stitching?

[puckertoe]

hello all
great site!!!
have a bunch of braintan that I just finished and am going to make some clothes. my only catch is that i would like to do early mountaineer -1800 to 1810 timeframe. what stiching to use, welt, running, others. will be using buckskin for the "thread".

 

[chipper]

Is this your first set of clothing? Have you sewn before? There are several comercial patterns available for the clothing that actually teach you how to do the sewing, you know, cut here, pound the leather flat here and so on. They also recommend what stitch to do. My first set of leathers were the stick it together with staples and sew it with a stitching awl. It worked real good and didnt' look to bad.
I personally allways have problems with the stitching, not the stitch. If your going to use the leather that you tanned for the lace, it's going to be difficult to sew. What kind of needle are you going to use? I buy needles from tandy that have a hole in the back that allows the user to screw a small piece of leather into it. It works pretty good. If the leather breaks off, you simply heat the needle and burn out the leather and start again.
Good luck....

Regards
Loyd shindelbower
Loveland Colorado

 

[Norskie]

I'd use linen thread. Smaller seams. Whang is just too bulky.
Moose

 

[Black Hand]

Sir,
The laced together (buckskin as thread) look appears to have been invented by the "buckskinner" crowd of the 60's & 70's, and is not seen on existing clothing (native items) of the time period. If you can, avoid using this method. The majority of the items were sewn with thread, while the earlier items might also have been sewn with sinew. The thread will also allow for smaller, more comfortable seams.

 

[crockett]

Linen thread, even colored, is pc and stronger than cotton. If you want to move beyond linen then sinew would be an option.
A saddle stitch is where you put a needle on either end of the thread and lace like a pair of shoes. This is pretty much standard with linen thread. The thread can get frayed after a while and to prevent this keep waxing the thread every now and then.
On the sinew, I keep one end dry and use that as a "needle". I make a hole with an awl and then run the stiff end of the sinew through the hole. Since you have real braintan, you may want to consider sinew. With sinew use a whip stitch and when you get toward the end of a piece of sinew, lay the end along the unsewn seam and then feed in a new piece, the end of the new piece gets laid down along the unsewn seam, then start whip stitching again over the ends, locking them in place.
Another neat trick I use is small brads. If you use an awl to make the holes, the holes can close up on you. I therefore make the holes, all spaced nicely apart, and put in the brads. I then pull out brad by brad as I sew. I use this with either linen thread(saddle stitch) or sinew(whip stitch).

 

[puckertoe]

thanks for the input guys. this is not my first attempt at sewing/stitching leather, only it is for braintan, this stuff is way lighter and easy to work than commercial. super impressed. patterns are every where in my closet. shirts, pants, the whole gamut, plus my past clothes.