Basketweave

[Wanderinstar]

Hi all,

Have just started doing leather stamping.. How do you manage to get the stampings to line up? Is there some magic tip or is it just a case of practice, practice and practice again.

[mikesmith648]

A lot of it is practice. If you subscribe to the Leathercrafters and Saddlers Journal, Chan Geer usually does a tutorial on some aspect of Basketweave in most of the latest issues. There are also some tutorials on here if I am not mistaken.

[Sturme]

this will help

http://www.mosbyguitars.com/bweave.html

[silverwingit]

For me, a lot of my success with basketweave stamps depends upon the angle from which I view my work. Try viewing your project from different angles, e.g., along the centerline or along the axis of the stamps. I find it crucial to get this stamp's footprint EXACTLY on top of the previous one's. Whatever angle from which you can view your work that gives you the best view of placement of those critical end-bars is the one to use.

[Bob Blea]

I agree with Silverwingit, making sure you have good visibility of how the legs are lining up is critical. I usually prefer to be able to see the long side of the basket and the short one, so I'm usually have one corner pointed right at me. That lets me see both sides and I can make sure the stamp is lining up. Make sure you have good lighting, so you can clearly see where the legs of the stamp are really going. Also, these are a great time to use magnification. I don't normally wear glasses (though my vision isn't what it used to be, it's still very good) but I did buy some reading glasses to help with hand sewing and making sure some of these stamps are lined up correctly.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend starting off with the angled basketweave that Sturme shows in his link, though it isn't that hard to do. I would recommend starting off by drawing a line across your project and then stamping straight down that line, running the basket weave on either side. Take your time making sure you get the legs of the stamp falling on that line each time. Extra care with that first row of stamps will make the job easier for the rest of the project. When doing this first line I usually view the stamp from the short end and make sure the stamp is running parallel to my reference line. Once that first row is complete, I turn the project 90 degrees so I am looking more at the long side of the stamp. Now I align the stamp in the legs of the previous row of stamps, and because you have that good row of baskets (that you took your time doing well) to guide where the next row goes, things go much quicker.

Finally, make sure your basket stamp itself is actually symmetrical. Poorer quality stamps might not be the same dimensions all around and this can throw off your stamping. Try this test: Stamp it into leather then rotate the tool 180 degrees and try stamping it into the same impression again. A good tool that is symmetrical will fit in the first impression. If one of the legs is off a bit, you will see the difference in the leather. A tool like this isn't the end of the world, just mark one corner so you can always hold it the same way.

Hope this helps,

Bob