white stitching on dark brown leather

[olandrea]

What would be the best white thread for hand sewing leather that will stay white even the leather got wet after some rain? I had a very bad experience with Barbours waxed pure flax sinew, after the leather ( Sedgwick Bridle Butt) got wet the brown color of the leather soaked on some places in to the white stitching. It looks quite ugly after all the work I had with this fly rod case.Thanks Olaf

[HarryB]

Olaf, I don't know of anything that is guaranteed not to stain, but I use a bonded nylon and it works considerably better than linen. Any linen or cotton based thread will discolor over time from saddle soap, dye dirt, wear, etc. Be sure you are through dying and finishing then sew with the nylon. I assume that a polyester or other synthetic will work about the same as nylon.

[Bree]

What would be the best white thread for hand sewing leather that will stay white even the leather got wet after some rain? I had a very bad experience with Barbours waxed pure flax sinew, after the leather ( Sedgwick Bridle Butt) got wet the brown color of the leather soaked on some places in to the white stitching. It looks quite ugly after all the work I had with this fly rod case.Thanks Olaf

Sounds to me like a problem with the leather and not with the thread. The dye was not sealed and it bled onto the thread. If your dye (or the tannery dye) is not weatherfast, you must seal the leather to prevent bleeding should the product get wet. No normal white thread can withstand being dyed a dark color and not show it.

I use white poly thread often with water-based dyes but I make certain that the leather is well sealed usually with a deep penetrating coat of sealer and multiple layers of airbrushed sealer.

My $.02

[olandrea]

Normally I would suspect that Sedgwick bridle butt would be weatherfast, but I must say the leather tube was more than 12 houers in the rain and was realy wet, may be this would happen with every dark leather and white thread after 12 houers in the rain. What would be a deep penetrating sealer? Will the leather still have this natural oily wax finish after the sealer? How is the lifespan of the poly thread compared to the flax sinew?

Thanks Olaf

[Bree]

Normally I would suspect that Sedgwick bridle butt would be weatherfast, but I must say the leather tube was more than 12 houers in the rain and was realy wet, may be this would happen with every dark leather and white thread after 12 houers in the rain. What would be a deep penetrating sealer? Will the leather still have this natural oily wax finish after the sealer? How is the lifespan of the poly thread compared to the flax sinew?

Thanks Olaf

I would try Top Coat 200 from Weaver to seal it. That will give you a pretty glossy finish... some glycerin soap might help get you a finish a bit more similar to the bridle leather.

The poly thread is very long lasting stuff. It resists UV and is quite tough. I use it a lot. I can't really speak for or against the flax sinew as I don't use it. I did some stitching with artificial sinew. It did the job but I didn't see any advantage to using it over poly machine thread.