Newbie Question On Punching Holes For Sewing

[Bard Skye]

]I got about half of the 8" seem sewed. Broke a third needle pulling it through with pliers. I finally gave up on using the curved needles and straightened them back out, which probably weekend them. I I don't know how Al does it. Trying to angle a curved needle with the least amount of pressure flips it the opposite way. I also started using a small piece of leather to push the needles through and save my thumb. It doesn't look very good. Fingernail marks all over it and the lips are protruding instead of flush. But I have to go through the learning process. I am open to any and all suggestions on how to improve this other than lots of practice, which I am already aware of. Still haven't received a catalog from Sheridan and am still looking for good needles and awl blades.

The only thing I can say about your difficulty piercing the leather is that there's no such thing as an awl that *too* sharp. <g>

The needle *should* follow the channel that you've punched without a great deal of pressure.

I also notice that the holes you're punching are emerging from the underside of the leather. For the type of seam you're doing, the holes need to emerge in the cut edge, as shown in the attached illustration.

Hope this helps.

Skye

[Toolingaround]

Hello

Newbie here, I can't afford to buy an awl yet so presently I am just abusing scrap leather and have not done much in the way of a real project yet but I thought I would tell you about these needles from spotted pony traders. Here is there link

http://www.spottedponytraders.com/products/i/?id=TO&action=detail&prod_id=125

These needles are super sharp! I took a picture of them stuck in heavy armor leather but can't seam to up load it to the form on my iPod at the moment. Any how the large S curve needle went through the super heavy leather like butter. Infact these needles are so sharp that you probably can not saddle stitch with them as they will probably cut the thread. They are great for frontier type cloths and moccasins. In a pinch they would probably do for your project and are cheep as dirt. The people are nice at spotted pony and so is their leather, unfortunately they don't carry veg tan.

Good luck with your project!

Cheers Toolingaround

[hosscomp]

The only thing I can say about your difficulty piercing the leather is that there's no such thing as an awl that *too* sharp. <g>

The needle *should* follow the channel that you've punched without a great deal of pressure.

I also notice that the holes you're punching are emerging from the underside of the leather. For the type of seam you're doing, the holes need to emerge in the cut edge, as shown in the attached illustration.

Hope this helps.

Skye

Wow, Skye. This really helps. When I started, I was wondering if it should go all the way through or just channel to channel and even looked it up again, but I was seeing that picture as an angled shot rather than a cross section as it is clearly labeled. Any way, I have completed that seam the wrong way now and am going to make it work even if I have to cover it with something decorative. But I will know how to do the next one right.

Thanks again,

Ron

[hosscomp]

Hello

Newbie here, I can't afford to buy an awl yet so presently I am just abusing scrap leather and have not done much in the way of a real project yet but I thought I would tell you about these needles from spotted pony traders. Here is there link

http://www.spottedpo...ail&prod_id=125

These needles are super sharp! I took a picture of them stuck in heavy armor leather but can't seam to up load it to the form on my iPod at the moment. Any how the large S curve needle went through the super heavy leather like butter. Infact these needles are so sharp that you probably can not saddle stitch with them as they will probably cut the thread. They are great for frontier type cloths and moccasins. In a pinch they would probably do for your project and are cheep as dirt. The people are nice at spotted pony and so is their leather, unfortunately they don't carry veg tan.

Good luck with your project!

Cheers Toolingaround

Thanks, Tooling,

Since my last post I went to Tandy and bought a bunch of needles, two of which were the S curve type. I tried them and they work much better than the single curve ones I tried, but I switched to the blunt straight needles to finish that seam. The straight ones worked well since I was sewing it wrong anyway. But, thanks for that link. I will keep it handy. And good luck in your new hobby. I am a 60 year old learning this because I just love it and it will give me something to do when I retire from computer programming.

Thanks again,

Ron

[Bard Skye]

Wow, Skye. This really helps. When I started, I was wondering if it should go all the way through or just channel to channel and even looked it up again, but I was seeing that picture as an angled shot rather than a cross section as it is clearly labeled. Any way, I have completed that seam the wrong way now and am going to make it work even if I have to cover it with something decorative. But I will know how to do the next one right.

Thanks again,

Ron

Glad to be of service.

Skye

[katsass]

OK,from the old grumpy guy; I've read many of the replies here and have a few comments. First off, I learned to stitch leather from an old WWI Cavalry soldier (that gives you an idea of how old I am) and it sounds like many of you feel that stitching leather should be almost as simple a Granny sewing an apron .... it ain't. Many want their stitching to go as quickly as hand sewing cloth ... it won't, but will speed up some with practice. Good stitching requires attention to detail, concentration, and patience. It also requires a good, sharp awl. (notice that I totally ignore the use of any sort of punch) The only alternate way of making holes for stitching, that actually works well, is the use of a Dremel type tool to drill your holes. Now, many folks will use a Dremel type tool to drill their holes for stitching. To the purist, this is heresy, BUT it can be done with good results ..... if done properly. The biggest mistake is to use too large a drill bit. Most will start with a 1/16" bit, find that they cannot pull the thread through by hand, and go bigger. If you are going to use a drill, best results will be had by using a 3/64" bit to make an initial little bitty hole hole. Follow that with an awl to make each stitch. It will allow you to insert your needles, after opening the hole with your awl, and pull them through with a small pair of pliers. NOTE; If you can pull the needles through by hand, your hole is waaay too big. After the first needle is pulled through and the thread is pulled tight, you insert the second needle from the opposite side .... either on top of, or below the first thread. It is necessary for you to do each stitch exactly the same way each time, to have good even stitching. As to why I indicate that the second needle must always go over or under the preceding thread, just make three stitches, making sure that they all either go one way or the other. Now, make the next stitch the opposite, followed by a couple done as the original ones. That one stitch will stand out because it is different, and a final go over with the overstitch will not rectify that. Now, you should be using a stitching pony, it will allow you to build speed and uniformity in time. Poke your awl, stick the needle in, pull through and back towards yourself, inset the second needle ..... on top of or below the first thread, pull through and pull tight. Go on to the next hole. I suggest this method if drilling holes because, in time, you will be able to graduate to just sticking the awl into and through the dimple made by the overstitch which marks the stitch placement, and not need to use the Dremel and dinky drill bit. Some have mentioned something about crossed needles ........ frankly, you'll never get good stitching that way.

Now, these are the ramblings of a grumpy old man, that has hand stitched everything he's made for over 50 years. Take from my comments what you will, you didn't pay a dime for them.To me, good stitching will enhance your project and show off your abilities ... poor stitching will also reflect on your abilities. Good stitching takes time, practice and effort ..... just as anything worth doing does. An example of my stitching done with an awl and pliers. Mike

Edited October 15, 2011 by katsass

[hosscomp]

OK,from the old grumpy guy; I've read many of the replies here and have a few comments.

. . .

Wow! Nice work katsass. And thanks for your frank advice. I am getting much better now. Next I am going to make myself a stitching pony.

Ron

[hosscomp]

]I got about half of the 8" seem sewed.

I finally took some pictures of the final product, a shuffleboard weight case that holds four red and four blue weights.

This one shows how I covered the bad stitching on the bottom.

[hosscomp]

I finally took some pictures of the final product, a shuffleboard weight case that holds four red and four blue weights.

This one shows how I covered the bad stitching on the bottom.

Sorry. I am trying to find Help on posting images. I'm getting them way too large and running out of "global upload quota". Now it seems I am unable to delete or edit my own post.

Ron

[Toolingaround]

Hi Hosscomp

Wow I love the case! The braided handle is a nice touch too. I am glad you did not give up when the stitching got tough. I am only doing non sewn projects right now until I can afford a decent awl and some punches. Sorry I can't help with the photo problem. I have not had the courage to post any pics yet myself.

Great job, love it!

Cheers, Tooling around

[hosscomp]

This is a correction to a previous post.

I finally took some pictures of the final product, a shuffleboard weight case that holds four red and four blue weights.

This one shows how I covered the bad stitching on the bottom.

Ron

Edited November 28, 2011 by hosscomp