Using Linen For Machine Sewing

[JAM]

Hi,

I want to use linen in my Cobra 4 for saddle skirts, and I've been experimenting. Now I have questions:

Should the linen thread be run through a wax pot or lube pot, and if so, what liquid should be in the pot?

Or should I prep (wax) the thread somehow before I ever thread the machine?

What should I do with the bobbin thread? Should it be dry linen, same size as the top thread, or what?

I played with 5 cord, left twist, both dry and run through a lube pot with silicone (with 207 poly in the bobbin because that's what I had in there), and a size 200 needle, and it did okay but the thread tends to get a bit rubbed and frayed-looking as it pulls back up after catching the bobbin thread.

Any ideas? Tips? Advice?

[JAM]

Never mind - got the answers I needed from Campbell-Randall, my linen thread supplier.

[J Hayes]

Never mind - got the answers I needed from Campbell-Randall, my linen thread supplier.

Care to share with the class?

[JAM]

Sure. I asked Lisa Naegle at Campbell-Randall this question:

"In addition to using linen for all my handstitching now (and I have the whole beeswax/resin coad trick nailed) I want to use it in my Cobra 4. I understand that should be no problem - but is there anything I should do to treat the thread before machine stitching with it? Is there a wax system, or is it enough to run it through a silicone lube pot? (or should I even do that?) Or should I just machine stitch it dry?"

and this was her answer:

"If you decide to sew linen on your Cobra, you will need a wax pot. We have a liquified wax called Campbell's Thread Lube that we sell in quarts and gallons. The Campbell has been sewing linen long before synthetic threads were invented, so it is a good option for you. The quart runs $8.50 and the gallon runs $22.50."

So I've ordered the wax (and wax pot, I think, if they have them). Meanwhile I experimented with some 5-cord left twist Hungarian linen. I filled a bobbin with it and soaked the bobbin with silicone lube from an eyedropper. Then I ran the top thread through a lube pot with silicone lube, both of which I got from Weaver. I loosened the tension way up and starting stitching through two layers of 12-13 oz scrap, and tightened the tension a little, just enough to make the backside look good. Using a 794LR size 230 Schmetz needle. It stitched really well - looks nice, no problems. Top thread makes a lovely embedded channel in dry leather, no grooving required. I think I need the wax rather than silicone for the preservative value (and to bind the thread and give it a bit of "stick" when the wax dries - I'm just guessing here).

Either way I'm pretty excited to be going back to "period" with my stitching, even for the machine-stitched parts. And the hand-waxed 8-cord is going to make wonderful horn caps and cantle bindings.

[oltoot]

Like Lisa said we used linen long before the others were available and both top and bobbin threads were waxed. I now use poly thread and silicone lube on top. I do not lube the bobbin thread. (Union Lockstitch machine with 277 thread for most work. I use #348 for hand sewing and beeswax it, and #138 in my Singer 211 and do not lube in this machine) I think you will find that silicone lube is easier to use and much cleaner. For years I used Selaris non heating wax and used Selaris Machine Cleaner as a thinner and cleaner which are like the Randall products, I think. I like silicone better. And while I have the floor, why the interest in linen thread? modern poly threads are stronger, last longer and machines can be adjusted to pull tighter stitches with it. IMHO

[JAM]

Well, often bonded poly is exactly what I want - handbags, chaps, etc. - but in saddles I want to go with linen. Some of my "hero" saddlemakers only use linen, and that alone is good enough for me to try it.

I like the look and durability of linen in horn and cantle bindings, and want the thread through the saddle to match. So I did my research (here and elsewhere) and this is an abstract of what I found:

"Linen is a natural fibre and not subject to sunlight degradation like a lot of synthetics."

"It is stronger when wet as the natural fibres swell up."

"Linen Does not stretch. The stitches pull up tight and stay tight."

"If properly waxed it will out last Synthetics. I've been around long enough to see the difference now 10 to 20 years is all that you can reliably get from Synthetics. I've had to replace stitching that was done by me in as short a time as 7 years using Polyester Blended Thread. Whereas I have never had a Linen Thread fail in nearly 50 years of stitching. Also there are more Dead Sailors (below the surface stitches) with Synthetics owing to the stretch factor pulling tight (over tensioning) when the next stitch is done."

"A problem with synthetic threads is their strength! There is a danger that they can be pulled up so tight that the stitch cuts through the leather like a cheese-wire, and over tightening can also cause 'rippling' along the stitch line."

"Linen doesn't rot if prepared properly with Beeswax & Resin." This is how I prep thread for handsewing horn and cantle bindings, and the thread pulls snug and stays snug and looks wonderful.

"Barbour's Linen thread is all I use and have used for 45+ years - despite others experiences, I have found that linen thread holds up well over time and well made existing pieces bear that out. Not only is the leather in Packing Iron a good example of many existing pieces from the "Cowboy Period", all sewn with linen (or hemp) thread, but there are thousands of leather goods dating to much earlier (at least back to the early Middle Ages) still in good usable condition and last, but not least, such great leather workers as Al Stohlman used nothing but linen in his many years of working and thousands of pieces he made."

Yes, much of this was handsewing, but if I can use linen in my machine, why not? I was excited to find out that it was used in machines long before the synthetics were invented. It will make a mounted shooting saddle that much more "period" without spending the extra time handsewing the things that can be done on the machine.