leather and sewing machine questions

[dave06]

Hey folks. I am a construction and remodeling student and I want to make my own tool belt. Any ideas on what leather might work the best? Along with that questions, I have a Bernina 217 machine. I know it isn't a leather machine ( Most of the sewing I do is ultralight fabrics for outdoor gear i.e. silpoly tarps, sleeping bags, hammocks) but I am guessing that one tool belt is doable. Any idea what thickness leather my machine could handle?

 

Thanks all!!!

[Mattsbagger]

I can tell you from my old tool belt I see you learning to saddle stitch.lol A heavier oil tan leather would work nice for the pouches. 7/8 oz. The belt I would do two layers of 5/6 sewed flesh to flesh. Give you a nice sturdy belt that would last years. Plenty of info in dif places on this site. I know I've seen a few tool belts on here. So can probably get some other opinions and maybe a pattern. Good luck.

Edited September 28, 2017 by Mattsbagger

[dave06]

So maybe hand stitching may work better than with a machine? Thanks for the info!

[Mattsbagger]

1 minute ago, dave06 said:

So maybe hand stitching may work better than with a machine? Thanks for the info!

Idk about machines at all! There is a section here just for them that you can get answers about that. But saddle stitching isn't to hard in that it's just repetition. There are tutorials on here and YouTube on saddle stitch.

[plinkercases]

Good outer work belt leather is Latigo for the belt itself.

Depending on the attachments pouches could be made from a heavy split and specific tool cases/frogs etc. from a heavy veg tan or the latigo in some instances.... depends what you are hanging off the belt.

Edited September 28, 2017 by plinkercases

[AdamGadut]

 

6 hours ago, dave06 said:

So maybe hand stitching may work better than with a machine?

in some ways yes. For one, the stitch wont easily unravel unlike the locked stitch in case there's a broken link. another better thing here is that, you will be able to stitch ANY thickness.

The only downside is that, its many many times slower and takes some patience.  You probably wont need to stitch a lot since likely the thickness of the hide will be enough in one layer for a tooled belt - that unless you want it in 2 layers.

 

that sewing machine you have, is it a walking foot?...  if yes, then it should be able to stitch most thickness you need for a leather belt.

[dave06]

The machine is a tailors unit. drop feed. Hand stitching really might work better for the pouch layout I am interested in achieving.

[AdamGadut]

if you're going for hand stitching, consider getting either a "stitching Chisel" or "Pricking Iron", they make good uniform holes that'll make it easier to stitch. An awl will be good to have too..