Cameroo Report post Posted February 5, 2013 Forgive me if this question has been answered before, but I did some thorough searching and didn't come up with anything. I'm a small-time leather hobbyist and I'm making some leather dog collars to sell off as a fund raiser for a local dog rescue group. I made a prototype that I like for the most part. It is a 1 1/2 inch wide strip of latigo that is probably around 10 - 11 oz, with another 1 inch strip centered on top of that (think ranger style belt). I have rivets installed to hold the two together without necessarily having to do any stitching, but to me it just looks unfinished. After watching Nigel's recent videos and a little practising I am feeling much more confident with the appearance and speed of my hand stitching and want to try running a stitch along both edges of the narrower strip. I have been using a 4 prong slanted thonging chisel to pre-punch my holes. Now I may be making a mountain out of a molehill, but I've noticed that if the two layers are curved as they would be when worn by the dog, the outer layer is obviously longer than the inner layer, because it has to go around more material. My concern is that if I just lay the pieces out flat and punch the holes to match up, then after the collar is stitched and bucked up, the inner layer might be all bunched-up. Is this anything to worry about, or will the outer layer just stretch to compensate? Just curious if any of you have encountered any similar problems (of if it's even going to be a problem). I'll probably just go ahead and try pre-punching the holes with the pieces laid out flat and stitch them up. I'd just hate to learn the hard way if someone else has already had a similar experience. Here's a picture of what I've got so far. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Northmount Report post Posted February 6, 2013 Lay the collar out over a 4x4 or round post so you can keep the curve while you are punching your holes. I would also glue the 2 straps together before punching and stitching. Keep your curve while gluing it up. It is very nice to be able to keep the curve while you are working on it. Makes a more professional looking piece. Tom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cameroo Report post Posted February 6, 2013 Thanks Tom. That's along the lines of what I was thinking, I just wasn't sure if it was necessary, or if it was just my OCD kicking in. Thanks for the tip on gluing it first. Professional is what I'm going for Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
