Hobby Lobby Leather Quality?

[Brokennock]

Both bags look great, but the goatskin bag is Outstanding! I see nothing wrong with the goatskin, looks like some premium grade leather, nice grain finish and there is no nap on the flesh side.

Thank you.
I really like the goatskin too. Far more than I expected to. There is some nap on the flesh side but it is very fine.

 

[Brokennock]

Thanks, that was extremely helpful. Ill have to keep that in mind in the future. Really like that first bag, that fringe mustve taken forever to cut. For now, I was able to find some really good oil tanned cowhide on ebay that a guy was basically giving away at cheaper prices than hobby lobby just to clear out some space, so hopefully I got a deal but I will be making my way to hobby lobby soon and Ill probably spend too much money there anyways haha. As far as thread I totally agree with you, I have some brown linen thread from crazy crow when I got to make my bag. Ill probably buy some waxed hemp in the future tho.

Sorry, forgot to mention. The fringe was not my favorite part of this project but really didn't take that long. I'm not usually crazy about fringe, but I purposely leave my welt piece of leather wide and trim it after I stitch. Sometimes this comes out uneven looking on close inspection due to stopping and starting with the scissors. So, I tried something different figuring I could still cut it off if I didn't like it.

Sharp scissors

 

[user 48702]

Sorry, forgot to mention. The fringe was not my favorite part of this project but really didn't take that long. I'm not usually crazy about fringe, but I purposely leave my welt piece of leather wide and trim it after I stitch. Sometimes this comes out uneven looking on close inspection due to stopping and starting with the scissors. So, I tried something different figuring I could still cut it off if I didn't like it.

Sharp scissors

Forgot to mention the fringe, very tedious work. I bet once you were finished, you saw little fringe giblets in your sleep. Did you pink or cut the fringe before or after you put the bag together? Either way, that would be tough.

 

[Brokennock]

Forgot to mention the fringe, very tedious work. I bet once you were finished, you saw little fringe giblets in your sleep. Did you pink or cut the fringe before or after you put the bag together? Either way, that would be tough.

I cut it with really sharp scissors after the bag was together. As stated, it was basically just a way to deal with the welt that I tend to leave wider than needed until the stitching is done.

 

[Black_Feather]

Not all hemp thread is equal. Some of it is very rough amd lumpy.
I use the Carriage Brand hemp thread from Tandy and like it a lot.
https://tandyleather.com/products/c...78787&pr_ref_pid=4503288217731&pr_seq=uniformIt comes in two thickness options and several colors
https://tandyleather.com/products/carriage-hand-sewing-thread-085-mm-35-yards
I have a side of Kodiac oil finished cow leather. It is incredibly flexible for such thick leather, but, also very heavy and the combined actual weight and flexibility can make it hard to work with.

Be sure to check out some of the saddle stitch videos that @Artificer has linked to in the past.
If you don't have a pricking iron or overstitch wheel to lay out your stitch spacing, you can also use a set of dividers, or some other spacing device. I used a wooden coffee stirring stick to get my spacing between stitches when I sewed the tape binding around the edge of my hat...View attachment 201596
You can kind of see the stick under the hat. Each stitch is the width of the stick, there is a line drawn across the stick that when held even with the edge of the hat shows me how far from that edge the line of stitch goes (royal pain in the ___, I hate sewing fabric)

Go slow. Keep your awl sharp, really, really sharp.

I have full topics on each of these projects that might include more helpful pictures.

Thanks for all the help and tips, I do have an over stitch wheel, along with a few hand me down tools, thanks for the link to the hemp thread, definitely going to pick some up. I guess I’ll see when I get the oiled leather, I figure depending on how hard it is to work with I may just tack some of the pieces together with a few beads of hide glue.

 

[Brokennock]

Thanks for all the help and tips, I do have an over stitch wheel, along with a few hand me down tools, thanks for the link to the hemp thread, definitely going to pick some up. I guess I’ll see when I get the oiled leather, I figure depending on how hard it is to work with I may just tack some of the pieces together with a few beads of hide glue.

It might not glue well because of the oil.
I should have been more specific.
It is easy to poke with an awl and stitch. The weight (as in scale weight not thickness) combined with how floppy it can be just makes it hard to handle while working with it. I made a Raptor style side quiver with it which is a rather large piece. It was just hard to handle while making it.

I am not sure if your oil leather is thr same. It could be Latigo leather which is "stuffed" with oils and waxes and would be stiffer.

I use tiny binder clips to hold pieces together while I stitch...