Lazy Stitch and Fish Tail Stitch on Belts

[Dwight]

Some folks voiced an interest in making lazy stitch belts, . . . and I found it is not that hard at all if you have just a few tools.

1:  Template, . . . THE most important tool in the whole job.  When you make your template, . . . take care, . . . spend time, . . . do it right, . . . so your images will come out right later on.

2:  Pair of large dividers

3:  Arc making tool with edge finder (another tool you will have to make yourself, . . . but it really is a piece of cake to do)

4:  Hand held stitch gouger, . . . mine came from Tandy's

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LZ 5 picture:  This needs to be made first:  the arc making tool with edge finder.  Its a piece of pine cut and sanded into a really nice arc, the edge finder is the little shelf at the bottom, it lays up against the edge of the belt as you are using it.  It ALWAYS LAYS against the belt edge in order to properly use it.

LZ 1 picture:  Use the arc making tool to make your template.  Your template will be the exact width of the belts you are making.  I only use this on 1 1/2 inch belts, . . . so I only had to make 1.

LZ 2 picture:  After making the original template, . . . measure the distances for the length of the lazy stitch and for the fish tail stitch.

 

Next, measure the free space you have between the first belt hole and the buckle area.  Leave an equal portion on each end by dividing the distance up between the two parts of the belt, and sharing whatever is left over.  In this example I had 31 inches, . . . using the lazy stitch, . . . 31 divided by 3.75 gave me 8.26 lazy stitch images, . . . I would probably only do 7 images and divide up 1.26 of the images which is roughly 4 3/4 inches, . . . giving me a border on each side of 2 1/8 inches.  

Find your center point and lay it out, . . . here I laid it out as an even number of lazy stitches, . . . making a center mark.  At that center mark, I laid down my template and placed my dividers in the template holes.

 

Next just rotate the template up the belt blank, . . . marking each place with the dividers.

 

Once you have all the points marked, . . . put away the template, . . . get out the arc making tool, . . . and the hand held stitch gouger.

 

Now use the gouge to make the trough from one mark to the next.  Continue until you have them all done on one side of the belt.

Then flip the belt over and do the other side, . . . voila, . . . lazy stitch pattern is done and ready for the stitching.  

The only difference for the lazy stitch and the fish tail, is that the fish tail is longer (less images), . . . and you use the outside points instead of the center ones.

 

Again, . . . gouge one side, . . . then the other, . . . stitch and smile.

 

 

Hope this helps and everyone enjoys it. 

May God bless,

Dwight

 

[Mattsbagger]

You always make it look so simple Dwight.. This is me trying to make patterns 

[garypl]

Great information Dwight - thanks very much for sharing it!

Gary

[alpha2]

I was kinda lost, until the last picture! I get it now!

[DrmCa]

How old is that compass?

[Dwight]

6 minutes ago, DrmCa said:

How old is that compass?

Something in the 10 / 15 yr age bracket, . . . I think it was one of them things ya order off Ebay, . . . 

I really love it too, . . . when you set it at a certain diameter, . . . it stays there, . . . use it, . . . lay it down, . . . use it, . . . lay it down, . . . stays the same distance all the time.  I've got other ones that just do not do that.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Stetson912]

This is golden. I'll have to try this on my next belt. Although, I hand stitch so, it'll be a chore haha. Is there a rule of thumb for determining the length of the arc? The height would have to be short enough to allow stitching around the edges of the belt I know, but I imagine you can make them as long or short as you like?

As usual, that's for the info

[Dwight]

1 hour ago, Stetson912 said:

This is golden. I'll have to try this on my next belt. Although, I hand stitch so, it'll be a chore haha. Is there a rule of thumb for determining the length of the arc? The height would have to be short enough to allow stitching around the edges of the belt I know, but I imagine you can make them as long or short as you like?

As usual, that's for the info

Actually, if you go back up to the original post, . . . mine is more or less fixed, . . . because it all comes off my little wooden arc making tool.  I thought about making several different lengths, . . . then asked myself "Why?", . . . and couldn't find an answer.

At only 3 3/4 or 5 1/4 inches, . . . adding one or taking away one length, . . . will not seriously hurt the belt design. 

I think I had one of my wife's plates out there in the shop (probably had a piece of pie on it earlier), . . . I just grabbed it and made the arc, . . . figuring ya gotta start somewhere, . . . and that was just as good as any for a beginning.  It worked out better than I planned to be honest, . . . 

May God bless,

Dwight

[RedDun]

One less thing for me to research someday. Thank you so much!

[Double Daddy]

Great information, Dwight...as always!  Thanks!

[Stetson912]

Yup, I thought as much. I don't have the ability to make a wooden arc, but I have scrap leather and it'll work all the same haha. I'm off tomorrow so, I'm hoping to get some time at the bench, and I need a new belt!