So How Fast Are You With Your Hand Stitch?

[Boriqua]

I love the Zen of the repetitive motion of hand stitching with an awl. Just something so soothing about punch stitch stitch if you get a good rhythm going. Im not looking to break any speed records but I am curious ... I can stitch a really pretty saddle stitch at about 6 inches in 12 minutes. About 30 stitches. Seems dreadfully slow. Seemed very mechanized when I was doing it but 12 minutes .....

[Tugadude]

Cue the music, there's gonna be a showdown at the O.K. corral!

[Boriqua]

I should add it was a holster so it was 2 pieces of 8-9 oz. There maybe I dont feel so bad now

[rawcustom]

Saw this thread and decided to time myself tonight. 20", 7 spi, 40 minutes. This was on 2/3 oz tooling veg tan, so I would be much slower on my knife sheaths, but luckily never have to sew 20" on a sheath.

[keplerts]

_{It takes me between 2.5 and 3 hours to hand sew sheep skin to one side of a saddle skirt. It all deepends on what I'm working on. Some things seem to go very quickly and others seem to just take forever.}

[robbied]

All I know is it takes me a lot longer to punch and stitch 5 layers of 8 than it does for my usual 3 layers. The end result works though.

[YinTx]

I think for comparisons, everyone would have to comment on speed based on technique (punch through with chisel, awl, dremel?), leather thickness/layers, type of leather (oiled? chrome tanned? veg tanned?) size and type of thread, and complexity of stitch pattern (straight line? curves? using a nice pony or horse or holding it in your lap? Care what the stitch looks like in the end? etc.) I too would like to know how my stitching speed compares, but so many variables that it is almost impossible to compare. Unless everyone was willing to make a two layer belt 44" long out of 3 to 4 oz veg tanned leather, using a 7 stitch/inch pricking iron with an awl (stitch marking included in the time), 18/3 linen thread, and a stitching horse, then post beginning and end times with inches/hour calculated, and the end result photographed and posted, both front and backside of stitches displayed. And maybe some other variables I didn't consider in there... just sayin. My stitching has varied from 8"/hour to 24"/hour depending on all these variables.

YinTx

Just thought to myself: Maybe this would make a good "Keep making stuff Challenge" for June.... we could draw in a lot of comparisons then!

YinTx

[robbied]

You're totally right about the number of variables involved. I've had knife sheaths take anywhere from an hour to stitch, to about 3 hours (like I think this one did). I use an overstitch wheel to mark my holes and then straight to the horse, all hand awled and stiched with saddle needles and 1 mm polyester thread.

[King's X]

It takes me about a day or day and half to sew 25" of leather. Mainly because I cannot dedicate all of the time at one sitting for this hobby. But after all of these years, I still like to hand sew.......I have yet to purchase a machine and doubt if I will. Plus it helps me relax and not want to kill my teenage children!!

[walkg]

Plus it helps me relax and not want to kill my teenage

DITTO ! You can make it last really long if necessary !