My Sewing Station

[Northmount]

1 hour ago, Piko said:

i see your point with the stitching on the flap. I am debating. If I did the stitches like 2mm closer to the edge of the leather and get the stitches closer together, I think that would look good on the flap.  Unfortunately my rolling guide cannot get closer to the foot without hitting it so i don't think i can stitch closer to the edge but I’ll look for a solution. 
In my mind, without stitches looks more refined but, I get what you are saying about the ‘incomplete’ feel when there are stitches on the gusset and not on the flap. I think getting the stitches a little closer together and closer to the edge may look good. 

If you get too close to the edge, sometimes the needle slips through the edge.  I'd have to practice a lot to avoid that.  Another option is to lace the edges with a double loop pattern.  It hides the edges really nicely, and I don't have to slick the edges.  Even though I have a machine capable of sewing leather now versus years ago, some of my work is still laced, especially when customers see how it looks.  You can do even fancier lacing than the double loop.  It does take a lot longer to build.  And it fits with doing tooling.

[dikman]

Very neat job on the tabletop.  The wooden triangle looks well-made, did you make it?

[Tigweldor]

You will have to play with your thread tension though.

On pic#5 the white thread (bobbin) has pulled the brown thread right through the leather. The hole in the arm plate left ugly dimples - comes either from using a fabric needle (for a straight stitch) or to big of a hole in your bottom plate.

On the last pic bottom stitching - the slots left by the needle seem to large for the tiny thread coming out of the hole - more of an optical thing than structural - but picky customers could be turned off by that.

 

Please only take this as a hint and not as major faults

 

Greetings

Hans

Edited April 23 by Tigweldor

[Piko]

6 hours ago, Northmount said:

If you get too close to the edge, sometimes the needle slips through the edge.  I'd have to practice a lot to avoid that.  Another option is to lace the edges with a double loop pattern.  It hides the edges really nicely, and I don't have to slick the edges.  Even though I have a machine capable of sewing leather now versus years ago, some of my work is still laced, especially when customers see how it looks.  You can do even fancier lacing than the double loop.  It does take a lot longer to build.  And it fits with doing tooling.

I had to google it because I did not know what you were referring to with the lacing thing. It looks nice. I am trying to move away from doing things by hand too much, that is why I am trying to implement my machine to sew.

I 'll keep an eye out on the slipping needle at the edge of the leather.

Thank you for the tips.

[Piko]

4 hours ago, dikman said:

Very neat job on the tabletop.  The wooden triangle looks well-made, did you make it?

Thank you! The wooden triangle is very well made, I wish I could take credit for it but I bought it from Etsy. I actually used it for the first time yesterday after having purchased it more than a year ago: i never lined objects that fold before.

Here is the link to the triangle: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1504253838/leathercraft-triangular-prism-jig-mold?gpla=1&gao=1&&gQT=0

[Piko]

1 hour ago, Tigweldor said:

You will have to play with your thread tension though.

On pic#5 the white thread (bobbin) has pulled the brown thread right through the leather. The hole in the arm plate left ugly dimples - comes either from using a fabric needle (for a straight stitch) or to big of a hole in your bottom plate.

On the last pic bottom stitching - the slots left by the needle seem to large for the tiny thread coming out of the hole - more of an optical thing than structural - but picky customers could be turned off by that.

 

Please only take this as a hint and not as major faults

 

Greetings

Hans

Hi Hans, and thank you for making those points. 

I am new to stitching with sewing machines so I am still learning. so, I had just switched from a v138 to a v92 so the tension must have been off. Also, going from sewing through 4 layers of leather (2 plus 2 of liner) and then moving straight to sewing through jus t2 layers (1 plus liner) might have affected the tension as well. I might have to change the tension as I go from the thicker leather stack to the thinner one. Again, sill learning. If you have tips I am all ears.

The ugly hole mark I have no idea why it happens. It happens with my Sailrite as well and people have said it is normal maybe because they dont know how to fix it but I am not sure. I am definitely using a leather needle. The one that pocked these holes was a Groz Beckert 135x16 TRI #18 which I think is a chisel with triangular shape.  I suspect it may be the pressure on the walking foot to be honest: I will experiment with it once I get the new needles.

As for the large holes I totally agree and I am trying to fix that. These were pocked with an  #18 needle and a v92 (approximately) thread. I am waiting for #16 needles even though they are not recommended  for that size thread, I am doing in an attempt to reduce the size of the hole left by the needle. Of course it could also be the tension hat stretches the thread too much. I am not sure. Again, any tips, I am all ears.

Thank you for your time. Much appreciated.

[RockyAussie]

6 hours ago, Piko said:

As for the large holes I totally agree and I am trying to fix that. These were pocked with an  #18 needle and a v92 (approximately) thread. I am waiting for #16 needles even though they are not recommended  for that size thread, I am doing in an attempt to reduce the size of the hole left by the needle. Of course it could also be the tension hat stretches the thread too much. I am not sure. Again, any tips, I am all ears.

A 16 needle would be too small for a V92 thread. Try an LR needle instead of the Tri needle which is more suited for heavy weight leathers. Your lid is a little light in the leather weight and could be the reason your tension is not working well. All the same it looks to me you have sewn the back and lid to the gusset first and made the mistake of not stitching the lid the right way up. The lid is the most important to look good so the thread needle should be going into it from the top. To over cum your wrinkling problem in the lid lining do not glue fully the lining except for the edge. Where the bend is and about an inch beyond don't glue. Putting an internal stiffener at the front of the lid up to just short of the fold will help as well. This video of mine shows the method I use for stitching most bags I make and note that the lid is not glued anywhere near the folding area - 

 

[Piko]

7 hours ago, RockyAussie said:

A 16 needle would be too small for a V92 thread. Try an LR needle instead of the Tri needle which is more suited for heavy weight leathers. Your lid is a little light in the leather weight and could be the reason your tension is not working well. All the same it looks to me you have sewn the back and lid to the gusset first and made the mistake of not stitching the lid the right way up. The lid is the most important to look good so the thread needle should be going into it from the top. To over cum your wrinkling problem in the lid lining do not glue fully the lining except for the edge. Where the bend is and about an inch beyond don't glue. Putting an internal stiffener at the front of the lid up to just short of the fold will help as well. This video of mine shows the method I use for stitching most bags I make and note that the lid is not glued anywhere near the folding area - 

 

Hey, thanks for the tips. Those are some good looking bags you make there. I also learned you can lift the foot and keep the needle down to do the back stitching: I never knew that! Again, I hand stitch mostly but these old bones od mine are clueing me to switch to machine so I am learning as I go.

I don’t really know where to get needles. I mostly buy from Amazon and Sailrite but I dont see options often like LR or DI etc, most of the time if I find an #18 for example it will only be one kind, so either TRI or DI etc. never seen multiple options. Do you recommend a place to buy needles? I also need other feet etc but again, still learning as I go. 
The trick I saw you using in the video for the backstitching is really helpful. 
I ll try not glueing the fold, but I get the bunching even at the edges. Also, I saw not planning on stitching the sides of the lid, I wonder if nit glueing the fold except for the edges would still work if I dont stitch the edges.

Yes, I ran one stitch line around the whole bag but was supposed to have the top stitch on the other side of the lid. I am still prototyping at this point. 
 

I was using an #18 needle with a 138 thread which is also not recommended but I like it better. So i hope that the not recommended  #16 with the v92 will work the same but there is only one way to find out. 
 

if I can find a website with different needle options I’ll buy the LR.

thank you for your time and tips. Much appreciated. 

[RockyAussie]

15 hours ago, Piko said:

if I can find a website with different needle options I’ll buy the LR.

In the banner at the top of this post is a good place to start if your in the US. https://leathermachineco.com/

 

[Piko]

7 hours ago, RockyAussie said:

In the banner at the top of this post is a good place to start if your in the US. https://leathermachineco.com/

 

Thanks!