walks one foot in front of the other as he described it. I've never seen one, so I don't know anything else. If that works, I'll get the Juki, but if there's some answer to my problem you can think of, especially if it could be solved with my current machines, I'd appreciate any assistance.