I think I'm putting too much tension on some of my stitches, resulting in a puckered and pinched looking product. Is there a way to easily tell how much tension is enough other than trial and error? Not applying enough tension, in my mind, makes me think the product may not be as strong as I think it is.
Thank you.
As you can see this is my first ever attempt at a saddle stitch. It’s not pretty I know and I’ve plenty to learn but I’m happy for others to see what I achieved. I‘m Pretty sure I was tensioning to tightly at times if not all of it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I think it is more of a trial an error issue. When i first started i used to tension as much as the thread would allow before breaking. I would sometime tear the leather and/or have irrugular looking stitches.
With practice, i learned to "feel" when to stop pulling. Now, i usually just pull and stop just beyond when i feel resistance in the thread.
I stitch 3mm from the edge and have been doing that for 9 months now, never had a stitch give up on me or tear with use afterwards.
I used to have this problem, I fixed the issue by marking the stitch line farther in from the edge of the pattern. I used to stitch 3mm deep, now I mark 5mm deep, stitch and cut off 1.5mm to get a perfect edge.
You could try that out, increase the size of the pattern by a few mm.
I never thought about this. Interesting question!
I just pull tight but I try not to make the thread sink in to much. After I'm done stitching I then flatten the stitches with a cobblers hammer.
I feel the same way...when I use light tension the stitch looks angled and great but I fear that the stitch may fray because it sits on top of the leather too high even after pounding them down. In contrast, if I pull too hard the stitch gets small and puckered. So lately I have been putting just enough tension to sink the stitch flush with the leather surface. If you use a stitch groove you won't have this issue but your stitches will straighten out in the groove channel. So if your looking for that angled look to your stitch...ditch the groover and apply just enough tension to sink them below the surface. Thats my two cents but I'd be interested to hear other opinions on this.
00 <--- eyes. I wanna know as well