Simple foldover wallet: JLSleather Pattern

[battlemunky]

Huge shout out to @JLSleather for the simple yet quite awesome patterns he has made open to all of us.

Y'all have a look! I am pretty happy with most of it.

 

Pattern can be found at the link below:

http://www.jlsleather.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/card_hor01.pdf

[battlemunky]

I dyed the inside turquoise and some of it bled through a bit but I think it is still socially acceptable. Next time I'll err on the side of caution and opt for one of the lighter colors I used to do the block dying with, maybe yellow or saddle tan just in case! I think next time I'll try and line one with some cool fabric.

This was also the first time I have had a chance to use the stitching pony I made and also the first time I've used a pony. Man, what a difference. My holes are noticeably better aligned from front to back. I did notice that I have a bit of a misalignment on the jaws of the clamp but I think after some use I can get used to it....until I make a new pony, muahahahaha. Also I finished the wallet with a newly made batch of 50/50 (by weight) mix of pure neatsfoot oil and beeswax.

Edited April 16, 2017 by battlemunky
added more detail

[JLSleather]

When you make these, you gain a good bit of strength if you stitch OVER teh top of the front pocket -- just go one or two more stitches up

 

[battlemunky]

 

1 minute ago, JLSleather said:

When you make these, you gain a good bit of strength if you stitch OVER teh top of the front pocket -- just go one or two more stitches up

 

Grrr! I saw that on the pattern but didn't even realize I didn't do it. I'll certainly do it on the next one. Thanks again for making these patterns available, they are super simple confidence builders.

[bikermutt07]

Great job.

[battlemunky]

1 minute ago, bikermutt07 said:

Great job.

Thank you sir!

[kiwican]

I see that you stitching is much improving too!

[battlemunky]

37 minutes ago, kiwican said:

I see that you stitching is much improving too!

Thanks for noticing. I'm trying to do just about any project I can so that I can improve. I think I'm going to make a box next using the miter joint like Nigel Armitage shows on his youtube video, should be plenty of stitching in that without a lot of long runs.

[bikermutt07]

Repition is the key. If you are just trying to hone stitching. Grab some scrap and burn thru some thread till you get it down.

Making a lot of the same small item over and over will help you hone everything without burning up a lot of material.

[battlemunky]

I'm wanting to hone everything....which is part of the problem. I can make completely usable stuff, I just need to make it pretty.

[ByNelson]

We all want pretty  It looks good! I'm always very much into great stitching and totally understand why you wanna nail it!

[bikermutt07]

7 hours ago, battlemunky said:

I'm wanting to hone everything....which is part of the problem. I can make completely usable stuff, I just need to make it pretty.

I understand your pain. I'm not there yet either. I had some one point out to me the best way to get there.

Pick one item. Bracelets, card wallets, key fobs, anything small. And make that over and over until you perfect it. Boring, I know. But it will get you there faster with less material.

I started out doing completely different one offs. I was always forgetting a step or doing something in the wrong order. It was wasteful.

[billybopp]

Hand sewing does indeed take a lot of practice and concentration to get really right.  Bikermutt hit the nail on the head, practice on scraps and the same simple projects over and over until you can almost sew almost blindfolded.  It's about building muscle memory.  I sew some scrap before I start any project just to get in the groove again.  

I'd advise against trying a mitered box until you are very comfortable with sewing a few pieces together flat.  Sewing a corner isn't nearly so easy as Nigel makes it look, and it introduces new angles - it's a different challenge.

Bill

[JLSleather]

14 hours ago, battlemunky said:

Thanks again for making these patterns available, they are super simple confidence builders.

You are welcome -- and thanks for using them for exactly what they are intended for!  This is the point -- a guy can get some experience, without investing a 'mint', and actually have a useful item when finished. 

Sewing isn't anywhere near as difficult as it's made out to be.  I've seen lots of folks -- some of them just kids -- who were shown how to sew and off they went.   Years ago, I bought Stohlmans book on hand sewing and the basic tools it recommends (it wasn't available in digital form back then) and went to sewing.  As with anything, practice is good.  But I was making good stitches in about 3 or 4 projects .. and I'm not that bright

Much like anything else, there will be people who will try to convince you that what they do is "so" skilled that you could only hope to ever learn it by listening to them.  The world is coated with books -- and now why-tube videos -- all on about these topics. But I have yet to see any which improved on what I found in books I bought years ago.

Hey, I 'get' it... why spend $10 on a book you don't read when there's a free video about it, right?  But it's not 'free' if it's taking hours of my time and - truth be told - these things have people doing more video watching than leather crafting!

Better, I think, to get people the general information and let them jump in.

[battlemunky]

So much good advice from everyone. Thank you all!

I'll get it figured out, I just need to limit my projects to a few so I can start developing the muscle memory.