Leather stitching

Today was Tamsins day whereby she taught us how to hand stitch leather.

We had to mark on our leather where we would stitch the two pieces together, this is done by hammering what looks like a strip of nails on the leather. this helps to keep the stitches straight and even.
Once this is done you then push through with an awl. The bigger the hole you make the easier it will be to thread the needles through.

Sewing is done with one strand of thread but with a needle on either end, this keeps the stitches tight together and means that if the thread breaks due to time the stitch will still hold. I found pulling the needle through quite difficult and had to use the pliers most of the time.

We also learnt how to mold leather to a metal ring which we then stitched to hold in place.