How Do I Measure The Length Of The Thread When Stitching?

[leathervan]

Let say for convenience sake that I am stitching two square pieces of leather together. I am using a single stitching needle and going through the holes one way and then back the whole way and then tying the two threads together. A very basic stitch. But if I don't use enough thread the whole stitching process has to be done over. But I don't want to use too much thread either because then there is thread that is wasted. How do I know how much thread to use?

Edited December 10, 2013 by leathervan

[electrathon]

The basic rule is 4x the distance round. BUT, tread I very cheap, I would toss three foot of thread every time to make sure I was not 1 inch short.

[chiefjason]

I go 6X the length of the stitch and have yet to come up short. I'm saddle stitching 8-9 oz leather.

[gentle ben]

No longer than the span of your outstretched arms

[Dwight]

The basic rule is 4x the distance round. BUT, tread I very cheap, I would toss three foot of thread every time to make sure I was not 1 inch short.

AND, . . . if you happen to get very close, most of the time I find that the last few stitches will be grubby, dirty, frayed, or otherwise "not good looking" and the reason is those first few inches get all the hard traffic and wear making the stitches.

As he said, . . . thread is cheap, . . . compared to even the time it takes to rip out a too short piece and re-sew the right size.

May God bless,

Dwight

[pete]

learn to saddle stitch. It's easy to splice, it's clean, and you won't have that problem of running out and ruining the piece if you are short.

No way of fixing your method- as you have experienced.

[Northmount]

Get "The Art of Hand Sewing Leather" by Al Stohlman. Lots of good information. Available at Tandy and other places.

Tom

[Cyberthrasher]

Don't judge your thread length by project. Use the right amount of thread that doesn't end up tattered and torn toward the end from being pulled through the holes too many times. Using too long of a length will look like crap toward the end, and be more of a hassle keeping it untangled from itself. When I'm doing a long project, I pull off several lengths the same size (a little more than my full arm span) and then backstitch when I'm getting toward the end of it. Then just start a new length like you did at the beginning.

[Matt S]

Thread is cheap, leather less so. Marring a piece of work due to being stingy with the thread is a false economy.