Ok, finally a post of something I made

[Rawhide]

Very nice, Marlon! I am also a fan of your stitching and the handles look great! Your carving design has a nice mix of contemporary and traditional style to it.

Crystal

Thanks Crystal!

OK, Marlon, now that we all agree (and definitely add me in too) what a great looking piece that is, let's get down to brass tacks: what is the secret of your hand stitching?

Do you use a stitch groover? What kind of thread? How many stitches per inch? Anything else we non-hand stitchers ought to know. Talk to us, Senor!

Harvey

Los Angeles

Brass tacks: I do use a groover (Bob Douglas Versa Groover), however, I don't try to groove too deeply... I feel that the stitch should sit about a mm or two mm below the surface... this will keep the leather from folding over on the stitches when you slick the edges. (The closer you are to the edge, the more this matters, i.e. belts.)

I use Barbour's Linen Flax Thread (non-waxed) for all my hand stitching...I know a lot of folks use nylon, but I prefer the linen. I wax it myself with beeswax and I have yet had the cord fail...I've had leather fail before the cord.

On the bag itself, I used a Gomph 6 stitch per inch overstitch wheel to layout my hole locations with a Bob Douglas slim awl (on the handles and attach shields I used 8 spi, with a Peter Main awl). (I do it the old fashioned way like Al Stohlman, one hole at a time) The key is to do the exact same thing each hole... I stitch toward me and begin by piercing the hole (with right hand), then insert the left hand needle, pull through a little then I pull that same short piece of thread up into the corner of the diamond...then insert the opposite needle 'under' the thread already in the hole in the opposite corner of the diamond if you will, then pull the stitch up tight. You have to be careful to always do it the exact same way, or a stitch will look out of place. When I'm all done, i use the overstitch wheel again to run over the stitches back and forth and it helps seat them well.

Hope this helps...

[ETW Grumpy]

I will agree, the bag looks wonderful and your hand stitching is top notch. My question is how do you keep the thread so white? By the time I get done, my thread is usually a lovely shade of grey. I wash my hands before, take care not to let the thread drag the ground, etc, but it never comes out like that. A little help here??

Edited April 21, 2009 by ETW Grumpy

[Rawhide]

I will agree, the bag looks wonderful and your hand stitching is top notch. My question is how do you keep the thread so white? By the time I get done, my thread is usually a lovely shade of grey. I wash my hands before, take care not to let the thread drag the ground, etc, but it never comes out like that. A little help here??

Hi Grumpy... It's nothing you're doing.. It's the thread...I had the exact same problem when I started and tried everything from not pulling too tight to rubbing the cord with brown paper bag.

The thread you are using sort of stretches when you pull tight and for whatever reason looks grey (plus it's usually way too much wax on it). Use non-waxed linen thread and wax it yourself, you'll see a big difference.