Does Anyone Sew Chrome Tan Leather By Hand?

[Vivaldi]

Hi everyone,

Does anyone sew chrome tan leather by hand?

I have been trying to follow the recommendations from AL Stohlman in his book on The Art of Hand Sewing Leather, but it seems to be rather difficult or impossible to achieve a good result with the 2-3 ounce chrome tan leather I recently purchased. For example, the leather is so soft that it makes it difficult to use the stitching groover, the overstitch wheel doesn't seem to make indentations that last very long, and the leather moves about when I place it into the stitching pony and use the awl to make holes for the double needle saddle stitch as outlined in the book.

I recently tried to make a small sunglasses case for my wife by taking two pieces of the chrome tan leather and placing one on top of the other. Then I took a one inch strip of the chrome tan leather and folded it over the edges and tried to sew the edges together. I found it next to impossible to keep a straight stitch line because the leather was so soft and flimsy in the pony.

So my question is whether or not anyone out there might be doing this by hand, or does everyone use a maching when sewing chrome tan leather?

Any thoughts or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Vivaldi

[King's X]

I found the same problem. There are several solutions for you that have worked for me. One, there is hole punch for chrome tan that Tandy sells. Also, C.S. Osborne sells a tool called a "glove" chisel. I have one, but never knew what it was for. I just saw an ad at Zacks-White Leather for this tool. They are an ad sponor on leather work. See banners above. PM if you are interested in the one I have. I doubt that I will never use it.

Finally, I took the damn chrome tan to the better half and asked her to sew it. Surprisingly it sew easily with a general sewing machine and needle. BTW, my project was a weight bag for my granite station.

Good luck.