Practice stitching

[67flh]

Took some scraps, punched holes and tried my hand at stitching. I am going to have to do a better job of keeping the stitches running straight. But overall I aqm pleased, I look forward to working on my first real project. It takes a lot of thread, 1' in that 3 inches.

[Retswerb]

Off to a good start. Chisel punches are nice to give the thread a nice consistent angle. Learn the steps of each stitch and repeat them exactly so that each stitch lays the same.

[zuludog]

It looks like you're drilling the holes. Try using a stitching chisel, they are easier to set straight lines. There are plenty of videos about them on YouTube

Nigel Armitage has several videos on making pouches; even if you don't want to make one, they are good examples of neat & precise leatherwork using stitching chisels

But if you want to stay with a drill, make smaller holes. It looks as though the holes you have made are in a straight line, but they are so big that the thread is able to move up and down within them, resulting in the uneven line

Yes, stitching leather does use a lot of thread . I make sheaths from 3mm veg tan leather, and reckon on using 4 or 5 times the length of the line of sewing. Running out of thread just before the end is very annoying! And remember you will need some for backstitching, so I suggest you are generous with your thread at first, say six times. Once you have some experience you will be able to estimate it more accurately and reduce that

[toxo]

19 hours ago, 67flh said:

Took some scraps, punched holes and tried my hand at stitching. I am going to have to do a better job of keeping the stitches running straight. But overall I aqm pleased, I look forward to working on my first real project. It takes a lot of thread, 1' in that 3 inches.

You're going about it the right way. Get stuck in and practice. There are those that won't make a stitch until they've collected all the right tools/brands etc. Well done.

[67flh]

The holes are not drilled they are punched, I have diamond punches but the holes did not amount to much, could not get my needle and thread thru them. My preference is the straight  stitch vs. the angle. 

[wizard of tragacanth]

You do not have diamond punches... they make diamond shaped holes. You have round punches.

The holes are definitely big enough. Looks like you could drive a truck through them

Not sure why you are having a problem. Maybe the needles are too big. If you are using Tandy big eye needles, that could be the problem.

As my grip strength is waning with age, I have found that wearing Latex rubber gloves helps me to grip the needles much better.

I sometimes have to use jewelers pliers to pull the thread through, especially when back-stitching.

When measuring for thread length, I use a formula of 4 times the length of the line to be stitched, plus about 18-24 inches for working room.

nick

[toxo]

2 hours ago, 67flh said:

The holes are not drilled they are punched, I have diamond punches but the holes did not amount to much, could not get my needle and thread thru them. My preference is the straight  stitch vs. the angle. 

OK, Firstly, when you punch a hole you're taking material away whereas if you use a pronged chisel (You can get straight ones versus the diamond shape) you take nothing away which is why it doesn't look much like a hole. the trick is to get the needle through before the hole closes up and most people use an awl to re-open the hole before passing the needle through. As wizard said it may be the size of your needle that's making it hard. Aim to get some John James No 2 and 4 or 002 and 004 (it's the same thing according to JJ) Harness needles. If you have to make do until then just take the point off any needles you use to avoid shed loads of grief going through previous thread.

[67flh]

6 hours ago, wizard of tragacanth said:

You do not have diamond punches... they make diamond shaped holes. You have round punches.

The holes are definitely big enough. Looks like you could drive a truck through them

Please excuse my lack clarity, I do have 4 MM Diamond Chisels, they did not seem to make enough hole for my thread. Before purchasing everything I tried but did a poor job of researching what I needed. My thread diameter is just a bit smaller than my hole but the packages do not list size for thread or needle. Trust me when I say I get what you are saying and I appreciate your input!

 

5 hours ago, toxo said:

OK, Firstly, when you punch a hole you're taking material away whereas if you use a pronged chisel (You can get straight ones versus the diamond shape).......... Aim to get some John James No 2 and 4 or 002 and 004 (it's the same thing according to JJ) Harness needles. If you have to make do until then just take the point off any needles you use to avoid shed loads of grief going through previous thread.

Great advice regarding chisels and needles!  Thank you!!

 

[67flh]

John James needles come in packs of 25, #2 or #4 , that is enough to last me a lifetime. Would you prefer one over the other and what size thread matches up with which size needle?

[toxo]

56 minutes ago, 67flh said:

John James needles come in packs of 25, #2 or #4 , that is enough to last me a lifetime. Would you prefer one over the other and what size thread matches up with which size needle?

They're not expensive and they do get worn. they get lost  and they do break. I think I need to point you at dieselpunk.ro. You'll be glad I did. You can buy some really cool patterns for cheap that use pdf downloads that you print out, tape em onto your leather, punch your holes and cut your leather and with almost no sense at all you can acheive something worthwile. My first leather project of any kind was the Motoko3. I used a 1.5mm punch with 1.2mm flat waxed polyester thread with a couple of JJ #2s. You could use #4s with 1mm or 1.2mm thread. If things get tight do one needle at a time.

Go here; https://www.leather-patterns.com/

You find his build along vids on youtube under nitekore. His name is Tony See and be sure to join the facebook group where you'll see how well liked he is. Good luck and enjoy.

My Motoko3 With very few tools I might add.

Edited December 29, 2019 by toxo