How to Get a Straight Stitching Line on BOTH Sides When Saddle Stitching Leather

I completely forgot to mention this in the video (even though I had it written down on my outline in front of me)... This trick only work if you are using a round hole stitching punch, a flat pricking iron, round dent irons, or if you have two sets of slanted pricking irons/chisels that slant in opposite directions (in theory... I don't use the slanted pricking irons). If you don't have any of those, you will need to punch one from the grain side and one from the flesh side so that your slanted holes all line up. I sometimes forget that not all leather workers uses the round stitching punches that I like to use.
When I started leather working, I immediately became fond of the thicker leathers. When you stack them up into a hefty bifold or card holder, it gets thick in a hurry. I started punching them separately as I had not so great stitching punches at the time and it was really hard to get a straight line on the back side. I could probably get away with punching straight through since I got my Sinabroks Stitching punches, but it also keeps the hole size the same on the front and back.
I hope you find this trick helpful!
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In this video:
0:00 Intro
2:34 Prepping the Stitching Line
3:53 Punching Stitching Holes
4:00 Lining Up the Two Halves for Saddle Stitching
5:12 The Finished Cardholder and Wrapping Up
If you liked this video, check out my Beginner Leather Working Playlist where I make beginner leather working tutorial videos, show you some tips and tricks, and give you a few beginner leather working projects to try out.
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My name is Tim. Thanks for checking out my KZbin channel. I started leather working in July of 2020. My passion for leather work quickly grew as I learned and practiced. I received a ton of help from the leather working community when I was new and now I aim to pass on what I learn to other beginner leather workers. I post weekly leather craft videos that include tutorials, free pdf pattern templates, how to's, tips and tricks, and any other leather work content that I think could help you out!
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[@BlackFlagLeatherGoods]

Sorry guys. Take a look at the description. I forgot to mention this trick only really works for round punches. It gets tricky with angled chisels.

[@V3leathercraft]

I was about to ask this 😥😥😥...And u made me really sad, as i started to love French style stitching 😥😥😥

[@BlackFlagLeatherGoods]

Haha I'm sorry brother! Maybe I'll try finding a way to make it work for those!

[@V3leathercraft]

@@BlackFlagLeatherGoods Find it ASAP.... I am waiting 😏😏 . . 😜😜

[@BlackFlagLeatherGoods]

@@V3leathercraft Haha! Yessir! To the lab! 🔬

[@WeekendBuilds]

This would work with angled pricking irons as long as you have both a regular and a reverse iron. I think KSblade and Sinabroks both make reverse angle irons specifically for this.

[@bbrachman]

Tim: Your pricking holes on each side is very similar to Nigel Armitage's 'pre pricking' method of working. He will make an exact size template out of 1mm cardstock. Mark all the holes, punch them through the pattern and then use the pattern to punch the holes on both sides of his project. He uses standard Japanese or French stitching chisels (angled slots) and it works really well. So, you are in very good company. The ultimate way is to have matching stitching irons that are reversed. Lots of money and not really necessary. I prefer the round punches you like since I love stitching with 1mm Ritza 25 thread.

[@BlackFlagLeatherGoods]

I'm glad he does it too! I thought I had come up with my own weird way of doing it. And yeah I can't imagine pulling that 1mm through a tradition chisel's hole.

[@lopeasantos1]

best tutorial so far , thanks to you... (Philippines)

[@BlackFlagLeatherGoods]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate it!

[@randomscandinavian6094]

Looks great! I may have touched upon this in a previous comment but with diamond shaped chisels, the skewed diamond shaped holes would be turned the opposite way if you punch in from both sides. And the holes will not align as neatly. So you would need those reverse chisels. My current attempt at punching clean holes through thick leather involves these diamond shaped pliers that match my chisels perfectly. They bite through both sides at the same time, towards the middle. So I glue up first, then chisel half way, then use the pliers in the existing holes. Which works but you have to be very careful to align the teeth on the back stitching line. Your method looks great for round holes! I might try some round point chisels in the future but I’ve been buying too much stuff lately.

[@BlackFlagLeatherGoods]

You're absolutely right! I even had that point written down in my outline in front of me on the desk and forgot to mention it. I did leave a disclaimer in the description explaining, though. I sometimes forget that not everyone uses round punches. I switched to some cheap round ones early on and started using this method because they were not that easiest to use. I wonder if it would work if you punched one half through the grain side and the other half through the flesh side. In theory that should work. I might have to dust off my diamond chisels and give it a go. Thanks for watching!

[@dpexile]

I'm so glad I read this comment before trying this method tomorrow. Thanks for pointing that out.

[@irapelletier5506]

Good video man! Definitely a solid way to get clean stitch lines on both sides!

[@BlackFlagLeatherGoods]

Thanks, Ira!!

[@muffemod]

You can clamp your iron between two square pieces of wood and then hit with mallet to get a straight up and down punch.

[@cholonoidpty]

wich glue is this buddy... nice tutorial tks🎉

[@lenklauck8268]

Great tip will try for sure!

[@BlackFlagLeatherGoods]

Let me know how it goes, dude!

[@tedblackburn8679]

Why the hole/opening on the fold of the wallet? Is it necessary ? I just sew the entire bottom. Am I doing it wrong ? Cheers from Montreal.

[@adnanatesal]

Thank you Master

[@sylents8487]

Another great video, keep em coming. How do you tackle punching straight on a folded 3 pocket card holder like your Davis?

[@BlackFlagLeatherGoods]

Thank you! I've found what works for me is punching one side of it first. Then I mark the other side with the wing dividers and fold it over to where it should be and poke a couple holes straight through with my awl (start and end points). Then mark the holes and the last one should end up right where the last hole you poked with your awl is. It's hard to explain without showing it but I hope that makes sense.

[@Tammy-un3ql]

Thanks 👍👍👍

[@guidelineuk]

Thanks for the head's up 😎🤙🏽

[@_BigLife_]

Yah thats really thick. Nice work.

[@BlackFlagLeatherGoods]

Thank you!

[@zechmalone8591]

good stuff brother 💪🏼

[@BlackFlagLeatherGoods]

Thank you! Much appreciated!

[@glenbuyer8738]

You could also try using a jig on a press if you have one with an iron that has less taper

[@BlackFlagLeatherGoods]

That's a good idea! It'd be great for people in apartments or places where they have to be quiet.

[@glenbuyer8738]

Hey man are you using a flat iron I’m just looking at my irons and it seems like I’d need a reverse iron so that they slanting in the same direction

[@BlackFlagLeatherGoods]

Yeah, sorry. I put a disclaimer in the description. I use a round punch. This trick wouldn't work with slanted ones unless you had another set slanting in the opposite direction or flipped the one side over. Totally forgot to mention it when I filmed 🤦‍♂️

[@jesuisjesusz]

Really nice video, thanks! I have a question, can we have same results with the stitching punch with 4mm spacing?

[@BlackFlagLeatherGoods]

Thank you! The spacing shouldn't make a difference.

[@tughilldog]

Fooled Me: I thought for sure you were gonna break out the harbor Freight Drill press!!

[@martinuzunov9346]

Thanks for sharing! That's a very neat trick. A bit off topic: do you do trim allowance? I couldn't really tell from this video, but the edges looked pretty clean and polished. Are you going for sanding only? PS. "Beard envy levels approaching critical"

[@BlackFlagLeatherGoods]

I do a different style of trim allowance. Instead of making the whole thing bigger and trimming it, I generally make the wallet (or whatever it is) body the right size, then make pocket slots and such a bit bigger. Then I trim the excess off with the skiving knife straight up and down butted against the wallet body. This is probably not the best way but it works for me. And thanks about the beard! I think it's two years old now!

[@tonyk680]

how much is the piece that you are doing is worth @ retail

[@michaelflores6445]

You: how to get straight stitching on both sides Me: what am I supposed to do to make both stitches identically slanted? 😭🤧

[@BlackFlagLeatherGoods]

Haha it's hard for sure. A slanted pricking iron is definitely your friend to get those gorgeous slants. That and a boat load of practice.

[@johnnyc.5979]

For me, I just design my patterns in Illustrator, and I create my own stitching holes. So then I know it will always line up no matter how thick the leather is. Shameless plug, I made a video a few days ago that explains this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hJacfXiGh6eHf6M