The sardine can

[PocoOso]

Beautifully done! Interesting shape and nice, clean craftmanship. Kudos!

[Spyros]

Thanks again everyone, much appreciated

On 11/10/2021 at 3:30 AM, JayEhl said:

Hi,  this is some really neat craftsmanship.  Can you share about how many hours in total it took to create this?  Not including the design time, just from (about ) the time you rolled out the leather until you made the final touches.       

I was designing it as I went along, so one thing kind of blended into the other, but if I was going to separate the actual making I would say it took about 25-30 hours maybe.  Which is not terrible as far as handstitched bags go.  It helped that I didn't stitch the strap. 

Not sure if you've watched a youtube by Corter Leather showing how to saddle stitch without a clam or stitching pony?  It makes a stitch that looks very nice on the front and fairly boring/straight looking in the back, but more importantly it is probably the fastest way to saddle stitch.  That's the technique I used on this bag, because there was no room to clamp and the back of most stitches is hidden inside the lining anyway.

 

 

 

Edited November 12, 2021 by Spyros

[JayEhl]

3 hours ago, Spyros said:

watched a youtube by Corter Leather showing how to saddle stitch without a clam or stitching pony

HI, I've watched several videos where he hand stitches without a pony while building something but don't believe I've ever seen a show and tell of how to do it, (properly).   I'll have to check that out.   

[Spyros]

2 hours ago, JayEhl said:

HI, I've watched several videos where he hand stitches without a pony while building something but don't believe I've ever seen a show and tell of how to do it, (properly).   I'll have to check that out.   

Yeah it's very easy.  Basically you hold your work with your left hand, and with the same hand you always pull the back thread down to keep the tension.  So the thread that is already in the hole is always pulled down, and you always aim high in the hole with the other needle to pass over the existing thread. So your left hand always holds thread down, and your right hand does all the stitching both from the front and the back, and always passing the thread high.    It's on youtube, you'll find it.

[battlemunky]

4 hours ago, JayEhl said:

HI, I've watched several videos where he hand stitches without a pony while building something but don't believe I've ever seen a show and tell of how to do it, (properly).   I'll have to check that out.   

He says he doesn't use a pony. He also has a few videos about how to sew without one. It's fine for smaller items, which is @corter's specialty, but sometimes you need some clamping force, ya know, like a holster? I can't do it nearly as well without a pony.

He's on LW.net so maybe he'll see this post and weigh in. That dude is right up there with Nigel, Art from Mascon, and Ian in my eyes.

[Spyros]

10 hours ago, battlemunky said:

He says he doesn't use a pony. He also has a few videos about how to sew without one. It's fine for smaller items, which is @corter's specialty, but sometimes you need some clamping force, ya know, like a holster? I can't do it nearly as well without a pony.

He's on LW.net so maybe he'll see this post and weigh in. That dude is right up there with Nigel, Art from Mascon, and Ian in my eyes.

I don't thing it's a matter of big and small or clamping force... 

If you want both sides of your stitching to have that French/angled look, the way he does it just won't work because you can't cast the thread on the back (unless you have 3 hands).  But if you're ok with the back side of your stitching looking just plain straight, then what he does is probably the fastest and most practical way to stitch.  And you can definitely apply a lot of tension with your left hand.