How to Make Leather Stitching Look Good on Both Sides of a Project 

You’re welcome 😊

Glad it was helpful!

Thank you. My pleasure!

Thank you! I am so glad you are enjoying my videos.

You're very welcome!

You are welcome!

It does require a bit more time and effort but I do think it gives better results. Give it a try.

You're welcome! It is also my favorite.

Only works if your pieces won't need to be trimmed or sanded down after being glued together, which is often not the case.

Thanks! It can be challenging to keep it 90 degrees when punching through many layers of leather, the second method, punching from both sides can help with this.

Thanks! I am glad to hear it helped. I also had some issues with the back side of stitching when I started so I knew it would be an a good topic to cover.

You're welcome!

Thanks again!

Thank you!

Most other videos, even paid tutorials, overlook key subtleties if the stitch.

You are most welcome!!!

You're welcome!

Great to hear! Welcome to the channel!

You are very welcome! I am glad it helped 👍

Thank you! There is many more to come!

You're welcome!

Thank you! I'm glad you liked it.

Glad it helped! it is probably a combination of both of them

Thank you again!!

It is all about practice. Lining up the inside and outside pieces of a bifold wallet is quite common as it gives the best looking results.

Cheers!

You're Welcome 😊

They are great. I use them for long stitching lines or if the needles keep getting stuck as they really save your fingers.

where do you buy them?

아니에요

Thanks for the suggestion. That is an important skill for nice looking stitching.

@@TeranAtelier I've decided I don't want to alter patterns for different iron sizes, so I'm looking to dragging and leading stitch lines as a normal practice. Here is what I discovered today. With a 9-prong 3.38 iron, it took three punches (using the last two holes of the previous punch and seven new holes) to extend the stitch line 3.38mm, adding one additional hole to the stitch line. An extension or reduction of such a length isn't really necessary. All we're ever looking for is an alteration of 0.25mm to 1.0mm, about one punch with the 9-prong iron.

Yes that works. Matching holes to a pattern is really only important if you are punching holes before gluing or not intending to glue. Most crafters don't really bother matching holes as it doesn't achieve much if you are going to hole through the leather after gluing.

Thanks! If the threads are not angled correctly they will be pulled to the wrong part of the hole and not sit like they are supposed to. In this case the stitches on the back side will not lay correctly while the front side should still be fine.

Glad to hear! Both methods will work with both French and diamond irons.

Thank you! Cheers!

Thanks! I made a follow up video on the Method 2: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-GxPb19fvFVU.html The method can be done without reverse chisels as you punch the leather from both sides separately before gluing them together.

@@TeranAtelier Ha! Combining the front / slash with the rear \ created the X pattern I was worried about, but the stitches still came out just fine like you said. Interesting! Thanks for taking the time, beautiful work, Sir! 👍

@@Axel-im6si Thank you! It is a bit tricky to get everything lined up correctly but it gives great looking results.

Thanks! Yes the stitching sequence is the same for both tests. What is different is the angle in which you pull the threads when you tension them so the thread gets pulled to the correct part of the hole. In this case the back side stitches will be slanted different angle between the two methods so the angle you pull the threads coming out on the back side will be different.

Thanks! This is a 0.5mm unwaxed bonded polyester thread which means it should not fray like other unwaxed threads.

There is a way to use a reverse chisel to punch on the back side for Method 1, however I would not recommend it. Even if the leather is thick, you can use a diamond awl to hole through from the front side of the leather.

Yes that would work. I think most good brands have reverse chisels but an extra set of chisels might be a bit expensive.

Yes this is an option, however you would also need to purchase the reverse chisels of the same brand. The distortion on the back of the holes is minor and only seen under close scrutiny. It is more important to get the stitches laying correcting as they are very visible.

Yes it can also be achieved by using reverse chisels however that is a bit of an investment.

Reverse chisels will not give the x-slot. They will just ease punching through in one direction.

Hi! It is the same chisel. In that method I chisel on both pieces of leather separately from the grain (smooth) side. When they are glued together the holes will align to make an 'X'. I am planning a follow up video about this topic soon as this question has come up quite a few times.

Thank you for the informative video

Yes I normally back stitch for two stitches and have both thread ends on the back side of the project. If using polyester thread I melt the ends, and if using linen thread I will add white glue to the end to help keep the thread from coming undone.

You should put the needle in through the side that you punched in your holes from. Look closely at the angle of the stitches and pull your threads so that they are pulled into the most forward part of the stitching hole in the direction of your stitch. It should be quite clear if your stitches are laying correctly or not.

The best part about the method is you can mark in a stitching line and line up your irons perfectly on both sides separately. This means that you get great looking stitches on both sides which is what you want for a wallet. Stacking the leather before punching adds thickness and there will be a higher chance of error.

Adding needles in the corner holes will help align the pieces. I do this in most of my project videos which you should be able to see. The glued pieces can be pulled apart if you make a bit of a mistake, its only when you hammer down the edge and apply pressure that you get a permanent bond.

It is a thick block of plastic used as a punching board. It is so you can completely punch through the leather without damaging your pricking irons.

@@TeranAtelier Thank you!

You can get nice looking stitches with both methods but they will look a bit different as the stitches on the back side will be slanting in opposite directions. Method 2 is very useful for joining the interior and exterior of a bifold wallet, where it can be difficult to punch holes exactly vertical through many layers of leather. Method 1 is good to use for every other situation.

Using the middle of the tips it is hard to line properly to get a straight stitching line. I like to mark the stitching line close to the edge of the leather and line up with the front of the irons.

@@TeranAtelier ah okay, that's what I thought. Do you use the same distance when working with diamond stitching chisels or do you use a bigger one as they line up with the tip better?

@@dukehorndrake5525 I adjust the distance so that the center line of the resulting stitching is consistent. I design all my patterns with the stitching centered 3mm offset from the edge except for special cases.

Hi. Nylon thread is not very UV light resistant and is not normally used for leather work. I recommend using only polyester or linen threads.

In the second method the two leather sections are both chiseled from the grain side separately. They are then glued together on the flesh sides so finally the chisel holes will make an 'X' at each holes as they are slanted in opposite directions. There are no inverse irons used.

@@TeranAtelier ah right that makes sense, I'll have to try that, thanks for the reply

I curious as well since both grain & flesh sides have the same color. Anyway, thanks for the vid.

@@pertamaterakhir6193 by the looks of it the leather is “dyed through” so although one side will probably have a better finish they are both the same colour. What I didn’t understand was if you use a pricking iron and it leans like so “/ “and you pierce from the other side your pricking iron will still lean the same way so you end up with an “x” as he states above. The only other way is to buy two sets of irons both going in the opposite direction. Hope that makes it a bit clearer👍

Using reverse irons for the back piece would certainly make the holes look a bit nicer. When stitching you should use the first method similar to if you punched through the leather only from the front side. However, this method would add a lot of time compared to the just punching through the glued pieces from the front side and the asthetic benefits on the back side may only barely be noticeable.

@@TeranAtelier really appreciate your detailed answer 🙏🏼

You are welcome! Using obverse and reverse irons for this application is not required and won't help with alignment issues. The stitches need to align based on the corners of the edge. I have revisited this method in a new video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-GxPb19fvFVU.html

You're Welcome! It is a vegetable tanned kangaroo leather.

@@TeranAtelier thank you

@@TeranAtelier where in the US can you get kangaroo leather?

@@Lilgyrlie1 I am not sure. I got my kangaroo when I was in Australia.

The wrapping of the thread on one side will be pushed to wrap at the center of the hole when you pull tension on the threads. This means only one side needs to be wrapped. Right side or left side just depends on the direction of stitching.

I would recommend Minerva Box or Dollaro leather as they both have an interesting texture on them. For a supplier it really depends where you are based. If you are in the US I would recommend Rocky Mountain Leather Supply as they have a wide selection.

Thank you very much for the information. I'm actually situated in Sydney, Australia. I know a couple in the region, but I thought to ask you anyway.

@@warriorwithin9310 In that case I would recommend using Buttero or Pueblo leather as they are a lot easier to come by. Both of these leathers are carried by Coastal Leather Supply.

The wrapping is called 'casting' and it makes the threads lay over each other is a way that accentuates the slanting of the stitches from which hand stitching is known for. Stitching without casting will still work but will give flatter looking stitches similar to machine stitching.

​@Teran Atelier thanks for the input. Most videos show this as a necessary step but I was confused about it's purpose.

The type of clamp used shouldn't have an impact on the stitching technique or look of stitches.

Yes the stitches will give the appearance of an 'X' as they are crossing each other in the middle of the hole in the leather as it goes from the front to back of the leather. I recommend trying the method to see how it works in practice.

Yes you need to pull at different angles depending on the method to get the stitches to 'sit' in the correct part of the hole and lay correctly. The stitching on the back side on both methods should be the same, except method one is slanting in a 'reverse' orientation.

@@TeranAtelier So if you used method one for the chisels but used method two for how you tightened the thread, would you get the same on both sides?

@@tjmars37 The front side will look good as normal. However, the stitching on the back side will look strange because the stitches will sit in the wrong part of the hole. The angles at which you pull the thread are so important to getting nice and clean stitching on the back side.

@@TeranAtelier I would still love to see a video of method number one with pulling with thread in opposite directions as opposed to both of them up just to see the comparison :-)

@@tjmars37 I think that is a really good idea. Stay tuned :)

This thread is Japanese Bonded Polyester Threads 0.5mm from Crimson Hides.

@@TeranAtelier it looks so nice, thank you

Yes each one will need order but I think the side that gets casted shouldn’t matter only the direction of the cast; cast over or under. I think they all should look the same at the end if they sit in the correct part of the hole.

@@TeranAtelier I'll have to experiment a bit more, but I'm under the impression that casting side matters. It seems that every variable matters.

@@pequodexpress Definitely test it out, but I think the 'cast' ends up halfway between both side so it shouldn't matter which side it originated from.

@@TeranAtelier The stitch seems to have better separation into the top and bottom of the slot with backcasting and stitching toward the body. This is what I seemed to have experienced today.

It could be that the holes on the punched side of the leather have a better shape as they are a sunken in a bit and make the stitches look a bit better. After hammering the stitches it should be difficult to tell which side was which.

The casting/looping is the most important part. The angle you pull when tensioning just helps the thread sit in the limits of the hole. If you look at your stitch you should be able to tell in which angle you need to pull the thread to get it to sit in the corner. If you added no angle at all when you tension then the stitches would still look fine but may not sit all the way to the tips of each hole. Hammering does also help the stitches sit properly in the hole but I find the angling makes it even better. You should try tensioning with and without an angle and see how it changes the look of the stitches.

@@TeranAtelier Good advice. Thanks. Another thing I recently started thinking about in troubleshooting my stitching is the idea of punching all the way through a 3mm thickness with obverse irons and then lightly punching the back side with reverse irons. Would this have any benefit?

​@@TeranAtelier Some people claim there is no need to cast when X-stitching. I don't believe them, but I should try to experience all the variables.

@@TeranAtelier I think I have solved my problem simply by switching to JJ 004 needles with 0.45 linen and 3.0 irons. For the longest time, I had thought the decision whether to use 002 or 004 was merely a matter of personal preference, and I had been preferring the girth and length of 002 needles, never realizing that a slight difference in needle size makes a tremendous difference when using thinner thread, shorter iron spacing and thinner leather. I'm a bit pissed I did not understand this earlier and had ignored this factor for so long.

@@pequodexpress If you use Japanese style pricking irons then obverse/reverse irons might be ok because it should be easy to line up the reverse punched holes. I still think its too much effort/cost with little gain to justify doing it that way. If you don't cast the stitches, then the stitches will lay flatter and not give that slanted 'hand stitched' look as much.

This thread is Japanese Bonded Polyester Thread 0.5mm from Crimson Hides

@@TeranAtelier Ok, thank you. you are the best

Using a stitching awl (flat or diamond) will work to make the angled shaped holes, this is normally done by rolling a stitching wheel first to mark out evenly spaced hole centers. Then you just need to be careful when punching with the awl to get a consistent hole angle. If you used a scratch awl (round) then the round holes will only give a slight angle if you use method 1 with where you wrap the thread over the needle.

When I initially pull on the threads I pull them horizontally which seems to stop the threads from twisting themselves. Near the end of the loop I angle my threads to get them positioned correctly in the hole. I pull both up when I chisel holes only from one side, and right thread up and left thread down me when I chisel holes from both sides separately.

@@TeranAtelier This is what makes you special. You pay attention to important subtle details that others do not.

@@TeranAtelier This might be what I'm overlooking in my stitching. I slant for the duration of the pull. Horizontal and slant at the end seems like it might be a good method.

@@TeranAtelier Now I am beginning to wonder about the significance of the hole slant in relation to direction of stitching: away from the body or toward the body. One reason I seem to be getting better results with your method might be because I'm stitching away from the body with the slant also rising away from the body. When I employ my previous method, I am backcasting and stitching toward the body with the slant still rising away from the body.

​@@pequodexpress I think your previous method of stitching towards yourself should still work as that is a common method of stitching using an awl in your right hand to create the stitching hole that was punched on the right side. The side that you cast should not really matter as the 'knot' gets pushed to center of the leather edge, only the casting direction matters.

As a basic summary for method 2, the two sides of leather need to be ready to be glued together and the same length. You punch matching holes from the grain side of each piece. Apply glue to the edge on the flesh side. Stick together using the same edge alignment from when you chiseled the hole. The holes will line up and you will be able to pass your needle through them.

😂😂 Good luck with your next project!

I think we all start that way! A few things that have changed my stitches for the better - A good set of irons: they don’t have to be crazy expensive, but invest in the best you can afford. (Wuta makes some affordable irons) IME, diamond irons make for the most elegant, professional stitching. Layout: use a wing divider or stitch groover to give yourself a perfect layout and be meticulous about positioning your iron. Plan ahead by just lightly marking your holes first to see how you’ll deal with corners/overlaps etc. Keep a rhythm: find what works for you, and stick with it - do the same motions and order with every stitch. Building or buying a stitching pony can be very helpful with this. Hammer your holes and stitching: once you’ve got your holes made, lightly hammer them - this will make the holes appear smaller. Then lightly hammer your finished stitches as well, it seats them and makes them look more finished. Use good thread: invest in quality thread, it’s relatively cheap anyway and makes a big difference. Use a size that’s appropriate to your holes/project. I like Ritza Tiger or waxed linen

The direction of stitching is just personal preference. You can achieve the same result either way.

Hmm, boycott good work.

Hi, the direction of stitching of forward or backwards is a personal preference. You can achieve the same results going either direction but 'left' and 'right' will be reversed. Traditional pricking iron brands like Dixon and Vergez Blanchard require an awl as the prongs are quite thick and will leave a big hole if you try to punch too deep. Modern pricking iron brands like KS Blade and Sinabroks do not require an awl as the prongs are thin and can easily punch through thick leather without making a big hole. The Crimson Irons which I use are a Japanese style chisel with pointy tipped prongs so it is designed to punch through all the way. I hope this helps.