Practice stitching

[wizard of tragacanth]

Okay, so you do have a diamond chisel but the pic that you showed, clearly had round holes, so what are we to think? 

Here is a comparison of Tandy Big Eye needles that I started this hobby with, and the Tandy, size 0, Harness needles that I use now.

nick

Edited December 29, 2019 by wizard of tragacanth
took me 3 times to get it right... you know, the usual...

[Riem]

15 hours ago, wizard of tragacanth said:

Okay, so you do have a diamond chisel but the pic that you showed, clearly had round holes, so what are we to think? 

Here is a comparison of Tandy Big Eye needles that I started this hobby with, and the Tandy, size 0, Harness needles that I use now.

nick

Ooooh, love that wooden needle keep, Nick!

[Tugadude]

On December 27, 2019 at 11:48 AM, 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.

Stitching is a process.  In addition to the right materials, the technique of stitching is crucial to getting a good stitch.  It looks clear to me that you are losing needle priority and that is causing the wavy line of stitching.  Your stitches are slanted, albeit mildly, but the problem is consistency.  Some are slanted, some are flat.  Strive for uniformity.  The way to accomplish that is to follow the same procedure for each stitch.  If you haven't, I urge you to look at Nigel Armitage's videos on youtube.  He covers needles, thread, chisels, etc.  The round hole tool you have is probably designed for lacing, not stitching.  I suggest the diamond chisels.  The one you have is fine.  Get some smaller thread and JJ needles.  Good luck!

[wizard of tragacanth]

5 hours ago, Riem said:

Ooooh, love that wooden needle keep, Nick!

Thanks. I was very happy to find that.

It is much nicer that the plastic envelope from Tandy... right?

Got it from Rocky Mountain Leather Supply.

https://www.rmleathersupply.com/search?type=product&q=needle+case

Well, now that I think about it... I originally saw it on RMLS but bought it through Amazon.

They were available in at least two different colors, light and dark, so if you want to keep two different types of needles, that helps.

Oh, yeah, here it is. https://www.amazon.com/Chiloskit-Embroidery-Toothpick-Storage-Organizer/dp/B07F37885F/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=needle+case&qid=1577662792&sr=8-5

nick

Edited December 29, 2019 by wizard of tragacanth
3rd times a charm

[67flh]

15 hours ago, Tugadude said:

Stitching is a process.  In addition to the right materials, the technique of stitching is crucial to getting a good stitch.  It looks clear to me that you are losing needle priority and that is causing the wavy line of stitching.  Your stitches are slanted, albeit mildly, but the problem is consistency.  Some are slanted, some are flat.  Strive for uniformity.  The way to accomplish that is to follow the same procedure for each stitch.  If you haven't, I urge you to look at Nigel Armitage's videos on youtube.  He covers needles, thread, chisels, etc.  The round hole tool you have is probably designed for lacing, not stitching.  I suggest the diamond chisels.  The one you have is fine.  Get some smaller thread and JJ needles.  Good luck!

Thank you for your well thought out critique. Lots of repetition and consistency needed to iron things out. It is a start. Thanks again.

[Tugadude]

2 hours ago, 67flh said:

Thank you for your well thought out critique. Lots of repetition and consistency needed to iron things out. It is a start. Thanks again.

Glad you appreciate my comments.  They were meant to encourage, not so much critique.  My point about it being a process is to remind that there are a lot of ingredients that result in the finished product.

This was from a briefcase I made for my son to take to college 3 years ago.  I just saw it yesterday as he is home visiting.  It still looks the same.  A little patina here and there, but in remarkable shape for the abuse I know it has received.  This was the result of Tandy's Craftool irons, the black diamond chisels that they sell.  I used the 2mm on this one.  Then I used a thread they sell as waxed sewing thread for awls, the awls that have the thread inside.  I don't own one of those awls, but this thread is pretty good, plenty strong and I like the color.  It isn't white, but sort of a "straw" color I would say.  As far as size, it is probably around 0.8mm.  I used the John James #4 needles I think.  It was 3 years ago!

BTW, I didn't burnish any of the edges on his bag and am glad because they have held up great.  They look just the same as when I made it.  If I had burnished and/or used some sort of edge coat, I think they'd look worse for wear.

[toxo]

23 hours ago, Riem said:

Ooooh, love that wooden needle keep, Nick!

I have the same one. They do a lighter coloured one also. I got fed up looking for needles once I put them down so I made one of these. It's a bit industrial but does the job and no one can see the missed stitch can they!

Edited December 30, 2019 by toxo

[toxo]

18 hours ago, Tugadude said:

Stitching is a process.  In addition to the right materials, the technique of stitching is crucial to getting a good stitch.  It looks clear to me that you are losing needle priority and that is causing the wavy line of stitching.  Your stitches are slanted, albeit mildly, but the problem is consistency.  Some are slanted, some are flat.  Strive for uniformity.  The way to accomplish that is to follow the same procedure for each stitch.  If you haven't, I urge you to look at Nigel Armitage's videos on youtube.  He covers needles, thread, chisels, etc.  The round hole tool you have is probably designed for lacing, not stitching.  I suggest the diamond chisels.  The one you have is fine.  Get some smaller thread and JJ needles.  Good luck!

I have to pick up slightly on the slanted Vs straight thing. I think it comes down to purist versus practical. I haven't got the slanted regime down yet and I will use it where it's needed but the punched hole is much quicker because it does away with the need for an awl. The OP alluded to the fact that he prefers a straight stitch But a slanted stitch is easily accomplished by altering the hole/thread ratio. If you have a large hole and a thin thread then you'll get a straight stitch but if you have a smaller hole and a larger thread then the thread has to lie side by side which creates a slanted stitch provided that you adhere to the needle priority you mention.

If you look at the Dieselpunk patterns that I pointed the OP at earlier, every single pattern/design uses a round hole punch.

[chuck123wapati]

I think the chisels produce a parallelogram type cut that creates or emphasizes the zigzag pattern of the stitching, these in conjunction with producing the same stitch every time that makes the stitch look clean and even, when I use round holes it becomes much more important that all stitching is done exactly the same as well, the force used in setting the stitches must be closer or the pattern looks messy. I know I have fought this as well and when I really started making better  looking stitches is when I got got the right needles so I could use the right chisels without breaking the needles or having to pull them through with pliers lol. I will add when you pull a punched hole to tighten the stitch it stretches out of shape so the stitching can be shorter or longer depending on the amount of force used in each stitch. When you pull a chisel cut with the thread it closes making it appear cleaner as you can see in Tugaduds post compared to yours in yours you see the shadow and shape of the hole which detracts from the appearance of the work IMO.

[Riem]

1 hour ago, toxo said:

I have the same one. They do a lighter coloured one also. I got fed up looking for needles once I put them down so I made one of these. It's a bit industrial but does the job and no one can see the missed stitch can they! 

Wow @toxo, that pincushion looks so cool! Industrial? It doesn't look like that, not to me, not at all. I like it - will most likely make one for myself... And for my happily married wife, who looked over my shoulder as I opened this post, and was "favourably impressed" to the point of asking when hers will be ready. Maybe I'll even add the missed stitch, in honour of the fine example! :-)

@67flh, apologies for hijacking your thread! To mitigate that, all I can add is that the learning curve to become proficient in stitching might seem steep, but if you heed the excellent advice given here already you'll be close to mastering the skill set needed to produce a consistent and eye pleasing stitch line. I hand sew everything I make, since I'm a hobbyist and don't want to scale up to a machine. For me, the investment will be too big, and I might end up havingto  start a business, which I don't want to do at this point...