Beginner's question about thread and needles

[Vivaldi]

Hi Everyone,

I'm am new at leatherworking and I'm trying to follow Al Stolhman's book on Hand Sewing, but I've generated a few questions I hope some of you out there might be able to help me answer.

I've attached a photo of some of my first stitching with a Tandy (4 in 1) awl using the diamond tip along with some of the Tandy black nylon thread.

My question is whether or not I am doing this properly. Does it look correct in the photo? The thread seems a little too small for the holes. I would welcome any feedback from the photo.

This brings to mind another question. I have seen various references to 5 cord linen thread, 7 cord linen thread, etc.... Can anyone tell me which cord linen thread would be comparable to the Tandy Nylon thread I am using in this photo (i.e. 3 cord or 5 cord)?

I am also wondering which needles go with which cord linen threads. Does anyone have a reference. I think I want to go with a linen thread that is heavier than the Tandy nylon thread, but I don't know which cord linen thread to try, what size needle to get, or for that matter, what awl to use. I am open to any suggestions.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciatd

Vivaldi

[Hilly]

Hi Everyone,

I'm am new at leatherworking and I'm trying to follow Al Stolhman's book on Hand Sewing, but I've generated a few questions I hope some of you out there might be able to help me answer.

I've attached a photo of some of my first stitching with a Tandy (4 in 1) awl using the diamond tip along with some of the Tandy black nylon thread.

My question is whether or not I am doing this properly. Does it look correct in the photo? The thread seems a little too small for the holes. I would welcome any feedback from the photo.

This brings to mind another question. I have seen various references to 5 cord linen thread, 7 cord linen thread, etc.... Can anyone tell me which cord linen thread would be comparable to the Tandy Nylon thread I am using in this photo (i.e. 3 cord or 5 cord)?

I am also wondering which needles go with which cord linen threads. Does anyone have a reference. I think I want to go with a linen thread that is heavier than the Tandy nylon thread, but I don't know which cord linen thread to try, what size needle to get, or for that matter, what awl to use. I am open to any suggestions.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciatd

Vivaldi

Hello, and welcome!

Your stitches look very nice, and you are right about the size of the holes in relation to the size of the thread. Those Tandy 4 in 1 awls are good for the birds as far as stitching goes. You would be much better off buying yourself one of those C.S.Osborne diamond point awls, IMO. You can find them on the Tandy (and others) website. These make much smaller holes than the Tandy 4 in 1 awls, and your stitching will look neater.

Frankly, that prewaxed linen thread that Tandy sells is not very nice thread. It might do in a pinch for large projects, or to tether your dog, but it is much too heavy for smaller items such as wallets and checkbooks, etc.

As far as thread goes, Royalwood sells prewaxed linen thread in many colors and several sizes. They sell a sample card for $2 that gives you samples of the different size threads and the different colors so you can judge for yourself which size is suitable for your project.

The only problem I find with prewaxed thread is that there is always way too much wax on the thread. You can fix this by folding a piece of heavy brown paper over the thread and rubbing back and forth very briskly. This melts the wax further into the thread and removes excess at the same time. Makes the thread much easier to work with.

Also, don't get sticker shock when looking at linen threads. It's quite expensive. A #1 spool Barbours unwaxed linen thread costs more than $40, so the smaller spools that Royalwood sells can be a good alternative, especially if you want different colors.

As to thread size comparisons, Barbours 5 cord is roughly 1/2 the diameter of Tandy's waxed linen thread. This size is great for smaller items. For larger items, use a larger size such as 7 or 8.

Now I'm going to let someone else here jump in and offer advice on needle sizes, and where to get them.... I hardly ever hand stitch any more, as I'm spoiled beyone belief with 2 nice stitching machines.

Good luck, and have fun.

Edited December 20, 2009 by Hilly

[Hilly]

Vivaldi, here's some more info that will probably help you.

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=20998&pid=135368&st=0entry135368

[Vivaldi]

Hilly,

Thanks so much for your reply. I did not realize that a Barbour 5 cord is roughly 1/2 the diameter of the Tandy waxed nylon thread. I am definitely going to check out the Osborne awls and the linen thread references you listed. Your information is greatly helpful to me and thank you again.

Vivaldi

[Hilly]

Vivaldi, please re-read my earlier post. I said it is roughly half the diameter of Tandy's waxed LINEN thread. I don't know whether or not Tandy sells waxed nylon.

Have a Merry Christmas.

[Vivaldi]

Thanks Hilly,

Yes, I bought my waxed nylon thread from Tandy, and I just went to the website and I see that Tandy also sells waxed linen thread. I didn't realize that until you pointed it out. There is no mention of cord size in either of these threads on the Tandy website, so it is hard to tell if one is thicker than the other. I agree with you that the problem in my stitching sample shown in the photo above is that the awl is too large, so I am ordering the Osborne awl as you suggested. What I also decided to do was order various sizes of 3, 5, and 7 cord wnwaxed linen thread from a different supplier and I plan to start experimenting with different needles, awls, and threads so as to try and get the thread size appropriate for the awl stab holes.

Many thanks and merry christmas,

Vivaldi

[Hilly]

Thanks Hilly,

Yes, I bought my waxed nylon thread from Tandy, and I just went to the website and I see that Tandy also sells waxed linen thread. I didn't realize that until you pointed it out. There is no mention of cord size in either of these threads on the Tandy website, so it is hard to tell if one is thicker than the other. I agree with you that the problem in my stitching sample shown in the photo above is that the awl is too large, so I am ordering the Osborne awl as you suggested. What I also decided to do was order various sizes of 3, 5, and 7 cord wnwaxed linen thread from a different supplier and I plan to start experimenting with different needles, awls, and threads so as to try and get the thread size appropriate for the awl stab holes.

Many thanks and merry christmas,

Vivaldi

Vivaldi "Four Seasons" is a great album. Winter is my favorite.