Why Ritza Thread?

[SUP]

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. 

 

[DieselTech]

I have yet to try Ritza Tiger thread. But I have some similar flat style threads & I cant seem to get the same consistency with flat thread as a round thread. 

Now I recently started using some rocky mountain braided poly thread & I really like this stuff. Wax is about perfect, tightly braided, lots of colors, UV protected. Might be a bit pricey at $9.00/roll if bought in bulk. 

[SUP]

@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.

 

[Mablung]

I haven’t experimented with many threads, but the Ritza is the best stuff I can get at my local Tandy store, and it’s pretty strong and consistent. Personally, I don’t have quite the issues some do with it twisting as one goes along, but when it does happen, it’s not a big deal. Looks a lot better and provides a much stronger thread than the twisted stuff I had been using. My halfpenny-worth thought. 

[DieselTech]

Here is some of that Rocky Mountain Poly-Braid. It is .55mm diameter or they say its similar to 532 linen. 

I think it is in that 207 maybe 277 thread size.

[SUP]

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]

1 hour ago, SUP said:

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.

No it's a braided poly thread. Uv resistant, unaffected by moisture. It seems to be good stuff. 

Everything I sew is with poly thread. Sorry kinda absent minded temporarily.

[SUP]

36 minutes ago, DieselTech said:

No it's a braided poly thread. Uv resistant, unaffected by moisture. It seems to be good stuff. 

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

[DieselTech]

1 minute ago, SUP said:

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

No problem with it knotting up while sewing. 

I'm not trying to sell you on it. But it is worth trying. 

Polyester is the name I was trying to remember. Lmao. 

[SUP]

1 hour ago, DieselTech said:

No problem with it knotting up while sewing. 

I'm not trying to sell you on it. But it is worth trying. 

Yes I plan to do so. 

[zuludog]

AFAIK Rocky Mountain's own brand linen & synthetic thread is Yue Fung, under their own name, and it's good stuff

I've tried Ritza thread and I too don't see why it's supposed to be so good

The threads I've settled on are Artisan Leather's own brand braided polyester - Chinese from a UK supplier - and Yue Fung

[SUP]

@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.

Edited February 20 by SUP

[Danne]

5 hours ago, zuludog said:

AFAIK Rocky Mountain's own brand linen & synthetic thread is Yue Fung, under their own name, and it's good stuff

I've tried Ritza thread and I too don't see why it's supposed to be so good

The threads I've settled on are Artisan Leather's own brand braided polyester - Chinese from a UK supplier - and Yue Fung

And if I'm not completely wrong, the producer of Yue Fung's thread is Meisi. Meisi also have a nice sample pack so you can try their different threads. My favorite is Meisi Xiange twist, it looks very similar to linen thread, but it's a synthetic thread so durable over time when used for wallets and other things where friction cause the thread to tear when linen is used.

[mike02130]

On 2/18/2024 at 1:02 PM, SUP said:

Why is Ritza thread considered one of the best?

I've never heard that one before except from the young kids that just started out, recently.  It has its purposes such as for sheaths, holsters and the like.  It's a bit thick for more refined work.  Vinymo and Meisi Xiange are pretty much the standard for higher-end work.  

[Danne]

4 minutes ago, mike02130 said:

I've never heard that one before except from the young kids that just started out, recently.  It has its purposes such as for sheaths, holsters and the like.  It's a bit thick for more refined work.  Vinymo and Meisi Xiange are pretty much the standard for higher-end work.  

I agree completely here. Ritza25 might be one of the most durable thread for a leathergood like a holster, but it doesn’t mean it’s the most suitable for a slim wallet or watch strap.

It would be like saying ”A SDS rotary hammer drill is the best drill”

Sure it can be true if you drill a lot in hard concrete, but it would certainly not be the best drill for someone who put up some shelves in their apartment with drywall.

[SUP]

@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.

 

Edited February 20 by SUP

[DieselTech]

Yeah I wish they made the rocky mountain thread in some larger diameters. I think the .55mm thread is in that 207-277 thread size. 

[sparctek]

I am a hobby leather worker and I've only been doing this for a couple of years. So, take this for what it's worth as my observations:

Ritza tiger thread is flat woven polyester so it has high strength and resistance to elements. If you are making items to be used outdoors this thread is a good fit for those items. Especially strap goods.

I like using it on larger items I make, i.e. book/bible covers, not because of it's strength and resistance to elements, but because it looks very nice paired with 8 spi french pricking irons. For that spi I like to use the .6 mm thread. The only time I've had an issue with it twisting and knotting, is when I have a long run and the thread starts to dry out. When that happens I just  run the remaining thread through bee wax and it goes back to behaving normally.

For smaller items like wallets or card holders I like to use linen thread. I like the Meisi super fine M40 paired with 10 spi pricking irons. I tried the round poly braid thread but it didn't look as nice to me as linen thread. That is just personal preference.

One other thing to note: I did notice the tiger thread tended to dry out and kink more when I pulled the thread at weird angles when setting the stitch. If I pull the thread straight out with both hands, there is less friction on the thread and it seems to behave better. That goes for both linen and Ritza threads.

Just my thoughts...

 

[SUP]

@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.

 

Edited February 20 by SUP

[sparctek]

I spent a lot of time practicing my stitching before I did my first project, so I made a lot of mistakes and figured out my own way of trying not to repeat them. One of the first things I do is make sure the first stitches lay flat in the slanted hole the awl makes. Both back and forward stitches. If I have to slow down and guide the thread flat I will take the time to do that.

Once those first stitches lay flat those that follow will tend to lay flat.  Early on when I was practicing with long thread lengths I started to pull the thread slowly holding it with my thumb and first (pointer) finger. I watch as I am pulling the thread and if I see the thread starting to turn or twist I roll my thumb and finger in the opposite direction to counter act it.  Once the stitch loop is really close to the  stitch hole I adjust my hands so the thread is being pulled by my pinkies, and then I set the stitch with tension. That seats the thread flat. But, eventually the thread will tend to start turning when it gets dry. That's when I apply more bees wax. That usually works unless the stitching run is so long the thread starts to fray from friction.

Being completely honest I still miss a couple now and then.

[SUP]

@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.

[Mablung]

On 2/19/2024 at 4:37 PM, SUP said:

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.

I have trouble with my Ritza knotting at the base of my needle if I pierce it only once and bring the tail all the way to the needle eye. Otherwise, it’s fine. I generally pierce it twice in the “S” pattern. Occasionally I have to flatten out the pierced portions slightly, but usually it does what I want without whining. 
 

ETA: In reading responses that hadn’t loaded when I came to the page to make my comment, I realized my remark may not actually relate to what you guys mentioned about knotting. (Weird delta between when I originally loaded the page and the data that hadn’t gotten loaded on my end before I posted my comment.) Ignore me if that wasn’t helpful. 

Edited February 21 by Mablung

[SUP]

@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. 

 

[DieselTech]

18 minutes ago, SUP said:

@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. 

 

You just pull your thread thru your needle eye & leave a 4-5" tail of thread, then you pierce your thread with your needle.

Then from there just pierce your thread again, & it will create a "S" on you needle.

Then grasp the "S" & pull it over the eye over your needle. 

Lmao I hope you can understand my jibberish.

[DieselTech]

This is what the "S" looks like on your needle. Then from there you just slide your thread over the eye of the needle. From the pointed end.