Hand Stitch Threads, Which One?

[katsass]

The holsters you did above, 7 cord at 6 stitches per inch?

Jeremy

You hit it right on the head. I use 6spi for most of my work. Mike

Edited March 21, 2012 by katsass

[Timbo]

The wax also helps lock the stitch together inside the stitch hole.

Edited March 21, 2012 by Timbo

[J Hayes]

Where do you get the waxed linen? I've seen it a few places but no size is given.

I end my stitching by going over 3 stitches and cutting flush on the backside.

Jeremy

[Dwight]

I use a Boss for just about everything I sew, . . . but occasionally I have to hand sew something (got a wallet to do tomorrow :-( )

I do the awl trick first, . . . then use what we called a sail needle in the Navy, . . . a needle, handle, and a small bobbin of thread. I do a lock stitch instead of saddle stitch, . . . and use the 346 thread that is sold by Tandy's.

It has always worked for me, . . . though just every now and again I drop down to the 277 for a special project. Both have a wax like coating on them.

May God bless,

Dwight

[ouchmyfinger]

try a vinagaroon solution instead of black dye if you are having problems with it making your thread dark, make sure to not get it on the inside of the holster because it will cause a corrosion since it is essentially rusty vinegar. also when you remove it you will need to wash it off and a baking soda type bath will help neutralize your leather also.

i use a dremel to drill my holes and i think it works great, you need to have a steady hand and make sure you are going straight down on the leather and through to the other side. its a lot easier on the hands for me but i never really had a GOOD awe either

[katsass]

i use a dremel to drill my holes and i think it works great, you need to have a steady hand and make sure you are going straight down on the leather and through to the other side. its a lot easier on the hands for me but i never really had a GOOD awe either

I've done this, but a caution; Most folks I have seen that use one, use a 1/16" drill bit. That size will often 'show' the holes after stitching. Use a 3/64" bit and a #1 harness needles. You'll need to pull the needle through with a pair of pliers, but in the end, your stitching will look "mo better". Also, with the Dremel, alignment on the back side of your work is essential, the thing will punch through QUICKLY, and misalignment is easy. With an awl, you can work the tip around a bit to ensure proper location of the stitch line much more proficiently. JMHO Mike.

[ouchmyfinger]

That's the same I use also lol. I also go over my stitches with a glass slicker and run the overstitcher after also. I lay my project down on scrap wood to ensure I'm going straight through.

Thanks for the follow up. I didn't know the exact size of the bit at the time but yeah pliers are the only way to get it through lol.

[katsass]

I use a Boss for just about everything I sew, . . . but occasionally I have to hand sew something (got a wallet to do tomorrow :-( )

I do the awl trick first, . . . then use what we called a sail needle in the Navy, . . . a needle, handle, and a small bobbin of thread. I do a lock stitch instead of saddle stitch, . . . and use the 346 thread that is sold by Tandy's.

It has always worked for me, . . . though just every now and again I drop down to the 277 for a special project. Both have a wax like coating on them.

May God bless,

Dwight

Dwight (not to try to steal the thread) but I ended up in the 'brownshoe' Navy, and a 'twidget' to boot, so I never got around a sail needle much while in service. I've tried one a few times but had an awful time getting uniform stitching with it. I learned to saddle stitch long ago so I have stayed with it, as it SEEMS easier to me --- maybe it's just the product of proper instruction and practice for each and/or either method. The sail needle SEEMS as though it would be quicker though, at least on stuff around 5-6oz or so. Mike

Edited March 21, 2012 by katsass

[gringobill]

I use 4 cord (strands) 5 and 7 cord, depending on what I'm stitching. 7 cord for the welt side of most holsters. Mike

Hey Mike, first off, all your holsters really look good( that one with the yellow ostrich leg inlay is killer,) and my hat's off to you for hand stitching everything. It's darn sure a lot more work and time consuming. Having said that it seems like there's a renaissance in hand stitching and I see more and more high end stuff that's "hand stitched," i.e. some of the really fancy stuff in the Traditional Cowboy Artists show. It's a nice touch to say your work is all "hand stitched,) particularly when it looks as good as yours does! So you're on the cutting edge of a trend and probably didn't even know it!!!!!! LOL

I learned the same way you did, in the saddle shop where I learned as a pup, the ONLY way you hand stitched was with waxed linen thread. So when I hand stitch that's what I do. What they used and what I have always used is "dry linen," and I use a block of beeswax to to wax it.

One Big advantage of waxed linen is preparing the ends ( attaching the needles.) with linen you can thin down the ends of the thread with your sharp knife and then roll them to a nice sharp point making it way easier to thread into a small egg eye harness needlle and there is less bulk there when you pull it through the holes. Those ends really stay together way better than any kind of waxed synthetic thread. When I hand sew with waxed synthetic thread of any kind inevitably the needles are wanting to come off pretty quick.

One thing I wanted to ask you is where you get your linen thread and are you buying it in different colors or are you dyeing natural linen? All I have ever used and seen is natural.

Thanks,

Bill

[katsass]

Hey Mike, first off, all your holsters really look good( that one with the yellow ostrich leg inlay is killer,) and my hat's off to you for hand stitching everything. It's darn sure a lot more work and time consuming. Having said that it seems like there's a renaissance in hand stitching and I see more and more high end stuff that's "hand stitched," i.e. some of the really fancy stuff in the Traditional Cowboy Artists show. It's a nice touch to say your work is all "hand stitched,) particularly when it looks as good as yours does! So you're on the cutting edge of a trend and probably didn't even know it!!!!!! LOL

I learned the same way you did, in the saddle shop where I learned as a pup, the ONLY way you hand stitched was with waxed linen thread. So when I hand stitch that's what I do. What they used and what I have always used is "dry linen," and I use a block of beeswax to to wax it.

One Big advantage of waxed linen is preparing the ends ( attaching the needles.) with linen you can thin down the ends of the thread with your sharp knife and then roll them to a nice sharp point making it way easier to thread into a small egg eye harness needlle and there is less bulk there when you pull it through the holes. Those ends really stay together way better than any kind of waxed synthetic thread. When I hand sew with waxed synthetic thread of any kind inevitably the needles are wanting to come off pretty quick.

One thing I wanted to ask you is where you get your linen thread and are you buying it in different colors or are you dyeing natural linen? All I have ever used and seen is natural.

Thanks,

Bill

Bill, to tell you the truth I don't remember where I got the huge spool of natural unwaxed linen thread I have used for a number of years. The thing was enormous! I'm starting to get low on it and am trying to find out where I can replace the thing. For the white, I bought a little spool from Springfield Leather --- but I don't use much white thread. For black and brown I just dunked a wad of the natural linen into a jug of Fiebing's dye and hung it up to dry (watch out, if it slaps you in the face you'll look like you have scars all over the place) --- waxed it good, then when ready to use it, pulled a length through a little piece of brown paper bag to clean of the excess wax. Mike.