First few hours of Leatherwork

[ShadowShaman]

Hi Guys, 

This is my first attempt at making anything in leather, it is only a basic key fob (without the hole cut for the keyring yet) but I though I would put it out there for you guys to take a look, I know I messed up the reverse side stamp with not enough force and I burnished the edge with a wooden spoon! (I have to order a burnisher/slicker yet) this was just to get to grips with the basic technique of saddlestitch (which went a little off in places), cutting and burnishing it took me about an hour or so, it's far from perfect I know, but I am reasonably pleased with it.

I hope you guys like it.

[kiwican]

well done on your first steps!

[bikermutt07]

Great first effort. I suggest leodis Leather on YouTube for stitching lessons. Watch the 40 minute then watch the 12 minute one over and over till it sticks. Of course Nigel @ armitage leather has many wonderful videos and I enjoy them. But I find him a little hard to follow on the stitching ones.

Good luck.

[Bodean]

Looks ok for a first attempt. Did you case the leather before you used the stamps? The impression is faint like you didn't.

[ShadowShaman]

Thanks for the comments and advice guys, @Bodean I did case the leather but I think I needed to wait a little longer for the water to properly dampen, and I also needed more force, I think I was too gentle trying to avoid stuttering with the stamp.

[Bodean]

17 minutes ago, ShadowShaman said:

Thanks for the comments and advice guys, @Bodean I did case the leather but I think I needed to wait a little longer for the water to properly dampen, and I also needed more force, I think I was too gentle trying to avoid stuttering with the stamp.

I see. I would practice on some scrap to see how to properly case it, and try out your stamping. That way you can get valuable experience, and not mess up the piece you are working on. Practice makes perfect,and it is a continuing educational process. LOL. 

[AussieMade]

Great job for your first attempt. The only thing I would critique is to keep the tension on your stitching even when drawing the thread through. This will even up some of the stitches as you are going.

Keep trying and dont give up.

[Mattsbagger]

On 4/8/2017 at 3:57 PM, bikermutt07 said:

Great first effort. I suggest leodis Leather on YouTube for stitching lessons. Watch the 40 minute then watch the 12 minute one over and over till it sticks. Of course Nigel @ armitage leather has many wonderful videos and I enjoy them. But I find him a little hard to follow on the stitching ones.

Good luck.

Hey he's  a lefty should make sense to you.lol

Edited April 10, 2017 by Mattsbagger

[bikermutt07]

36 minutes ago, Mattsbagger said:

Hey he's  a lefty should make sense to you.lol

You would think, right? It's more of the terms he uses, left hand priority, and the like. Ian doesn't use so much "proper" terminology. Not being classically trained myself I find him easier to follow. 

Now that I really understand the loop casting it is easy for me to stitch either direction.

This is how I explain it to myself.....

Poke holes from the front.

Front side stitch to the top of the hole.

Back side stitch to the bottom of the hole.

On the backside before pulling tight, simply pass the front needle under the back thread.

Pull tight.

If I really understand it, it doesn't matter which way the leather is pointing.

 

[ShadowShaman]

Thanks again for your advice and encouragement guys, here my second attempt seems to have much better stitching, I will continue to practice stitching then when I am more consistent I intend to try a couple of wallets and belts.