Of all the stitching jobs around, one among the toughest is sewing leather – especially hand sewing it. a couple of ammunition at our side does help to win the battle and therefore the toughest among us attempt it and emerge a winner.
Today during this blog, we’ll mention the foremost common hand sewing leather essential supplies and tools. Let’s start. Here may be a list of these tools that the leather hand sewing beginner would want to possess to become a leather sewing expert.
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Good quality leather
You can use scrap leather for your first projects and experiments then continue to shop for vegetable-tanned leather for your subsequent projects. This goes without saying but a beginner can stray within the world of leather. Super soft and light-weight leather is most preferred for creating handbags – it’s easy to stitch and soft to the touch. A 2 mm (3 ounces) is required for outer work (making wallets, backpacks etc) and carving purposes and 1 mm is employed for inner work. Super.
The finishing and sort of tanning is done can make or break leather so it’s better to shop for pre-dyed leather if you’re a beginner in leather projects. If you would like to dye your own leather buy pre-dyed tooling leather.
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Thread
If you’re using ordinary sewing thread rub a touch little bit of beeswax thereon to form it strong enough and reduces tangling. you’ll also ask the shop for polyester upholstery weight thread or bonded nylon thread. an artificial thread with a diameter upwards of 0.6 mm are often used and cotton thread isn’t usually employed by experts because it may disintegrate easily. The pre-waxed nylon thread is sweet enough for many jobs.
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Needles
There are Leather needles that make holes as they sew – they’re needles (also called Glovers) with a sharp tip shaped sort of a triangle for cutting into thick leather. you’ll also find other hand sewing needles just like the long sewing needle and curved needle handy for a few of the projects. you’ll need two good sharp thick hand sewing needles with an enormous eye handy sew leather. Leather needles with an extended triangular point at the top are called sailmakers needles
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Clips
As you already know you can’t use pins or basting stitches on leather- instead, you’ll use binder clips to carry leather pieces together. There are other shortcuts like using masking tapes, using stapler pins on the seam allowances where that’s applicable etc. you’ll even use (wooden) cloth pegs for skinny soft leather.
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Knife / rotary cutter
You can even use a very sharp X-Acto Blade- just make sure that it’s disposable blades because you would like them really sharp to chop through the leather. you’ll also use a rotary cutter or a general utility knife (sometimes called a Stanley knife). you’ll buy an ahead knife or a leather trimming knife. Even skiving is completed with an honest one. Leather is best cut with a really sharp knife; Cutting straight cuts, rounded corners properly is best through with a knife.
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Dyeing tools
It needs lots and much more practice than an attitude of expecting the unexpected. Leather dyeing involves, dyeing then brushing then sealing it with wax.
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Cobbler’s hammer
The cobbler’s hammer doesn’t mark leather, which is vital. rather than a hammer, you’ll get a mallet (hide/wooden) or a maul. Thick leather needs such whacks to stay its shape and make it more supple and pliable. When leather doesn’t behave you provides it with a whack with the hammer.
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Burnisher
The tool for doing this a really convenient way of doing the polishing. Burnishing means polishing in its basic sense. Burnishing may be a finishing done to the sting of the leather – it can make your work look very professional.
- Leather skiving knife/blades
You can buy blades that are diagonally shaped, curved and a mixture of diagonal and curved. you would like the sharpest of blades for this – the specialized tool for skiving comes with disposable blades. Skiving the leather isn’t for the fainthearted – it involves cutting down your perfect looking leather piece to a lesser thickness – it’s done to form the leather more supple or sometimes to reduce the majority at the seams.
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Stitching clam
Once you employ one among them you’ll decide you’ll not sew without them. Though the names sound frivolous the roles they are doing, aren’t – they hold the leather pieces together and make your sewing less frustrating.
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Prong punch
A prong punch may be a fork-like tool wont to create holes evenly – you’ll create multiple holes at an equivalent time. Also called pricking iron – you’ll buy a 2mm one for a start and therefore the holes are often made for stitching or lacing.
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Thimble
You may not think this is often necessary till you get that first jab/cut and lots of more to return if you’ll be pursuing this hobby.
Conclusion
These are the most essential tools you need to know when it comes to hand leather sewing. If you have any questions about the topic or anything related to embroidery digitizing, you can contact us at Migdigitizing.