Equipe saddle, repair of worn saddle flap

[Mulesaw]

This time at home, one of my customers asked if I could repair the saddle flap of an Equipe saddle, where the outer layer of leather had been worn through.
She had bought the saddle second hand since it fit both her and her horse perfectly, so she is not the one who has managed to wear the saddle flap to this extent.

Actually I am kind of puzzled as to why it was only worn through on the right hand side of the saddle, but the left side had just a bit of normal wear, so either the previous owner must have had used her right leg more, or perhaps have used some abrasive things on her right leg, like an unprotected zipper?

For once I have managed to take pictures through the process, to help giving an idea of how I did the repair job.

In total the job took 8 hours, so it is not a super fast job, but I never expected it to be. The value of the saddle still makes it worth making a repair like this, and difficult work holding/handling and hand sewing is the main reason for the time consumption. If I had a cylinder arm walking foot sewing machine, I might have been able to pull it off a bit faster, but I am only guessing. A saddle is fairly awkward to move around, and It only takes one slip to make the stitch line look bad and making matters worse, so I think that I would probably still go with hand sewing in this case.

 

1) outer layer of thin leather on the saddle flap is worn through.

 

2) A pleasing curve shape was cut on some paper. The inspiration for the curve came from the sides of the seat, and I wanted the ends to correspond to the angles of the lower reinforcement piece.

 

3)The curve is lowered to show the corresponding ends of the lower reinforcement piece.

 

4) A piece of thin leather (approx 2 mm thick) is cut out in the correct shape. It is deliberately made so that the lower part leaves a 3/8" gap towards the lower part of the saddle flap. (This is similar to how the original worn piece was made, to give a nice smooth transition for the lower reinforcement piece)

 

5) The repair piece is skived along all edges. approximately 5/8" wide.

6) The stitching for the lower part of the saddle flap is cut plus the lower part of the decorative stitches. The lower reinforcement piece is carefully removed and put aside to be used again. The worn piece of the saddle is cut of, following a curve matching the repair piece. Leaving approximately 5/8" overlap.

 

7) The repair piece is glued on using contact cement and hand sewn along the upper part. The decorative stitching is continued as well. (I sew over the first and last 3 original stitches to lock them in place)

 

8 ) The lower reinforcement piece is sewn in place again. Hand sewing since I don't have a sewing machine that could do it easily and allow me to maneuver the saddle easily around. I tried my best to use the existing holes in the heavy part of the flap. 

 

 

9) The completed repair job.