Hand sewing long runs

[TargetRockLeather]

There's a trick I saw in a Weaver Leathercraft video that might be helpful. Chuck Dorset does a thing where he passes about half of the thread through each of the needles, which reduces the distance by half. Take a look at his video here and jump to around 15:20 to see it done:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEsSbYBLxD4

 

[GregS]

On 4/20/2019 at 1:28 AM, TargetRockLeather said:

There's a trick I saw in a Weaver Leathercraft video that might be helpful. Chuck Dorset does a thing where he passes about half of the thread through each of the needles, which reduces the distance by half. Take a look at his video here and jump to around 15:20 to see it done:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEsSbYBLxD4

 

Cool, I'll check it out.  I like the Weaver Leathercraft videos.  They make it all simple.

[Tugadude]

On 4/18/2019 at 8:33 PM, YinTx said:

Most I'll consider doing is two full arm spans.  Usually the thread is not looking very good if I do that either.  So one full arm span is about my limit.  Keeps the thread from fraying, from tangling, from breaking, from getting dirty, etc.  And yes to the practice.  And for sure, when you try to get it just right, you will end up too short by two holes so plan a bit extra.  Better to lose a little thread to waste than a lot.

YinTx

I totally agree with this.  Always better to waste a foot of thread than to have the potential of starting/stopping in an obvious location.  It doesn't bother some people, but it drives me nuts.  The thread getting dirty is a real issue if it is a light color.  Obviously not a concern with black.  I like YinTx's approach in the earlier post about starting a new piece and then going back and finishing the original run.  I have done that and it works just as described.

I read an article by a saddler once that precut all threads to around 30" or 36" I believe.  For myself that doesn't work.  I prefer as few start/stop points as possible.

[Rockoboy]

On ‎4‎/‎19‎/‎2019 at 12:34 AM, YinTx said:

When one run ends, leave a few inches of thread with the needles still attached, skip one hole, start your next length of thread.

Is this a better option than finishing at a suitable point, then restarting back 1 or 2 holes to oversew the last couple stitches? Either way, you end up with double stitches for a stitch or 2.

[YinTx]

@Rockoboy, if you look at hand stitched belts, you will see there are not that many double stitches, only where intended, so don't double up unless you need it or intend to.  And whenever possible, yes, end at a suitable point.

YinTx

[penguineer]

5 hours ago, Rockoboy said:

Is this a better option than finishing at a suitable point, then restarting back 1 or 2 holes to oversew the last couple stitches? Either way, you end up with double stitches for a stitch or 2.

 

4 hours ago, YinTx said:

@Rockoboy, if you look at hand stitched belts, you will see there are not that many double stitches, only where intended, so don't double up unless you need it or intend to.  And whenever possible, yes, end at a suitable point.

YinTx

If you don't want to oversew, just start the new thread in the same hole you have just finished in.  So you finish in one hole, you've formed a knot and then run a new thread through the same hole - the three threads in the same hole should lock everything in place.  May take a little fiddling with tension(or a bit of fiddling/hammering afterwards) to make sure it's even and looking like one long uninterrupted run, it's not something I've done often, but no issues with doing it that way.

I like oversewing a stitch or two, but that's me - if you tighten things up just right you end up with the last stitches of the "old thread" buried under the "new thread" so it looks like one long uninterrupted run.  And on some some jobs the look(ie a double stitch here or there) is less important, although it does make things look more professional.

Try it out and see what works and looks best for you.

Remember that hammering or running an overstitch wheel or bone folder over the stitching afterwards evens things out a lot.

Cheers!

[YinTx]

31 minutes ago, penguineer said:

So you finish in one hole, you've formed a knot and then run a new thread through the same hole - the three threads in the same hole should lock everything in place. 

this, but I usually start the new thread in the next hole (ie skip a hole), stitch a few inches, then go back and put the last stitch in the skipped hole using the previous thread.  This keeps me from dislodging the knot, which could happen if you form the knot, then run a needle and thread through the hole with the newly formed knot.  just what works for me, your mileage may vary of course.

YinTx