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Saddle stitching. "Dot the i's and cross the t's". https://youtu.be/7e3HC9tuSXA

Hello from Las vegas! New to this site, and messing around on it but so far it awesome! I guess this is the intro page so here is some saddle stitching ive done on a long biker wallet. Interested in wallet, bags, simple little leather projects. Pretty fun so far!

Any tips on how to properly line up inside and outside pieces for saddle stitching holes using diamond point chisels? I am having a dickens of a time lining up the saddle stitching holes i make with a diamond chisel on the front of my card case or wallet with the holes i punch in the inside pieces. I have tried using the BRL precut templates which come with hole marks but none of my diamond chisels match the spacing and doing a project with a one hole chisel seems crazy. Last time i had the holes on the outside piece going in one direction and the holes on the card case inside pieces going in the opposite direction. (A shame because I spent a lot of time tooling some sumo wrestlers.) I can't afford a drill press or anything like that. Any ideas and pointers will be most welcome. Thanks !

I think I finally got the hang of the saddle stitch! Please critique and let me know what I need to improve on. The top line was my first attempt - please ignore!! I know it's dreadful. the second line was where I think I got the hang of it. I did not use a stitch groover- should arrive tomorrow. I know my line is not perfectly straight; I was less worried about that vs just getting this two-handed stitch thing down. and yes, my stitching pony solution at the moment is my husband's blacksmithing vise!

Trying to teach myself saddle stitching, and hubby had requested a small case to hold apple headphones and a charger, so figured I'd practice my stitching while making something. First item I've hand-stitched, used Tiger 0.8mm orange thread, size 4 needles, 8 spi. In hindsight, might have gone 0.6mm thread, but of course, had none handy in orange. Leather is some Horween tumbled scrap (thanks @nstarleather!), with a basic dressmaking polyester zip I had lying around.

I am busy making my first item, a wallet. As I expected this to be mostly a learning exercise I chose the cheapest leather I could find, some veg tanned belly. For the outside I used 1.6mm (4 oz) and for the inner card holder sleeves 1.2mm (3 oz). As I had never saddle stitched before I spent some time on youtube. After watching Ian Atkinson's stitching video I decided that using Japanese diamond pricking irons to punch all the way through would be far easier initially than also learning to use the awl at the same time. Learning to use an awl could then come later once I had the stitching basics. I made a stitching pony while waiting for the items I had ordered online to arrive. I had ordered 3mm irons and a small stitching awl from LeatherCraftTools.com and I also bought some John James size 4 needles and some 0.8mm Ritza 25 thread. The first photo shows the wallet punched ready to stitch and the needles threaded and locked along with the pricking iron and awl. However, even though I made sure to punch all the way through, the holes on the back side closed up almost completely once I withdrew the pricking iron so I ended up having to use the awl anyway. Could that be because of the leather I am using, or what else would cause the holes to close? Stitching was not easy, even after using the awl on each hole and immediately inserting the needle, it took a fair amount of force to get the needle through. Which leads to my next problem, as can be seen in the second photo. The knot behind the needle slowly closed up, and even though I stopped periodically to try and open the knot, the knot eventually closed up completely causing a lump behind the needle and the only way I could finish my stitching was by using a pair of pliers to pull the needle through. So how do I prevent the knot from closing, or am I using the wrong combination of thread size, leather thickness, hole spacing, awl size? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Clive

Howdy All, I'm brand new to the forum, and wanted to begin gathering some feedback on my work. Started leather working as hobby just a couple of months ago after being inspired by savoy leather and Sam Andrews videos on YouTube. This was my first pass at a tooled Springfield XDm holster. Made from 8oz Oak-leaf and lined woth glazed pigskin. It has a neatsfoot oil finish, and painted tooling. Finally I top coated it with acrylic resolene. Thoughts comments and critiques welcome!

Hey guys, I want to get more into handstitching, especially on bag handles.. Right now my handstitching doesn't look great. I've heard there are some pricking or stitching irons that you can use to punch the holes as well (as opposed to marking the leather then using an awl). I have a set which I've been using like that, but the holes don't look as clean as I'd like.. Does anyone have a recommendation for some pricking irons that would work for punching clean holes? Affordable is a plus! I'd love to know what you expert stitchers are using.. Thanks!