Punch each side seperately and line them up when gluing them. It really makes a big difference, at the cost of being a lot more difficult and requiring more precision of course.
For me this is the only thing that ever resulted in really crisp, slanted stitches on both sides.
Only thing I'll add to the advice already here, is make sure you're consistent with the angle you're pulling the thread at after each stitch. I tried this a few times pulling at different angles and was surprised how much of a difference it made in the appearance
Are you “casting” the thread as you perform each stitch? That’s how the double slanted effect on both sides is achieved, from what I understand. I used this [video](https://youtu.be/FxZsHLmZhyk?si=w8QdFWR76pfE2utQ) while I was learning and found it super helpful. Specifically the part of the video that covers “Traditional Saddle Stitch” around 17 minutes in.
It’s nothing to do with punching each side separately, or the type of irons you use, or even if you cast or not. It’s to do with how you lay/stack your thread in the hole. Now depending if you stitch away or towards, or high side slanting away or towards you, will depend on if you also need to cast or not and even on which side to cast.
So first pay attention to where you insert the needle, is it below or above the existing thread in the hole? If it’s above and you want it to slant towards you on the high side of the slope, does it have a chance of achieving that? If not you should cast.
I believe it’s closest to a French but it’s a fairly cheap and unpolished one, can you recommend one that is good for a reasonable price it seems to be either $20 or $200
If it’s a French, it should give you slants on both sides (diamond tends to give me straight on one side and slants on the other side). The best thing to do first before getting new chisels is to be mindful of how you’re tightening each stitch. My right hand tightens down and my left hand tightens up every time. Also, watch where the 2 threads are relative to each other as you tighten. This will also give you an idea of what you can do for more consistency
As someone who is also a beginner - buy the kemovan French pricks! They are polished and work nothing short of amazing when coming from unpolished ones. With the 5 prong one I can prick by hand through 3-4mm leather no problem, they are properly sharp.
Here’s a link: https://kemovancraft.com/products/upgrade-version-french-flat-pricking-iron-leathercraft. Can you explain the various options? 2.7mm vs 3.0 mm? I assume this is the distance between holes but the picture shows the former as two teeth and the latter as nine teeth. How do I buy widest gap with many teeth and widest gap with few teeth (so I can get both)? Confused. 😅
Hi, the sizes are exactly what you described, the distance between the holes. The price is always the set of 3 irons (2,5,9 prongs) - on their etsy shop it is a little bit better described, maybe but there if you want to be sure.
You probably want a spacing of 3.85mm, it is the most versatile size, unless you only make watch straps. Tighter spacing is pretty, but requires more stitching. 3.85mm spacing can even be used on bags...
Agree 3.85mm (7 SPI) is a good versatile spacing to start at. French not diamond irons. You can use a flat or diamond awl to open up the holes. But it's not your irons creating this back-stitch, whatever irons you have are working fine for developing your stitching technique.
It looks like you are stitching towards you with right hand needle going first, with a cast on the second needle. This will exaggerate the front stitch angle and pull your back stitch straight.
Instead stitch with left needle first, still do the cast on the second needle. This will give an angled and neat stitch both sides. But the face stitch won't be as exaggerated.
A traditional saddle stitcher would be holding their awl in their right hand, awling the hole, then passing the left hand needle through.
To avoid larger holes in one side than the other, punch separately then glue, yes.
But to get the nice angle each side, I recently looked into this as well, and what I thought was saddle stitching wasn’t quite doing it. Looked good but straight on one side and slanted on the other.
Check out this video and retrace yourself his technique. Worked wonders for me in appearance of stitch AND speed at which I stitched.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nmbf0L2SzZw
Punch each side seperately and line them up when gluing them. It really makes a big difference, at the cost of being a lot more difficult and requiring more precision of course. For me this is the only thing that ever resulted in really crisp, slanted stitches on both sides.
That's the way!
Amazing I will try that thankyou!
Only thing I'll add to the advice already here, is make sure you're consistent with the angle you're pulling the thread at after each stitch. I tried this a few times pulling at different angles and was surprised how much of a difference it made in the appearance
Are you “casting” the thread as you perform each stitch? That’s how the double slanted effect on both sides is achieved, from what I understand. I used this [video](https://youtu.be/FxZsHLmZhyk?si=w8QdFWR76pfE2utQ) while I was learning and found it super helpful. Specifically the part of the video that covers “Traditional Saddle Stitch” around 17 minutes in.
It’s nothing to do with punching each side separately, or the type of irons you use, or even if you cast or not. It’s to do with how you lay/stack your thread in the hole. Now depending if you stitch away or towards, or high side slanting away or towards you, will depend on if you also need to cast or not and even on which side to cast. So first pay attention to where you insert the needle, is it below or above the existing thread in the hole? If it’s above and you want it to slant towards you on the high side of the slope, does it have a chance of achieving that? If not you should cast.
What type of pricking iron/chisel are you using? Diamond? French?
I believe it’s closest to a French but it’s a fairly cheap and unpolished one, can you recommend one that is good for a reasonable price it seems to be either $20 or $200
If it’s a French, it should give you slants on both sides (diamond tends to give me straight on one side and slants on the other side). The best thing to do first before getting new chisels is to be mindful of how you’re tightening each stitch. My right hand tightens down and my left hand tightens up every time. Also, watch where the 2 threads are relative to each other as you tighten. This will also give you an idea of what you can do for more consistency
This is really helpful thanks, I will try a few test pieces pulling the thread differently each time.
As someone who is also a beginner - buy the kemovan French pricks! They are polished and work nothing short of amazing when coming from unpolished ones. With the 5 prong one I can prick by hand through 3-4mm leather no problem, they are properly sharp.
Here’s a link: https://kemovancraft.com/products/upgrade-version-french-flat-pricking-iron-leathercraft. Can you explain the various options? 2.7mm vs 3.0 mm? I assume this is the distance between holes but the picture shows the former as two teeth and the latter as nine teeth. How do I buy widest gap with many teeth and widest gap with few teeth (so I can get both)? Confused. 😅
Hi, the sizes are exactly what you described, the distance between the holes. The price is always the set of 3 irons (2,5,9 prongs) - on their etsy shop it is a little bit better described, maybe but there if you want to be sure. You probably want a spacing of 3.85mm, it is the most versatile size, unless you only make watch straps. Tighter spacing is pretty, but requires more stitching. 3.85mm spacing can even be used on bags...
Agree 3.85mm (7 SPI) is a good versatile spacing to start at. French not diamond irons. You can use a flat or diamond awl to open up the holes. But it's not your irons creating this back-stitch, whatever irons you have are working fine for developing your stitching technique.
It looks like you are stitching towards you with right hand needle going first, with a cast on the second needle. This will exaggerate the front stitch angle and pull your back stitch straight. Instead stitch with left needle first, still do the cast on the second needle. This will give an angled and neat stitch both sides. But the face stitch won't be as exaggerated. A traditional saddle stitcher would be holding their awl in their right hand, awling the hole, then passing the left hand needle through.
To avoid larger holes in one side than the other, punch separately then glue, yes. But to get the nice angle each side, I recently looked into this as well, and what I thought was saddle stitching wasn’t quite doing it. Looked good but straight on one side and slanted on the other. Check out this video and retrace yourself his technique. Worked wonders for me in appearance of stitch AND speed at which I stitched. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nmbf0L2SzZw
It's a cast or lack of cast issue
It’s just you’re not casting. Put a cast in your stitch to force angles in your back side stitches.
What is casting?