How much thread do I use?

[Somiskid]

Howdy Ya'll!! So as I progress in my leather working I bought some needles and thread to start stitching.

My question is there a formula for how much thread I will need for a certain project? 

[fredk]

ah, this is an old chestnut.

Assuming you are doing saddle stitching, you need twice the length to be sewn plus more for the thickness at each hole. On light leather (2 to 3.5mm) your length will be 2x to be sewn plus 1.5 to 2 x of that = about 3.5 to 4 times the length to be sewn. On thicker leather (4mm and above)your total will be 2x ltbs + 2 to 3 x = 4 to 5 x length to be sewn.. Thicker the leather the greater that extra needs to be.

Best practice is not to use more than 2 m at a time but I often go beyond that and wax my thread often

hth

 

[zuludog]

I think a few people have tried to work out a formula to estimate the length of thread required, and I'm sure there must be something somewhere, but a simple answer is - PLENTY!

It is extremely annoying and frustrating to find yourself short of thread for the last 2 or3  stitches; and remember you will need some for folding over; locking onto the needle; and backstitching - often at the start of sewing, and certainly at the end. Smaller stitches need more thread than larger stitches for the same length of run

I'd say use a minimum of 5 X the length of the line of the stitches, and as you are learning allow more, like 6 or 7. Then as you gain experience you can reduce the length

If you watch people doing leatherwork on YouTube, such as Nigel Armitage and JH Leather you notice that they have plenty of thread to play with

Try not to sew with more than a full arms' width, which as FREDK mentions, is near as dammit 2m or 2 yds. Even at that length things can get rather tricky and tangled up. But I assume that as a beginner you will be doing smaller items that need less thread

[Tugadude]

Fred is right on.  I try to stay with a length of about 6 feet or less.  If it is a small project, I use 4X the length to be stitched.

If you use white thread or another light color, it can become dirty or dingy-looking due to the friction of going through so many holes.  And as Fred pointed out, the wax gets rubbed off so you can remedy that by waxing as your go.

Always plan on some waste.  Thread is cheap enough that you are better throwing a few feet in the bin versus running short and having a join in a bad location.

[Handstitched]

I have the roll of thread in one hand, the end of the thread in the other and just spread my arms out...and thats it, simple   

Any large-ish off cuts can be used for any small projects, minor repairs etc.  so nothing goes to waste.

HS

[chiefjason]

For saddle stitching I pull off 6 times the length of the stitch line I'm stitching.  I have never run short.  And if you are using light thread it lets the ends collect any extra dye so the rest of it still looks good.  And you can just use decent length doubled ends instead of trying to tie a knot or anything fancy.  

[huttonbruce]

On 1/28/2020 at 9:48 PM, chiefjason said:

For saddle stitching I pull off 6 times the length of the stitch line I'm stitching.  I have never run short.  And if you are using light thread it lets the ends collect any extra dye so the rest of it still looks good.  And you can just use decent length doubled ends instead of trying to tie a knot or anything fancy.  

I'm a 7 times the length of the run guy when using saddle stitching...Seems to work for me.