Gunslinger / fishtail pattern belt

[Mulesaw]

4 hours ago, BigBore said:

Very nice and clean work!

Thank you 

Brgds Jonas

1 hour ago, Gezzer said:

Looks GREAT !!!!! 

Lot of work in that .

Thanks, It did keep me occupied for some hours for sure 

Brgds Jonas

[Mulesaw]

56 minutes ago, bsshog40 said:

Very nice! That's a lot of stitching. That's the only thing that keeps me from wanting to make a belt. I figure I would have to have at least 20' or more of thread to keep from tangling up while hand stitching. 

Thanks, I suppose that one could skip the outer stitching, but I had seen a belt in here with the same design, and I wanted to challenge myself a bit :-)

I decided from the start that it would probably go wrong if I tried to sew it all in one go. So I just did like Stohlman suggests, with a couple of yards of thread each time, and when you run out of thread - you just start 3 stitches back and that locks it. 
Maybe if I had made bigger holes, it might have been possible to do it all in one go, but there's going to be a lot of abrasion on the ends of the thread if it is going to be pulled through the leather that many times I think.
If you look closely you can see where I have stopped and started again. On the lower picture: The fishtail in the middle on the back of the belt, that one I ended up having both the outer edge and the fishtail being started and stopped the same place. I tried to avoid that for the rest of the belt, since I was afraid that it would look clumsy. But when the two start/stop points are a bit away from each other it blends in better.
And I think that if anybody look that close to my belt while I am wearing it - they probably know what to look for anyway, and they would know why I did it 

Brgds Jonas

[AlZilla]

Is that a very long strap, doubled over around the buckle to give you 2 layers?

Very tedious work. The overlapped stitching isn't noticeable until you look for it. Very fine work!

[chuck123wapati]

wow that is nice!! Great looking stitching job imo. 

[PastorBob]

Wow!  that is super impressive!  All stitched by hand too!  I feel my fingers cramping as we speak.

[bsshog40]

8 hours ago, Mulesaw said:

Thanks, I suppose that one could skip the outer stitching, but I had seen a belt in here with the same design, and I wanted to challenge myself a bit 🙂

I decided from the start that it would probably go wrong if I tried to sew it all in one go. So I just did like Stohlman suggests, with a couple of yards of thread each time, and when you run out of thread - you just start 3 stitches back and that locks it. 
Maybe if I had made bigger holes, it might have been possible to do it all in one go, but there's going to be a lot of abrasion on the ends of the thread if it is going to be pulled through the leather that many times I think.
If you look closely you can see where I have stopped and started again. On the lower picture: The fishtail in the middle on the back of the belt, that one I ended up having both the outer edge and the fishtail being started and stopped the same place. I tried to avoid that for the rest of the belt, since I was afraid that it would look clumsy. But when the two start/stop points are a bit away from each other it blends in better.
And I think that if anybody look that close to my belt while I am wearing it - they probably know what to look for anyway, and they would know why I did it 

Brgds Jonas

👍

[Mulesaw]

@AlZilla Thanks for the nice comment,

it is just a regular length strap, I mean it is only doubled for the 2.5" around the buckle. So the sewing is purely decorative for the rest of the belt, but I read somewhere, that stitching can help make a belt a bit less flexible to prevent it from sagging. (I don't know if that is true though, so I guess I'll just have to wear it for a couple of years and see) :-)

Brgds Jonas

@chuck123wapati Thanks Chuck, it is without a doubt the flashiest work belt on board 

Brgds Jonas

[Mulesaw]

@PastorBob Thanks, I did manage to get a small crack in the little finger from tightening the thread. I did the sewing over a couple of days to keep it enjoyable. 

Brgds Jonas

[JDFred]

That sir, is a fine piece of work, good job.

[TonyV]

Very nicely done.  That is a lot of excellent hand stitching, especially without a clam or pony.  Wear it with pride.