Thread getting dirty, how to avoid?

[Mocivnik]

SO, I'm having this problem, as 90% of my work is dyed in brown (using fiebings pro dye (acryl) brown and variants of brown, later Acrylic resolene, fiebings) but as soon as I use beige(or simmilar cream color) thread, it gets dirty and cannot be seen as it should.

I'm hand stitching all the time, using waxed thread from ebay (150D, like here https://www.ebay.com/itm/260M-150D-1MM-Leather-Sewing-Waxed-Thread-Hand-Wax-Stitching-Repair-Cord-Craft/163010184501?hash=item25f42a0535:m:mJTZ0Uh29ZikOBGV7Bsyfmw:rk:1:pf:0).

 

Is there anything I could do?

I've also tried the Ritza tiger thread, cream color. Same thing happened, after only 2-3 stitches it all got dirty.

[TomWisc]

Well, I am relatively new to leather work, and I'm sure others here will give good advice but I think if you punch the holes for sewing before you apply the dye you might be getting dye residue in the holes which is sticking to the thread. I imagine if you punch the holes after dyeing there may be original leather color visible so I'm not sure if this would work. Maybe try a scrap and punch holes after dyeing and see what happens to the thread color. 

Good luck!

 

[VabaX]

I'm not exactly sure what your usual process/ order of steps is, but I've never had this issue, and I build my pieces as follows:

Cut out the pieces
Edge creasing on edges of card pockets
burnish edges of pieces like card pockets
Dying - using airbrush
coat all pieces in resolene - one normal coat and then a second light pass once the first has soaked in
glue pieces together
punch stitching holes and then stitch
burnish final/main edges of item

As far as I see it, there are 2 main things to note about the way i do it that may explain why i've never had this problem, the first being, as Tom suggested above, the order in which the steps are done, and secondly, the fact that I do my dying with an airbrush, and so only a very thin amount of dye makes its way into/onto the leather in the first place, potentially meaning that there is far less (or none at all) 'unset' dye sitting on the leather. Certainly, after applying the resolene, any small amount of 'unset' excess dye becomes captured within the resolene as it cures. 

I do plenty of items using feibings black, navy blue, dark chocolate, etc, dyes, and even with the brightest of white threads never have any issues with the thread getting dirty, with the exception of when the dirtiness is caused by my own hands (i wear gloves whenever it looks like this may be the case)

[Mocivnik]

Thank you both for answers. 

My procedure is a bit different, as I use laser to cut templates and holes. Never thought of holes to Make that much of a dirt on a thread. It cvant be anything else, as I do same way. 

I dye my leather with dye and resolene it later, so 9nly unresolened part are holes, which actualy darken the thread. 

 

Juat a question more: how abouz nonwaxed thread? Would work better in case of laser using further? 

[VabaX]

36 minutes ago, Mocivnik said:

Thank you both for answers. 

My procedure is a bit different, as I use laser to cut templates and holes. Never thought of holes to Make that much of a dirt on a thread. It cvant be anything else, as I do same way. 

I dye my leather with dye and resolene it later, so 9nly unresolened part are holes, which actualy darken the thread. 

 

Juat a question more: how abouz nonwaxed thread? Would work better in case of laser using further? 

Hmm, I see. I've had absolutely zero experience with laser cutters, but they sound pretty mad.

So you laser cut, then dye, then resolene? or do you dye and resolene and then laser cut? (thus leaving the holes un-resolene'd?).

 

Either way, first question; is the colour/tint of the discoloration in the thread actually consistent with the colour dyes that you use? eg, is the discoloration black/grey when you use black dye, medium brown when you use medium brown dye, etc? Just to rule out the possibility that the burned holes could be causing it, thats all. 

If you cant be sure, mabybe follow your normal process on a test item, but simply DONT dye at all, and see if it still gets discoloured. If so, you know it's not the dye. 

Second: I know waxed thread is generally the standard for this hobby, but i actually dont use it, and I dont' even wax my own thread either. I stitch with completely unwaxed poly thread, and as i said, i dont have any problems with discolouration with the exception of my own dirty, sweaty hands. If the waxed thread you're using is one of those very heavily waxed ones that looks like you could just about wax your car just with a bundle of the thread, then I wouldnt be surprised if the wax was picking up some contaminants, but I couldnt give you a definitive answer on that. Could be worth testing it out, even irrespective of whether the thread is to blame or note. trying different products etc is the only way to improve what you do. 

[RockyAussie]

I would say if your holes are laser burnt holes every time you put the thread through a hole it will be picking up a fresh piece of charcoal to dirty the thread. I guess you could try black thread but other than that I would try nylon or poly to see if they don't absorb the  charcoal. Let us know how you go.

[Mocivnik]

@RickyAussie: Yeah, I just got that hint now aswell. I wasn't thinking that this should be a problem, because I thought only "edges" of holes could produce dirt, but they were covered with resolene. Certanly something to remember, thank you!

 

@Vabax: Yes, laser cut -> dye -> resolene. 

I can't really say much about this: I'm doing mostly in dark brown or only neatsfoot oil color, both times thread gets dirty. I'd say it's 99.9% of the charcoal in the holes. I never thought of it before.

 

What about spirit based/oil based dye change? Should that affect aswell? I've always been using fiebing's pro dyes.

[Alisdair]

First things first: how do you thread your needle? I'm assuming you double back and push the needle twice through the thread, so it doesn't unravel. I leave a couple of inches between the eye of the needle and the knot, rather than putting the knot just behind the eye of the needle: this couple of inches of doubled thread usually picks up all the gunk and leaves the hole clean for the single thread which comes after it.

Secondly, I don't like using wax, which picks up more gunk: I use coad (a mixture of pine resin and beeswax).

[Mocivnik]

Yes I do, but I use the knot as close to the needle. Never actually thought of it, might use it. Thanks for the hint!

 

Secondly: where do you even get unwaxed thread? All i could find on ebay is waxed..

[RockyAussie]

I think you would be lucky to not have troubles even if you ran a pipe cleaner through every hole before the needle. My experience with the charcoal produced when cutting with a laser says it is just not the way to with any thread that can absorb it. I have tried putting several coats over surface charcoal to see just what it would take to seal it and came up with no good answers really. Trying to seal the holes would be near to impossible so my thoughts are to go to the chisel method instead. If your laser can operate with a dxf file in a program like T2 laser you could set it up with green lines turned down to just etch the surface to give you a guide line to follow if it was the trouble.

[Mocivnik]

@rockyasussie: that's exactly what was I up to. To just engrave the holes. I think this is the way to do it from here on

[badluckleather]

Wax your thread with beeswax before stitching. Always works well for me.

[nrk]

18 hours ago, badluckleather said:

Wax your thread with beeswax before stitching. Always works well for me.

wax works like an additional magnet for the dirt.

@Mocivnik
share some examples in the photos

Edited January 11, 2019 by nrk

[badluckleather]

I've had the opposite result