Why Does This Keep Happening !

[Campchair]

glad you figured it out. I always dye first then stitch now.

I do hand sewing with waxed thread a lot, and I've found a very LIGHT (very sparing) mix of 50% DISTILLED water, 30% acetone, and 20% grain alcohol (Everclear) will remove just about anything before dieing with spirit dye. Use the mix very sparingly - do not soak the article in it. I have gotten "specs" like what is shown in the photos from the wax on the thread, and from various bits and pieces left on the workbench. Now, there will be some replies that the mix above will destroy the natural oils in the leather and make it prone to drying and cracking, etc, and this is absolutely correct. However, the spirit dye will do the same thing, as it has alcohol in the mix to degrease the leather so the pigments will penetrate and color the leather. It is necessary to oil and or restore the natural oils in the leather afterwards anyway, after dieing as the spirit dye dries it out and leaves it hard. I've found the extra surface degreasing won't matter that much. I make a mix of beeswax and neetsfoot oil that i mix up myself. Heat the beeswax in a tin or a Pyrex vessel. Add the neetsfoot oil a little at a time, letting it cool down and get hard. Add oil till it is about the consistency of saddle soap. To apply, heat till liquid, brush on, and drive it into the leather with a hair dryer (or a heat gun if you have one - BE CAREFUL AND DO NOT "COOK" THE LEATHER! Itat is irreversable. Practice on scrap first. ) I have some personal items that are 30+ years old that were dyed with this prep used beforehand, and they are pliable and soft as when they were made. I don't think it makes much difference if you sew before or after dieing, unless you don't want to color the thread. If it is properly waxed, it won't absoeb that much anyway. However, if you want very light stitching (as on a holster) that contrasts with the darker leather, you need to sew after. NOTE: ALWAYS use distilled water as minerals will color and sometings react with the dye. This is unpredictable and tends to happen at the worst times. Also, degrease any rags or applicators before applying the degreaser to the leather. Some daubers seem to be oily, especially the sheepskin pads as they contain a lot of the natural lanolin.

[Sylvia]

I do hand sewing with waxed thread a lot, and I've found a very LIGHT (very sparing) mix of 50% DISTILLED water, 30% acetone, and 20% grain alcohol (Everclear) will remove just about anything before dieing with spirit dye.

Thanks for the recipe. It is interesting to me that you recipe is similar to Fiebing Dye Prep. Which is basically water, grain alcohol (everclear) and sudsy Ammonia.

But I find that the dye prep seems to draw random dots of tannins to the surface.

[DoubleC]

I have never EVER heard of cleaning the leather before dying with saddle soap... Fiebings has a dye prep cleaner that is basically water and sudsy ammonia and clear booze. You are supposed to clean the piece with it and dye immediately.

But I tend to agree with Benilly... that looks like glue or something that resists dye.

I often wash my leather, I mean lather it up and rinse, rinse, rinse with saddle soap to make sure I have all the sanding dust off, then let it dry over night. It's not a resist Syl......at least mine isn't, LOL.

[Sylvia]

I often wash my leather, I mean lather it up and rinse, rinse, rinse with saddle soap to make sure I have all the sanding dust off, then let it dry over night. It's not a resist Syl......at least mine isn't, LOL.

Ummm.... I looked back to make sure... but I never said it was a resist. Personally I would NOT wash my tooled leather with saddle soap because it makes the tooling definition go away. But to each his or her own... if it works for you... I say go for it.

[DoubleC]

Oh Syl, not tooled leather. Just after I've finished sanding the the backs and sides, not even to the burnish state yet. Just a blank canvas, LOL.