hand sewing thick leather

[Pabs]

Hi all,

 

New to this forum…also, just getting into stitching leather by hand. I`ve been watching videos online and would like to play with this craft.  The other night I tried making something.  It sort of worked but I struggled like a fool on a few things.

 

I had two thick pieces of leather I was trying to stitch together.  I scored a nice clean line about 1é4 inch from the edge to put my holes.  I glued both pieces together and then made the holes (using a homemade diamond shaped awl ).  It worked but was real hard to get the needle and thread in.

 

One thing I had a difficult time with was making sure the hole on the backside came out on the line I had scored. The front side looked pretty good but the back was a little wavy… didn`t come out exactly on the line on every hole.

 

Are you supposed to make the holes with both pieces glued or should I have made the holes in each piece prior to gluing?

 

And for stitching, is it better to use the two needle technique or single needle?  I did mine using one needle and simply going back in the holes to cover the gaps.  Worked ok but not sure I finished it properly.  Time will tell! J

 

Anyway, real rookie questions but hey, that`s what I am!

 

Thanks

 

Pabs

 

 

[Tugadude]

Welcome to the wacky world of leathercraft!  Glad you want to learn.  First, a picture is worth 1,000 words, so show us and then tell us.  Your idea of thick leather might not be very thick to us.  There are a bunch of things to comment on.  First, the home made awl.  We need to know the size of the blade.  Then there is the needle size and thread size.  What, specifically did you use?

Then the question of single or double needle stitching.  True saddle stitching uses two needles.  Nigel Armitage shows how to do it properly on his Youtube videos.

If you struggle with keeping the backside holes straight it is because you aren't keeping the awl straight.  If it ism't sharp, you have to push too hard and it gets messy.  Buy a good awl or sharpen yours.  Or better still, invest in some stitching chisels.  Awl work is a learned skill.  Nigel covers it well, but practice is necessary in order to show improvement.

Some leathers are so thick and stiff that it is advisable to punch both layers first, but we need to know what you are using.  

Much more to say, but that is a start.  BTW, some members here use a drill press, placing the awl blade in the chuck and letting the machine help.  Not drilling, just the up/down motion, punching the hole straight.

 

what are you using for spacing your holes?

[Pabs]

hi Tugadude. 

 

thanks for the prompt reply.  funny, this morning I thought about using my drill press with the awl blade in it to keep it straight!

I can't get pictures up right now as I'm not home... but I would say each layer of leather was about 1/4 inch thick...when trying to punch a hole it felt like it would bounce back

the awl...it's home made.  took an old awl and took the grinder to it to flatten the blade with the intent to get the diamond shape.  what I found was that even after I made the hole it was still hard to get the needle through.,.. had to pull it with a pair of pliers 

 

I've seen the  stitching chisels and they look like the thing to have..I may very well invest!

 

as for spacing.. I made a jig..basically two nails through a piece of wood and another piece on top to keep the nails from coming out. 

scored a line with a gauge marker I have for wood working and simply pricked the leather with my little jig.. worked well to set the spacing.   I've seen that spacing wheel... something else that I will eventually get! 

I love making stuff with my hands so this craft drew me in...plus I get to make some cool stuff!

[Martyn]

21 minutes ago, Pabs said:

the awl...it's home made.  took an old awl and took the grinder to it to flatten the blade with the intent to get the diamond shape.  what I found was that even after I made the hole it was still hard to get the needle through.,.. had to pull it with a pair of pliers

Awls, needles and thread come in different sizes. You have to get the balance between all three, right. If you need pliers to get the needles through, then either use smaller needles, smaller thread or a bigger awl. What you are looking to achieve is a tight fit, but no pliers necessary for 99% of the time. The thread should fill the holes, with no daylight visible. The thread size, stitch size/hole spacing should be an appropriate match for the thing you are making.

Finally, if you think your awl is sharp, it probably still isn't sharp enough.

Edited April 6, 2016 by Martyn

[Pabs]

2 minutes ago, Martyn said:

Finally, if you think your awl is sharp, it probably still isn't sharp enough.

ha, same as in wood working...chisels can never be sharp enough!  

Edited April 6, 2016 by Pabs

[Martyn]

13 minutes ago, Pabs said:

ha, same as in wood working...chisels can never be sharp enough!  

If anything, I think it's even more important in leatherwork. Leather is tough as hell, so you need sharp tools just to get through it, but it's also very flexible, so it will deform, drag and wrinkle if your tools are blunt. A clean cut in thick leather needs an atom-splitting edge. You mentioned your back side stitching was uneven, this will improve with a sharper awl as the leather will deform less as you need less force to drive it through. Stabbing through and into a clean wine cork also helps with this, though it shouldn't be necessary if your awl is sharp enough.

Edited April 6, 2016 by Martyn

[Pabs]

57 minutes ago, Martyn said:

. Stabbing through and into a clean wine cork also helps with this,

hey Martyn

what do you mean through a clean wine cork? you punch your holes on a cork surface? 

I had mine on a piece of pine... soft wood so the awl would go into it fairly easily.  cork would be softer I guess.. but don't you need for the surface to be as hard as possible to prevent the bottom part from tearing and stretching?

[Martyn]

2 hours ago, Pabs said:

..but don't you need for the surface to be as hard as possible to prevent the bottom part from tearing and stretching?

Absolutely not. If you're stabbing into a hard surface, I'm not surprised you're having difficulty keeping your awl sharp. If you absolutely must stab through into another surface, aside from a wine cork, you should use stacked scrap leather.

Watch these...

 

 

 

Edited April 6, 2016 by Martyn

[Pabs]

awesome...I'll check those tonight when I'm home!

[Martyn]

There are lots of Heath Robinson tutorials on hand stitching leather, but Nigel shows the right way to do it. It takes a little practice, but it's not rocket science.

 

The alternative (and probably easier) method of making holes is to use a pricking chisel rather than an awl (or sometimes alongside an awl). These are designed to punch straight through the leather. If you want a recommendation that wont break the bank, look on ebay or amazon for stitching chisels and look for these (the black ones in the middle)...

I think they are called ProLine but they are Chinese made and often appear under different brand names. I paid £14BP on ebay for the set.

Material: tool steel
Length: 10.5 cm
Color: black
Tooth width: 2 mm
Tooth pitch: 4 mm (6SPI approx)
Quantity: 4 PCs (1 teeth, 2 tooth, 4 tooth & 6 tooth)

They make holes at 6 stitches per inch, which is a nice average size suitable for most things from knife sheaths to wallets.

here is a picture of the holes they make (the middle row)...

FYI, the top row is 5 stitches per inch, the bottom row is 8 stitches per inch.

and when sewn - the middle row again. Note the laft half of the row is sewn with 0.8 mm dia thread and the right half is sewn with 1.0 mm dia thread...

 

Edited April 6, 2016 by Martyn