Zig-Zag Only On One Side

[alackofcolor]

The only thing I have that's thinner is some nylon thread for sewing machines I more or less got the same results, though I will agree, the thinner stuff looks nicer. How are you punching your holes? Thanks for helping me, by the way. I actually stopped at a Tandy's leather store today and they couldn't get it any better than I did.

[mrtreat32]

The only thing I have that's thinner is some nylon thread for sewing machines I more or less got the same results, though I will agree, the thinner stuff looks nicer. How are you punching your holes? Thanks for helping me, by the way. I actually stopped at a Tandy's leather store today and they couldn't get it any better than I did.

No problem. I actually like helping and hope you can figure it out. ..or get your stitching to looking the way you want.

Im pretty new to leatherwork and about a month back I was asking all kinds of questions about my stitching because I coudlnt get it right and people on here were mostly really helpful and answered a lot of my silly questions so I want to help out now if I can. Unioncraft and a few others had a stitching look I liked so I asked him and a few others questions and now Im happy with how it looks. Still trying to improve of course.

a few people told me it wasnt about the tools and type of thread etc.when I was asking questions.. while this is true that nice tools and thread size wont fix bad technique I can tell you from my short amount of time in Leather work that it can make a dramatic difference in the look of the stitches. The SPI to thread size and type of leather all play a factor.

Keep in mind there are different styles of stitching and looks to leather work. None of which are right or wrong. Most folks on here seem to be more into a Americana or Western look which I think is cool as well. But if you want your stitching to be slanted the process is a bit different.

I have been playing around with both types for different things Im making. I made some coasters which I grooved on both sides and sewed with a .8mm tiger thread and it looks cool but the stitches are straight as a arrow and recessed into the leather. When I want to make something look more modern or fashion forward I use a compass to scratch the line(no groove) and thinner thread to get the slanted Hermes and European look.

Im using a Vergez Blanchard pricking iron. I have only been doing leather work for a few months now but I have been reading whatever I can and practicing with any free time. Its getting a bit out of hand. haha

When I get involved in something I get a bit OCD and do a ton of research and want to learn everything I can.

I have also been trying every thread you can think of and have samples of a few more that arrived today. Originally I liked the Tiger thread because it felt easier to handle when sewing but now when I go back to trying it I find even the .6mm to seem a bit too thick because of the way it lays sideways. I really like the Fil Au Chinois but its very expensive and Im looking for a good alternative that comes in a variety of colors. The Barbour thread I got the other day is the closest so far and Im really liking it.

[alackofcolor]

Got it! I'm not entirely sure what I did differently...better see if I can repeat it.

http://imgur.com/mSD3yAn

http://imgur.com/LBnVJOK

[mrtreat32]

`Nice! haha do you really not know if you did anything different?

Another small trick which seems to help a bit is when you tighten the threads to pull them in the direction of where you want them to end up. So instead of pulling both hands straight out from the project to tighten the stitch pull the left hand up and away from you a bit and the right hand down and towards your body( assuming you sew towards yourself) to direct them in the direction of the hole where you want them to end up.

Did you use the same type of leather and weight on that last one?

here is a pic of 3 lines I did the exact same way. The dark brown leather is a stiff leather someone gave me some scrap pieces of. You can see even though I stitched them the exact same way those stitches are much more slanted and look spaced out since the stiffness of that leather holds the threads tight in the opposite ends of the holes //// The other piece is some cheap veg tan that is a bit softer so the thread is sinking further in and touching more.

http://imgur.com/mNGn4xy

[alackofcolor]

Yours are looking quite a bit nicer than mine. I need to work on getting the thread to sit in the top of the slits instead of sliding down towards the middle.

The leather I used for the pictures above was a 5/6 oz piece, quite a bit thicker than my earlier failures. I was actually able to repeat the stitch on another piece of 5/6 oz leather. It seems like with softer or thinner leather, the pattern doesn't want to hold and everything wants to fall completely to the middle. This may just have to be something I have to live with. What are you using to make the holes?

[mrtreat32]

Yours are looking quite a bit nicer than mine. I need to work on getting the thread to sit in the top of the slits instead of sliding down towards the middle.

The leather I used for the pictures above was a 5/6 oz piece, quite a bit thicker than my earlier failures. I was actually able to repeat the stitch on another piece of 5/6 oz leather. It seems like with softer or thinner leather, the pattern doesn't want to hold and everything wants to fall completely to the middle. This may just have to be something I have to live with. What are you using to make the holes?

I think the change of leather may have been what helped youre stitching out. It doesnt necessarily need to be thick leather but if its thin it needs to have some firmness to it. I sewed a piece of scrap 2-3oz cheap veg tan the other day that is very soft and the stitching is all out of whack using the same method and thread etc.

Im using a vergez blanchard pricking iron for those ones in the picture.

[alackofcolor]

Those pricking irons look like they make pretty narrow slits. The ones I picked up make diamond holes, which unfortunately probably won't stitch as slanty as the pricking iron you have.

[St8LineGunsmith]

The ones I picked up make diamond holes, which unfortunately probably won't stitch as slanty as the pricking iron you have.

those are actually referred to as stitching chisels i think the diamond point is at a 45 deg slant

[mrtreat32]

Those pricking irons look like they make pretty narrow slits. The ones I picked up make diamond holes, which unfortunately probably won't stitch as slanty as the pricking iron you have.

I haven't tried any other brand yet so I can't compare directly.

Yes the slits are thin but I use them to mark the spacing and punch most of the way through the leather. I than use the awl to open the hole so they are bigger once I do that. The other brands seem to make bigger marks but they probably are similar once the awl is done piercing through depending on what size awl blade you are using.

[DavidL]

Most important thing to master is to pull your stitches firmly and at the right tension without having a jerky pull.

Anyone have a 7 SPI iron or 5 SPI iron from vergez that can take a picture of the prongs from the bottom so I can compare to the dixons.