TinkerTailor Report post Posted November 13, 2015 It seems i am hitting a limitation with my current setup and am not sure what to change next. I am making a bag with veg-retan latigo. It is 4-5oz and very stiff. It is beautiful and for this purpose, perfect. The problem I have is I can not get the stitches centered in this material. I am using 207 nylon with a 24 needle, sewing 2 layers, so 8-10 ounces. I can sew vegtan and chrometan in both thicker and a little thinner and get a nice stitch after a little tension adjust. I ran some seatbelt webbing through and got a good stitch on 3 layers of that When i sew this veg retan, I get the stitch just pulling up into the leather, then i breath on the tensioner a little, and half the knots are popping out the top. I can get it to a point when the knots in the holes are evenly distributed on the top and bottom, but never buried ...Switched to a similar thickness of softer leather, no prob....At first i thought it might be a stitching through glue problem, but i was really careful on the second stitch line to stay out of the glued area, and it did not seem to make a difference. I have glued up samples just like my bag to stitch on as the actual bag was supposed to be a double stitch line, one through the glue and one inside it. I am running out of scraps to test stitch on. Machine has been rethreaded many times both the techsew way and a couple others. Tried bobbins wound tight and with almost no tension. I have tried with almost no top and bottom tension as well as quite a bit, same result. It stitched ok when i stitch flesh to grain with the grain side up, but flesh to flesh, no dice. Btw, 3 layers of this leather stitches ok, I can get the stitch buried here. -Is this thread too large for material? project is already started with this thread, don't want to switch.. -Would a smaller/larger needle help? I am thinking due to the limited stretch, the hole is too small to contain knot so it pops one way or the other -Is the material too hard? -Would casing the leather on my seams make a difference? I need alot of foot pressure to hold this stuff down, i am afraid of marks from the feet on the wet leather. I am also concerned that uneven casing would cause uneven stitching. Is there another variable i am not looking at? Getting kinda tired of test stitching Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TinkerTailor Report post Posted November 13, 2015 Will post photos of some test stitches tonight. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CowboyBob Report post Posted November 13, 2015 Try #23 needle w/207,are you using the S point? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TinkerTailor Report post Posted November 14, 2015 Playing with needle size is my next step, however i only have bigger in front of me. 24, 25, 27 To be honest i am not sure what point they are. They are off brand needles that came with the machine. Might be an S-point, pretty round hole though. They look round. I called around today and I can get 794 in D point locally in 23 and that is about it. Anything else i have to order. Would a D point work? Needle points are foreign to me, it is something i would like to learn however. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Colt W Knight Report post Posted November 14, 2015 When I have this issue, I drop a needle size Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TinkerTailor Report post Posted November 14, 2015 I appreciate the advice. I will definately try a smaller needle. Any reason a D point would not work? I am probably going to try them anyways, not a big expense to know for sure. If they do not work when i try them monday morning, i can still order some and get them next week. Hell i spent more on espressos yesterday than a pack of needles cost. I just wish i could find a place local that carried at least some leather stitcher stuff. Oddly, i have access to supplies for needle and awl machines, many of the things most people travel high and low to get, HUGE thread, wire for autosolers, landis stuff all a bike ride away. The local industrial sewing place only stocks thread in smaller than 92 and very few needles. When i inquired about bigger thread, i would have to order a whole box per color. Are you kidding me?????? If anyone knows of a place other than Mason to get 794/7x1 needles in Vancouver, kindly let me know. Thanks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billybopp Report post Posted November 14, 2015 Here is about the best reference I've seen about sewing machine needles points that I've seen. http://www.campbell-randall.com/wp-content/uploads/SCHMETZ-leather-needles.pdf Hope you find it helpful. Bill Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joon1911 Report post Posted November 14, 2015 Try #23 needle w/207,are you using the S point?Why would you suggest going to a smaller needle not larger? Trying to logic it out, it would seem that you would want a larger hole to let the knot seat in the middle of the leather, but I demur to your greater knowledge. Just curious. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Colt W Knight Report post Posted November 14, 2015 Why would you suggest going to a smaller needle not larger? Trying to logic it out, it would seem that you would want a larger hole to let the knot seat in the middle of the leather, but I demur to your greater knowledge. Just curious. If it's pulling the thread through to the top after playing the tension the hole is probably too big. If you have to crank the tension down or can't pull the knot up through the leather, a bigger hole will help. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joon1911 Report post Posted November 15, 2015 Just reread the first post and now it makes more sense. Thanks. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
