What Will Improve My Aweful Stitching?

[Wareagle50]

Ive struggled with crappy looking stitch lines for a while now. I only do this as a hobby. Even though i have sold a few holsters and the people were very happy with them, I dont feel that the work was worthy of charging money. My process has been to cut the groove then lay out my holes with the wheel(which seems to work very well). Then, and this is where i think the problem is, i use a sharpened scratch awl to make the holes. I usually hit the awl with my mallet. Well my holes look "OK" at this point but when i get them all stitched up they look uneven. So i think i want to mabye try a different way of making the holes. Mabye piercing with a fid or using a drillpress? Also i need a good freehand groover and possibly a better edge groover if anybody has any recomendations.

[supercub]

The stitches will look a lot better if you use a diamond shaped awl blade and make sure that the flat sides of the blade are all parallel with the stitch line. You can use a drill press and 1/16" drill bit, but your stitching holes won't look a whole lot better. If you haven't yet read Al Stohlman's book "Handsewing Leather" - I would definitely get it. I bought it many years ago when I first started, and it is the best reference I've ever seen.

[mlapaglia]

+100 on the book. Get a diamond awl and PRACTICE, a lot. Hand stitch a couple of belts. That will get you to the point that you can do it correctly. There is no substitute for a good diamond all. A drill bit works and many people use them but the best look is with a diamond awl.

The above is my opinion. I am sure there are those of you that will disagree.

[Wareagle50]

Ok diamond awl. Check.

Al Stohlman book. Check.

Now hows about that freehand groover and a good edge groover?

Thank yall for the quick responses.

[Ken Nelson]

A stitching horse will make it a lot easier too. Learn to sharpen the awl well and get the right size awl for the # of stitches and thread size you are using. REMEMBER, an awl is just sharp enough when you can run it half way through your palm before you feel it! HTH Ken

[supercub]

Ok diamond awl. Check.

Al Stohlman book. Check.

Now hows about that freehand groover and a good edge groover?

Thank yall for the quick responses.

Osborn makes a good compass style groover that can be used free hand. Tandy/Leather Factory sells both free hand and edge groovers that work okay. The best awl blades I've found are made by the Douglas saddle folks in Sheridan Wyoming - they are spendy, but perfectly ground and extremely sharp.

I've found that I usually start by buying inexpensive tools and eventually upgrade to pro quality stuff. If I had to do it over again, I would start with top quality tools - they do make a difference.

[mlapaglia]

I use this groover, Works as a free hand and a edge groover. Cant say its the best but it works well for me.

Pro Stitching Groover Set

Edited August 17, 2013 by mlapaglia

[TwinOaks]

Lots of correct practice is the key. There's just no way around it. Be sure that all your stitch holes go straight through the leather, and that will help with the 'bunched up' look. Also, using the correct stitches per inch (spi) for the thread size will determine whether the stitch is crammed together or stretched too far. For example: size 277 thread looks a little jammed up at 6 spi, but okay at 5 spi, and a tad bit too far apart at 4 spi. 207 looks just fine at 6 spi, 138 looks good at 7-8.....you can kinda see the pattern - smaller thread looks better at closer stitching, where larger thread needs more space.

Also, like Ken said, use the correct awl for the thread. You will want an awl that makes a hole big enough for the thread, but not much else.

[Wareagle50]

Thanks a lot yall. The hole spacing is something i never thought about. Im not sure about the size thread im using though. The edge groover im useing doesnt have the blade on the same axis as the handle and it makes it difficult to keep it on line sometimes so i dont use it anymore. The Tandy Pro edger above looks like the style i need. The freehand groover i bought is not what i thought it was. The hole/blade is way to big for a stitch line. This was my fault cause i didnt know what i was buying.

[Ken Nelson]

Horseshoe Brand tools has a really good patent stitch groover, it runs around $80.00 and is as good, I think, as a vintage Osborne about like it. I put different tips in mine from Sheridan leather outfitters. It can also be used as a free hand. HTH Ken