Four Checkbook covers

[azrider]

Here are four checkbook covers I did. If you go clockwise from the Masonic one to the cow skull, that is the order I did them in. I really saw a progression on my hand stiching on these. For the Masonic one, I didn't use a grove because I was having a hard time visualizing the angle the awl needs to be at, and how that affects the finished product. It helped me a bunch, but didn't help the stiching at all. The cow skull one came out looking way better than anything I have ever hand stiched before.

Critiques welcome.

[TimKleffner]

AZ

Looks good. Thanks for the post. Practice on your stitch line. I was taught that the stitch line is the last thing on the project, yet really makes or brakes the piece. Also, practice on finishing your edges. I use lacquer on my finished pieces, then after sewing, I lightly sand, dye with dark brown or mahogany then put a light coat of lacquer back on the edge. Then I use heavy canvas to burnish the edge.

Keep up the work

Happy tooling

Tim

[azrider]

Thanks Tim. I was pretty happy with the way the stiching came out on the last one, but the edges still need some work. I have not been dyeing my edges, but have been using beeswax as a top coat. I tried some Edge Cote on one of these, but it looked very plasticy when dry. It was probably how it was applied, though. I really enjoyed doing the group of these, just as a way to practice different skills. Back to practicing...

[ETW Grumpy]

Looks good. You can definitely see the progression of your hand stitching. What weight leather are these? Did you dye the inside black? If so, have you had any problem with crocking? As for practice, it's all practice. That's how we improve. Keep at it.

[azrider]

Thanks, Grumpy. These are all out of 2/3oz leather. The black on the insides is pigskin lining, with the shinny side out, so no crocking.

The dark one was dyed with Ecoflow antique, with no resist. The two with basket weave are olive oil and Bee Natural, and the floral one is walnut oil and Bee Natural. (Just wanted to see if it looked differnt, and the walnut is less gold, more brown colored, but it didn't show well in the photo.)