Flattracker leather
Here's a little insight into what goes into making these robust handmade leather key fobs.
They're size and shape is initially determined by the thickness of the chosen hide and of course any accessories and in this example I'm using some very solid 1" D rings with the leather wrapped over giving a double thickness which certainly gives them prescence and helps in finding your keys in stuffed pockets.
I start with cutting the correct width strips from the hide then cut the individual key fob pieces and round off each end. The overall finished length of each fob depends on the debossed design and most importantly, the number of stitches each will take which I work out with working mock ups to get the best final symmetry of design.
The debossing is then done followed by a deep skived marking line for the hand stitching. The deepness also acts to protect the linen thread.
The leather is then ready for stitching so it's wrapped around the D ring and I stitch using a 3 cord quality linen thread which I wax just prior to stitching. The wax gives the thread some colour fastness and also helps to give the thread some "bite" in the leather.
I saddle stitch the fobs (plenty of examples on youtube, basically 1 piece of thread with a needle at each end giving a very strong stitch) and back stitch the final 4 stitches below the D ring horizontal which gives extra strength and a design finish I like. They are now finally ready for a light edged burnish.
At times I wish there was a better word than "fob" to describe my finished work. As a descriptive it seems to fall quite short on my end result which I'll admit is, completely over-engineered but I usually find the best things are.
They're size and shape is initially determined by the thickness of the chosen hide and of course any accessories and in this example I'm using some very solid 1" D rings with the leather wrapped over giving a double thickness which certainly gives them prescence and helps in finding your keys in stuffed pockets.
I start with cutting the correct width strips from the hide then cut the individual key fob pieces and round off each end. The overall finished length of each fob depends on the debossed design and most importantly, the number of stitches each will take which I work out with working mock ups to get the best final symmetry of design.
The debossing is then done followed by a deep skived marking line for the hand stitching. The deepness also acts to protect the linen thread.
The leather is then ready for stitching so it's wrapped around the D ring and I stitch using a 3 cord quality linen thread which I wax just prior to stitching. The wax gives the thread some colour fastness and also helps to give the thread some "bite" in the leather.
I saddle stitch the fobs (plenty of examples on youtube, basically 1 piece of thread with a needle at each end giving a very strong stitch) and back stitch the final 4 stitches below the D ring horizontal which gives extra strength and a design finish I like. They are now finally ready for a light edged burnish.
At times I wish there was a better word than "fob" to describe my finished work. As a descriptive it seems to fall quite short on my end result which I'll admit is, completely over-engineered but I usually find the best things are.
.jpg)
.jpg)
Comments
Post a Comment