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blusinatra

Stitching A Vintage Leather Handle For A Fender Amp

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Hi Y'all,

I'm a first time poster and a complete novice at working with leather. I don't even sew. Regardless I'm committed to restoring this 65 year old leather handle from a vintage fender guitar amplifier myself. The leather itself is in good condition but the stitching is rotten. I've spent sometime watching videos and reading the posts on this site trying to learn the basics of saddle stitching and I've been practicing on scrap leather. Between myself and my sewing wife I'm confident we can do this, at least given lots of time. The problem I'm having now is I haven't been able to figure out exactly what kind of stitch was originally used. I suppose it was machine stitched but don't know for sure. I know it's not the simple angled saddle stitch I've been practicing because the backside stitch looks completely different. I'm adding some close up pix of the handle to this posting.

Can anyone tell me this stitches name and where I might find a tutorial for executing it?

Your help is much appreciated.

Mike

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Edited by blusinatra

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That was done with a machine that sews what is called a "chain stitch". IMHO it really isn't a very strong stitch. I make a lot of those handles, along with the handles I make specifically for Carr Amps, and I would advise using the saddle stitch you are learning. I would also try and pick up some new leather to make a whole new handle. Usually, if the stitching is falling apart, the leather isn't far behind.

Good luck with your project.

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Thanks so much for the reply. I'll look into how to do a chain stitch. This handle is for a 1959 tweed Champ amp that is all original so I want to repair the handle to as close as possible to original. Hopefully the leather can take the strain and I think it can since it's only 15 lbs and never leaves the studio. Great advice though and I'll keep you in mind if making a new correct handle is required. Which is likely as I'm not that handy.

If anyone knows of a good tutorial on doing a chain stitch like this by hand, let me know. Off to google now in search of one on my own.

Mike

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