Dye Lightening Along Stitched Seam Lines...

[thekid77]

Hey friends,

Recently I stitched a leather tube...the dye seems to be lighter among the edges...

At first I thought the lightening may have been due to the stitching....but the dye along the edges was lighter than the rest of the tube before I stitched it...

Any thoughts? Thanks everybody

[stingray4540]

Did you finish the edges before you dyed? Accidentally getting some kind of finish on the grain side that resisted the dye?

No other explanation I can think of.

If it was that way before you stitched it, why did you bother with all the stitching?

For others, smarter than me, it will help if you tell them the dye used, leather used, how you applied it, etc.

[thekid77]

Thanks for the reply sting, I stitched it because, aside from the contact cement, the stitching is what is actually holding the tube together..

I used Tandy water based dye-eco flo java brown...i applied it with a wool dauber and I used 6-7oz veg tanned leather...thanks again!!!

[stingray4540]

What I meant was, if you are unhappy about the finish, why did you bother to stitch it up instead of starting over. But that's neither here nor there.

You mentioned contact cement. Did you glue it before you dyed it? Maybe you got some glue on the leather which prevented the dye from penetrating the leather? The picture is kind of dark, but all I can think of is that somehow there was something on the leather, resisting the dye along the edges. But then again, I'm not really experienced enough to think of any other possibilities.

[thekid77]

Sting,

I have only been leather working since last December. Since then, I have been working on small projects (knife sheaths, dice cups, etc) to try to develop the fundamental skills (pattern making, finishing edges, stitching, dyeing, etc) necessary to build a billiard cue case (which is my long-term goal)...

This point of this project was to put all of those skills together to attempt to make a case on a very small scale----the point was to give it a try from start to finish and see what I liked and what I didn't like in the end. That is the reason that I went ahead with the stitching and did not start over..

I glued the project after I dyed it, so there is no chance of the glue acting as a resist to the dye. The leather was clean before I dyed it.

The only thing I can think of is that I made the stitch groove before I dyed the leather. The discoloration runs along both sides right alongside the groove. I'm thinking that maybe having the groove in the leather caused the dye to "wick" away from the edges on both sides???

oh well...i don't know the answer

[stingray4540]

Hmmm. I don't think it would be the groove, but what do I know. I'm at a loss, but I'm pretty new to this too, so you got the blind leading the blind in here 'till someone else chimes in, lol.

[thekid77]

Lol

[Tree Reaper]

Tandy water based dye-eco flo

Get better dye.

eco flo stays on the surface and doesn't penetrate the leather.

It helps if you wipe the leather down with alcohol prior to applying the dye, this helps remove any contamination.

[thekid77]

Get better dye.

eco flo stays on the surface and doesn't penetrate the leather.

It helps if you wipe the leather down with alcohol prior to applying the dye, this helps remove any contamination.

Thanks Tree, much appreciated!!!

[footrat]

I have this issue with Fiebing's oil dye, too. Any cut ends or punched holes are lighter around the area. Repeated dying fixes it. My best guess is that cutting and punching compresses the fibers and makes it harder for dye to penetrate.

[stingray4540]

Ohhhh. So maybe you cut and stitched after dying?

I would have never guessed, I usually do all my cutting before dying. Good to know for the future though.

[thekid77]

I have this issue with Fiebing's oil dye, too. Any cut ends or punched holes are lighter around the area. Repeated dying fixes it. My best guess is that cutting and punching compresses the fibers and makes it harder for dye to penetrate.

thanks Foot, i think i have a better understanding of what's going on now