Members Mdolfan Posted July 16, 2024 Author Members Report Posted July 16, 2024 So now I know I’ll be too old to ride by the time I’m done hand stitching the skirts. On the other hand, I like saddle stitch. Fleece? Not so much! Any tips for keeping the fleece out of your way when you stitch? I conditioned the thread with paper as I read on here to do. Quote
Members TomE Posted July 16, 2024 Members Report Posted July 16, 2024 11 minutes ago, Mdolfan said: So now I know I’ll be too old to ride by the time I’m done hand stitching the skirts. On the other hand, I like saddle stitch. Fleece? Not so much! Any tips for keeping the fleece out of your way when you stitch? I conditioned the thread with paper as I read on here to do. I feel your pain. Just finished hand sewing a shearling liner on a surcingle, and didn't figure enough labor for the sewing. I normally just pass the waxed thread through my fingers to burnish the wax, but that was a total fail for shearling. Clumps of wool pulled through the stitch holes. Burnishing with brown paper did the trick, even for cobbler's sticky wax (beeswax + pine resin). After that, I didn't have a problem with the wool getting in the way. I inserted/twisted an awl to enlarge each hole, put a needle through the front side and twirled it a little, and inserted the needle from the backside as I withdrew the needle from the front (feeling my way into the backside), then ran the needle through from the front side and pulled up the stitch. Went pretty smoothly once I got the feel of finding the holes from the backside. I was able to use a stitching horse for my project and that no doubt helps my consistency. Quote
Members Mdolfan Posted July 19, 2024 Author Members Report Posted July 19, 2024 I’ll have to try burnishing the thread a bit more. I got a bit of shearling coming through the first few stitches. Maybe it was just the first couple stitches that are an issue because I’ve not had so much of a problem with the other stitches. I actually tried using a big dollar store bag clip, the kind you use on snack bags, to hold one side (excess off the leather side) of the shearling down. I think, too, using a metal dog comb and pushing it into the other side of the fleece will help keep a clearer path for the needles. But I have to try that as I didn’t have the dog comb when I was at Tandy Leather learning how to saddle stitch. There might be other hair products designed for keeping hair in a bun that might work too. I’m going to go look tomorrow and see if I find anything. And man, I wish I had a stitching horse! Just don’t feel like building one for one saddle. Wonder if I could try 2x4 pieces and C-clamps and just lay the 2x4 pieces on my legs. It would give some support to the piece. I admire you guys who do this for a living! Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.