mrtreat32 Report post Posted May 29, 2014 Does thinner thread tend to give you more of a angle to your stitching? I noticed people using thin thread seem to have more of a slanted angle to their stitches. I was wondering if anyone who has used lots of types of thread can comment on this. My stitching is angled but not as much as I would like. I feel like part of the reason is my thread is filling the holes //// more and creating less of a contrast between the top and bottom of the thread. I am trying to order 632fil au chinois but the only place I know is currently out of the color I am wanting. I would try it out for myself but I only have tiger thread, 432 dil au chinos thread, and some maine thread. Unfortunately the 432 is the thinnest I have on hand. Trying to determine if this is playing some factor in the stitching before I order a particular size. thanks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DavidL Report post Posted May 29, 2014 I would try some bonded nylon for sewing machines they are $10 bucks for thousands of feet tex 270 is .58mm = 532 fil au chinois or Barbours 18/3 = .58 mm. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrtreat32 Report post Posted May 29, 2014 I would try some bonded nylon for sewing machines they are $10 bucks for thousands of feet tex 270 is .58mm = 532 fil au chinois or Barbours 18/3 = .58 mm. thanks david. Is there a particular brand you recommend? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DavidL Report post Posted May 29, 2014 The two I know that are popular for linen are Barours and Somac. W/ bonded nylon I have never bought any, but have seen on videos some leather workers who use bonded nylon, cotton, or some blend of cotton and linen which look identical to fil au chinois. I hear good things about thread exchange.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrtreat32 Report post Posted May 29, 2014 Im familiar with Barbours brand for hand sewing though I haven't tried it yet. Are you saying they make a cheaper machine thread as well or thats something entirely different Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DavidL Report post Posted May 29, 2014 As far as I know Barbours only sells thread for hand sewing, they are owned by coats which I believe sells machine thread. Im unsure if they have another brand which utilizes the same plant as Barbours and uses the same threads but finishes them for machine thread - not likely. Somac I know has machine thread as well as linen thread for hand sewing. Abbeyengland.com has the somac machine thread and hand sewing thread. I have Fil au chinois and its good thread, but extremely overpriced 3-4 times the cost of Somac or Barbours for black and ecru colours. It is 2-3 times more expensive than coloured irish linen thread. Thicker machine threads in .58 - .7mm come in a lot of colours and are 90 percent of the quality as Fil au chinois at far less of a cost. I will do more searching around but there is a thread out there thats the best quality and will be 1/3 the cost of Fil au chinois. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrtreat32 Report post Posted May 29, 2014 Honestly I can't find Barbour except for abbey england and they need me to be signed up for a business account to see the pricing and shipping so not sure how much cheaper it will be than ordering the lin cable. I have done a bunch of google searches and found a few places in the US carrying it but they are book binding companies and the label appears to be a bit different. I emailed one of them and they said they have never sold it to anyone looking to use it on leather. Im not sure if they carry a bunch of different types and don't want to order the wrong thing. I just want to have a reliable thread of good quality and be done with it. I have only tried the lin, tiger, and maine. the tiger and maine are too thick for 9spi IMO so I want something thinner.. which I guess is the barbour but can't find it online. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LTC Report post Posted May 29, 2014 David - if you'd like to try some #69 machine thread for hand sewing, send me your mailing address and I'll send you some in a few colors to try. It's bonded nylon, but I think I have some bonded polyester in white also. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LTC Report post Posted May 29, 2014 BTW, I just checked and "Fil au chinois" is French for "Chinese wire". weird. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DavidL Report post Posted May 29, 2014 I made a random business name and they went through with it. They put down my business tax id as 9999999. For small orders go with campbell randall. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HippieLee Report post Posted May 30, 2014 I was interested in your question so I started googling (because I'm still so new I don't even know what all these thread names are) and thought it was interesting when I found this image that I think shows exactly what you are asking: I found it at this site: http://www.fineleatherworking.com/linen-thread and I know absolutely nothing about it other than this image. I have only hand sewn anything but the only thread I;ve used so far is the stuff I got at Tandy. I love findng out there is a large world of colors and sizes out there and that picking the different ones gives different effects. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
electrathon Report post Posted May 30, 2014 Oregon leather in Portland has Barbours linen in pretty big spools for machine sewing. Wax it up and it makes great hand sewing thread. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DavidL Report post Posted May 30, 2014 (edited) BTW, I just checked and "Fil au chinois" is French for "Chinese wire". weird.Fil au chinois was actually made by the chinese as they also made fine silk and things of that nature at that time, and still today.Oregonleatherco doesnt stock any barbours, is it only available in store? Edited May 30, 2014 by DavidL Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
electrathon Report post Posted May 30, 2014 Oregonleatherco doesnt stock any barbours, is it only available in store?I don't think the Portland store has the website, I think that is Eugene. I always just go to the store. Call and ask for it, I know it is there. They have both white and black. Big spools, it will last you a lifetime of hand sewing. Talk to Abdul. Aaron Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrtreat32 Report post Posted May 30, 2014 I don't think the Portland store has the website, I think that is Eugene. I always just go to the store. Call and ask for it, I know it is there. They have both white and black. Big spools, it will last you a lifetime of hand sewing. Talk to Abdul. Aaron thanks will give them a call tomorrow Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrtreat32 Report post Posted May 30, 2014 I was interested in your question so I started googling (because I'm still so new I don't even know what all these thread names are) and thought it was interesting when I found this image that I think shows exactly what you are asking: I found it at this site: http://www.fineleatherworking.com/linen-thread and I know absolutely nothing about it other than this image. I have only hand sewn anything but the only thread I;ve used so far is the stuff I got at Tandy. I love findng out there is a large world of colors and sizes out there and that picking the different ones gives different effects. I have ordered off that site multiple times and not sure I have seen that pic. cool comparison of the sizes. So when I got home from work I had a sample card with thread colors and sizes from maine thread company and on it was a tiny sample of the .20 size thread so I cut it off the card and used what tiny bit I could to try and sew a few stitches...was pretty funny trying to pierce this tiny thread and sew with it (was maybe 2 inches). I got about 4 stitches and they definitely look closer to what I was going for. Much more slanted since they arent filling the holes are tightly. Looks more like a machine stitch or closer to a hermes type pattern than I was getting with the thicker thread.. so I think I need to size down if I want to get that look consistently! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Reginald Report post Posted May 30, 2014 Fil au chinois was actually made by the chinese as they also made fine silk and things of that nature at that time, and still today. Oregonleatherco doesnt stock any barbours, is it only available in store? I'm not sure exactly what you're referring to, but the Fil au Chinois thread that is being discussed here has been manufactured in France since 1847. The only thing Chinese about it is the name and artwork. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DavidL Report post Posted May 30, 2014 The company was a chinese brand and was bought out by a french man. I read it from an article some time ago. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Macca Report post Posted May 30, 2014 The company was a chinese brand and was bought out by a french man. I read it from an article some time ago. Fil au Chinois was registered as a brand (so, a trademark in modern terms) in 1847, the name, figure & the rest of the branding was made up (hence the very European looking figure), it wasn't bought from anywhere. Anything oriental was fashionable at that time in France, made up or not, the parent company (PH Vrau & Cie) had started producing thread in Lille 20 years earlier. Fil au Chinois was the brand/product line that became hugely successful for them. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DavidL Report post Posted May 30, 2014 okay, must of read it wrong. Anyone has a good supplier of tex 270 thread in many colours thats good quality. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Cent Report post Posted May 31, 2014 Get the needle that fits your needs. You can get a left turn needle or a right turn needle or a straight ahead needle. http://www.schmetzneedles.com/learning/pdf/leather-needles.pdf Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
terrymac Report post Posted May 31, 2014 Unless I am all wet, those needles mentioned above are for use with a sewing machine, not hand sewing. I have never heard of a right or left hand needle as it relates to hand sewing. Terry Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
retiredff Report post Posted June 8, 2014 okay, must of read it wrong. Anyone has a good supplier of tex 270 thread in many colours thats good quality. http://www.thethreadexchange.com their size 277 is tex 270, waxed and many colors Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
