Slippery Needles Makes Hard Hand Stitching

[Horny G Leather]

This might seem like a silly question, but does anyone have advice about being able to get a good grip on needles when hand stitching? I try and use the old Al Stohlman method of a needle and an awl in one hand and a needle in the other, but I find myself constantly setting down my awl to grab pliers to pull my needle through. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[snubbyfan]

I'll wallow the needle around and stretch to hole a little, it'll close right up when you hammer your stitch line. I've also used a fid to open the holes a little.

Edited March 13, 2015 by snubbyfan

[Nuttish]

I wear nitrile gloves when this happens. They're essential in the summer with crummy AC in the shop. 400 for $20 at Costco. No better deal anywhere.

[Horny G Leather]

Thanks guys!

[Tugadude]

IMHO, if you constantly need pliers, there is an issue that needs to be addressed. The problem is not the slippery needles, per se.

Could be the needles or the eyes are too big. What size thread? Could be too big for the holes. Is your awl a diamond shape? Is it wide enough for the needle and thread combo you are using?

Needles generally hang up not because they are slippery, but because they can't pass freely through the leather.

Nigel Armitage talks about this in videos he did for a forum member. The member was using needles purportedly made for leather stitching that were simply enormous and could never have been made to work appropriately.

So look at the whole process and see if a modification here or there doesn't eliminate the trouble.

Good luck!

[zuludog]

For most sewing, such as fabric, the needles are pointed and both pierce the material, ie make the hole, and feed the thread through it

Leather is tougher and thicker than most fabric and will exert a clinging effect, or a drag, or friction, on a needle as it passes through. So the usual practice is to make a hole first with an awl; remove the awl; then pass the needle through the hole. To do this with the minimum of effort the needle must be narrower than the hole, or the hole have a larger diameter than the needle; or a combination of both

Leather needles, aka harness needles, have a blunt, rounded tip so that it can be fed gently through the hole without catching on the leather

If you cannot sew easily, you need narrower needles or bigger holes; so push the awl further through, or get a bigger one

The exception is when you are sewing very thin, soft leather. As this is usually used to make gloves, the needles are called glover's needles; they are triangular in cross section, and sharp

Even if you get the needle & hole combination right you might occasionally need to use pliers, eg when backstitching, but this should be an exception

As mentioned, Nigel Armitage has a couple of good videos about this

[Sona]

Nitrile gloves? Oh I would go crazy, if I had to stitch with such things on my hand....
I aslo think, that there is just some wrong size in your stitching set up. i.e. the awl can match the stitch in length, but maybe its just not "thick" enough. The thread might be right, but the needles too thick, etc.

Another thing:
If you constantly use pliers on your needles, you normaly scratch the needle-tip a lot, so you just make it harder with every use to push/pull them through. Also, if you don´t move that kind of "knot" (where you "stitch" through the thread) directly to the needle, it might be a little bit easier. Just try some variations on some scrap-leather!

[Tugadude]

Agree on the pliers roughening the needles. Makes matters worse. Buy smooth, flat nose pliers. No grooves to mess up the surface of the needle. Got some for $4.00 at a Menards store.

[silverwingit]

I learned from member Chuck Burrows (Wild Rose Trading Co.) that the rubber finger tips like secretaries use work great. Problem solved!

Michelle

[TinkerTailor]

This is one if the few times where cheap tools may be better. Good pliers with hardened jaws will mark the needle more than cheap ones with soft metal jaws. If the needle is harder steel than the pliers it shouldn't scratch. I put pure beeswax on my fingers and it seems to help with traction. I personally can't wear finger condoms cause my hands sweat and they slide off. 20 mins in full rubber gloves and my hands are wrinkled from all the sweat.

Edited March 16, 2015 by TinkerTailor