Help with hand sewing 2-3oz deerskin leather vest with silver fox pelts

[katiesiepierski]

Hello!

I am not new to sewing but very new to working with leather and furs. I want to start off making a small deerskin leather & silver fox vest for my daughter (she is 3, so it will be roughly 12in long and 12in wide), and when i am confident enough, make myself a leather and silver fox vest out of the pelts i have purchased this winter.

I would like to use 2-3oz deerskin leather, but I am not sure what size i should use when it comes to the holes for the stitches, the number of stitches per inch, and the size of the needle and thread. I dont want to go too big, but i dont want to go too small, as I know either way could be problematic. 

Also, should i be carving a shallow groove into what will be the stitch line? Or should I not be carving a groove since the leather is already thin? I worry that maybe carving a groove would be problematic, especially since there will be the added weight of the pelts.

And what is a good way to crease leather and fur pelts? I would love to set some creases in prior to actually assembling and sewing everything together

My vision is to have the entire vest be deerskin, and sew  the silver fox pelts on the the outside on the front and back.

If anyone would be able to offer any tips or advice on sizing, creasing, or anything  i would appreciate it immensely.

[katiesiepierski]

I am not sure how to edit a post? I can't figure it out for some reason. I ended up purchasing 2 deerskin hides that are both 1oz, so that is actually the weight i will be working with. The silver fox pelts are so well thinned and tanned, i feel like i would really struggle with the contrast in thickness between the pelts and leather that is 2-3oz - especially when it comes to size of the holes and space between them.

[Northmount]

Edit is only available for a short period of time, so after it has timed out, just do as you have, adding a post to the thread.

No stitch groove for thin leathers.

Probably max #69 thread with max #14 needle size.  You can get leather tape, or double sided seam tape so you can turn the edges instead of trying to crease.  You should be able to use a home sewing machine since you are dealing with very thin material.  Maybe 15 stitches per inch.  Too close together and the leather will rip along the perforations.  You should experiment with some small pieces first.  If the fur gives you a problem, you might need to shave the fur along the stitch lines.

Do a search here for sewing fur.  You will find several posts.

Tom

[katiesiepierski]

Excellent! Thank you so, so much for your help, Tom! I really appreciate it!