Tunnel Stitching

[Daggrim]

I make a modernized version of medieval shoes, but I'd like to get into more authenticity. There is a stitch called a tunnel stitch, where the thread goes thru a hole in the flesh side of the sole, then exits thru the edge of the leather. Not thru the other side, but out the edge, where the leather's been cut. I've tried a few times, but it seems very hard to do. My first question is, how thick is the leather which is used for the sole?

Is such a stitch ised in any other modern application, such as saddles, or tack, or clothing, or bags?

Dag

[TwinOaks]

There's a youtube video of a guy making shoes floating around here somewhere that shows what I think you're talking about.

He uses a curved awl and needles to do it. It also shows him cutting into the sole at an angle for the stitching. When it's all stitched up, the cut is glued and smoothed over, leaving a barely visible seam that hides the stitches.

I've seen pics of that done on a saddle, and on a sheath, to very nice effect.

Here's the link to the video:

The part I think you're interested in starts about 4:35 minutes in. Edited July 27, 2009 by TwinOaks

[celticleather]

The guy in the video is sewing a sole to the welt of a shoe. This is just a conventional saddle-stitch, with a closed channel on the bottom of the shoe to hide and protect the stitches.

The true tunnel-stitch is usually employed where two pieces of leather are to be joined edge-to-edge. It is virtually impossible to achieve without the use of a curved awl and curved needles.

I've used this method a few times in the course of repair-work, where stitches need to be concealed, but it does need a good deal of practise! The lightest leather I've ever used with this style of stitching is 3mm . . . it's pretty difficult to hit the centre of the leather thickness on anything lighter.

The picture below shows the method, with all stitching carried out on the flesh side of the leather.

[Daggrim]

Ah, a curved awl and needle. So, how many holes can you make with the awl before you start stitching? I tried an awl once, but by the time I got stitching, I couldn't see my awl holes anymore.

dag

[UKRay]

Hi Dagrim,

I use a curved awl and a straight needle in exactly the same way Terry describes to butt stitch sword scabbards. I crease a stitch line and then run over it with an appropriate sized stitch marker and then use an awl to punch along both sides of the entire job before saddle stitching. I do it this way because to make a nice job you need to get into a rhythm with the hole making. They all need to be exactly the same angle and go through the centre of the leather in exactly the same way.

After a fair bit of practice I can now butt stitch 2mm thick leather reasonably easily and quickly using this method. I make replacement scabbards for period weapons so the technique has to be right.

Pictures attached may help to confuse you further but they show an original 17th century sword scabbard that has crumbled away and below it my new leather before dyeing and boning to conceal the stitch line.

The next image is an extreme close up of the butt joint and the stitching from the other picture. As you can see from the compression the work is stitched very tightly but the thread doesn't cut the leather.

I have gone a bit wider on the stitch depth than the original but when the job is properly boned flat it doesn't show. The critical issue is how tight you pull the thread and this is only learned through trial and error. Give it a go, it isn't difficult to make a good job - now a great job is something else, I'm still working on that one!

Ray

Ah, a curved awl and needle. So, how many holes can you make with the awl before you start stitching? I tried an awl once, but by the time I got stitching, I couldn't see my awl holes anymore.

dag

[Schno]

Only a very little off topic (please forgive me!)...

Ray, can you post a shot of the pointy end of that scabbard? I've been trying to figure out how to manage the tip on my first sheath attempt. I'm working on a blade not much wider than a stiletto, so I don't have a whole lot of room to work with.

Thanks!

[celticleather]

Nice job, Ray!

I think the only difference in our technique is that I prefer to punch the holes as I go along . . . no particular reason, I've just always done it that way! I use curved needles, since I find that they more easily follow the path of the awl through the leather. To each his own!

Terry

[Daggrim]

Thanks Ray and Terry,

Y'know, I've read about tunnel stitching and butt stitching numerous times, but with unanswered questions, I could only get so much of it. So, if you will bear with me one more time, tell me a little about the awls and needles you use. I'm a real beginner to this, as I opted to machine stitch my shoe soles to my uppers. I know there are discussions about using awls, but if you could give me a few basics, I'd appreciate it. I just ordered a book from the London Museum all about medieval shoes..."Shoes and Pattens". I borrowed a friends copy, and I'm hooked. So, maybe over the winter, I can get back to making shoes. (why do I do this to myself???)

Doug

[PaganBear]

also only mildly off topic, but I remember a very nice explanation of this type of stitch (was it called a tunnel stitch) in one of the bags & cases books from Tandy. In the book it shows the stitching on the grain side (looking like Ray's pics) rather than flesh side like Celt's pic

**runs to shop**

Stohlman books: The Art of Making Leather Cases Vol 1 with a much better description of the process in The Art of Hand Sewing Leather pg 30

[celticleather]

There's clearly a place for using tunnel stitching on the grain side of the leather, particularly in Ray's application, where it would be impossible to work from both sides of the piece.

I've attached a picture of one of my curved awls, and a curved needle. Whenever I accidentally bend a needle (I hate bent needles!), I put it aside to make it into a curved needle. I make the curve of the needle to match the curve of the awl, so that it more easily follows the hole punched by the awl.