STRAP MAKING AND STITCHING.
Instructions have been given on making threads and cutting leather,
and now a simple exercise in stitching may be given in the putting
together of small straps.
In making a box strap, cut with the round knife or plough from the
back of the hide a good piece of leather, which should be 6 ft. long,
and 1½ in. wide. Turn down about 2 in. of one end, cut a hole within
about ¼ in. of the bend, and slit the part out with two cuts. Neatly
shave down the point of the under piece with the round knife, and
slant the other end a bit at each side to make a neat point to enter
the buckle easily. Run the No. 1 edge tool along the sharp edges of
the two sides and of the top and bottom; this takes a small strip
off, rounds the edges, and produces a better finish. If brown leather
is used, wipe the edges with a damp sponge; instead of pure water, a
very thin solution of gum may be used. Then rub the edges with a rag
or with a piece of brown paper until they are smooth and polished.
Adjust the screw-crease so that it marks a line about ⅛ in. inside
the edges, warm the crease in a gas or candle flame, and rub it
sharply all along the edge, guiding the crease mark on the strap
by keeping the other side of the crease close up to the strap. Rub
backwards and forwards until there is a deep polished mark on the
strap, then mark across the point in the same way. This operation is
known as creasing.
Two crease marks instead of one may be made after turning the
thumb-screw to widen the points of the tool. Then cut a piece to form
a loop about ¾ in. wide and long enough to go round any part of the
strap and make the ends meet. Edge this in the same way as the strap,
polish with dye or water according to colour, and then crease.
For a running loop—one that runs loosely along the strap—the leather
about ½ in. longer than twice the width of the strap so as to
overlap; shave one end on the top or grain side, and the other on
the bottom or flesh side, so that when jointed the pieces will make
an even thickness. Allow sufficient length for the two thicknesses
of strap to go through, and mark where it is to overlap. Put one
side of the doubled part in the clamp and stitch the side opposite,
then reverse it and stitch the other; all running loops are made in
this way except for very common straps, when the strips are simply
brought end to end and a stitch or two is made from side of the
doubled part in the clamp and stitch the buckle, put the tongue point
of the latter through the hole made for it in the strap, and having
marked the stitches eight or ten to the inch with the wheel-pricker
on the short underpart, put the loop in between the two leathers
deep enough for the stitches to hold firmly. Begin stitching by the
buckle, putting a cross stitch downwards close to it. Stitch the
straight row along the line of marks close to the buckle end, and
have a stitch over; do not pull the thread up at the last stitch,
but have both the ends underneath. Put two or three stitches in the
centre at the point; here also the last stitch is downwards. Then
begin stitching the other side. With the awl put the first hole close
to the point and pull the thread through; make the next hole and put
the other thread up and the top one down, and so on until the loop
is reached. See that the loop is of the right length; if too long,
cut a bit off. Put the point in between the two leathers, deep enough
to catch the stitches, and put one or two stitches in the side next
to the thread, slanting the awl a little outwards at the point. Put
the upper needle through the loop so that the stitching will not be
over it, and have a stitch or two in the side of the loop next to the
worker; finish it up to the buckle. Put a cross stitch at the finish,
the same as on the other side, and cut the thread. Put a loop stick
of the same width and thickness as the strap through both loops,
hammer them lightly to shape, and run the warm single crease along
the edges. With a punch of the right size cut the required number of
buckle holes, beginning about 5 in. from the point; make the distance
between the holes a little more than the width of the strap. This is
always the rule in punching single straps, such as garters, cart hame
straps, dog muzzle straps, luggage straps, etc.
With regard to threading the needles, a properly made thread will
have a nice point, which must be well waxed, and pulled between the
finger and thumb two or three times to warm the wax so that it will
stick. Pass the end through the eye of the needle for from 1 in. to 2
in., according to the fineness of the point, and holding the thread
between the finger and the thumb of the left hand, spin it from you
with the finger and thumb of the right hand. Afterwards draw the
thread from the needle downwards at the point between the fingers
so as to stick the point together well and make it smooth. Take
care not to put it too far through the eye, or it will be too thick
to go through the holes in the leather, while if it is not pulled
through far enough the thread is liable to break. Be careful also to
get needles of proper size; light thread for light work and strong
thread for thick and heavy work; and a fine awl for fine thread, and
a coarse and strong one for coarser thread, and so on.
In making the first hole in stitching, put the needle and thread up
from underneath, and draw exactly half of the thread through. Put
both needles together and adjust the lengths of the two portions of
threads, and with the awl cut the second hole, and stitch on. Always
put the lower thread in each hole first and draw it up about 3 in.,
then put the other needle in and pull, always keeping the thread from
below lowest in the hole and the top thread above. This is managed
by pulling with the upper hand a bit downwards, and with the hand
at the back of the work a bit upwards, thus tending to keep the
stitches in position. It may be noticed that the hole is not round,
but square and elongated, and tends to help the manipulation of the
thread. Do not make a practice of pushing the awl through the work
at right angles to the face, but on the slant; the holes made by the
wheel-pricker are all on the slant. The above instructions also apply
to double-thread stitching, the kind mostly used in harness making,
though many things, such as the straps, described above, are stitched
with single thread.
In back stitching, use one thread only; begin by putting it up from
below; put it down backwards in the next hole to the one last made,
and then pull it tightly from below. There is not much difference on
the top side, but the stitches on the underside are twice as long
and cross each other in chain fashion. Sometimes it is convenient
to adopt this method to use up waste points, etc., but such things
as traces, surcingles, waist-belts of web, saddle girths, etc., are
always stitched with single thread. When repairing inferior harness,
single thread can sometimes be used without stitching backwards, by
doing what is called spotting, that is, always going forward thus / /
/, and only up and down forward, the stitching appearing like spots,
and not as an unbroken chain.
Stitching with white lace in cart work is done in this manner:—Put
the holes on the upper side very close together, but underneath; the
distance apart may vary with the fineness of the work. This kind
of lace stitching is not much in vogue now, but it looks well when
across the end of breechings for cart purposes, across the openings
in cart cruppers, etc. Lace needles and white skin will be necessary
for this work.
Riding bridles and almost all light brown work are stitched single
thread and backwards, with either white linen, cotton, or silk
beeswaxed, or sometimes with yellow fine hemp thread beeswaxed.
Dog-collars are made in a similar way to the straps previously
mentioned, only the bend is made a little longer underneath to allow
sufficient lining under the D to which the chain may be fastened.
[Illustration: Fig. 64.—Plain Waist Belt.]
Now that an insight into stitching has been obtained, the making of a
waist-belt, Figs. 64 to 66, may be described. Cut the web so that its
ends meet together round the waist, and also cut pieces of very thin
belly brown leather or basil, for binding the ends; the latter should
be about 1¼ in. wide, and as long as the webbing is wide. Turn down
the binding along the centre lengthways, hammer it lightly, and with
the screw-crease mark along one side; then slip it in both sides of
the ends of the web, and either put a tack or two in it, to keep it
in place, or paste it down. Allow the paste to dry before proceeding
further. With the wheel-pricker along the crease mark the stitches,
about ten to the inch, then put the web in the clamp, the latter
being between the knees, and begin stitching at the end farthest
from the worker. Use one yellow or white linen thread dressed with
beeswax. On coming to the end, cut the thread; also cut the binding
square with the edge of the web and stitch both ends across at some
distance from the edge.
Prepare the pieces to be put over the straps and chapes; cut them
about 3 in. wide, and straight on one side, making any fancy cut on
the other; two of these pieces are wanted, one at each end. Then cut
the straps and chapes, and use light tinned bridle buckles or brown
covered buckles ⅞ in. wide. With the compasses set to the right
width, mark out the straps on a close piece of brown shoulder or
belly leather. Cut the straps about 6 in. long and the chapes about
2½ in. long. They may be cut in long strips, being afterwards divided
into the required lengths. Form the strap, point one end a little,
and shave the other end to go under the pieces above mentioned; rub
the edges either with water or solution, and crease them about 1/16
in. from the edge. Then turn down the chapes for the buckles, shave
down both ends thin, and let the lower one be a little shorter than
the other. Punch a small hole about ¼ in. from the end, cut the hole
clean out at the bend, and the piece is then ready for the buckle.
[Illustration: Fig. 65.—Fancy Waist Belt.]
Use thin brown waste to make the loops; with the compasses mark a
width of this about ⅜ in., cut to the right length; then rub and
crease the chapes. Place the buckles in the leather, put in the loops
about half the width of the chape between the two points of the
chape, and close to the buckle, and put two or three stitches in each
end. The pieces to hold up the belt firmly at the small of the back
should be about 1 in. wide. Rub the edges and crease them as well as
the two pieces for the front, and mark stitches with the pricker in
all of them. Three of these back supports will be needed, one right
across the centre of the belt and one on each side, 3 in. from the
centre at the top and slanting inwards to within 1½ in. from the
centre at the bottom.
[Illustration: Fig. 66.—Waist Belt with Pockets.]
To determine which is the lower and which is the upper side of the
belt, bear in mind that, when being worn, the buckles will be on the
left-hand side and the straps on the right. Put one of the 3-in.
wide pieces flat on the belt, within about 3 in. of the end, and
either paste or tack it in its place from the lower side. Put the
straps in about ¾ in., all three exactly alike, one in the centre,
and the others one on each side within ⅛ in. of the edge. Place the
other piece in the other end so near the edge that, in putting the
buckle chapes up to the loops under the edge of the piece, the outer
edge of the buckle is flush with the end of the belt. Fasten the
chapes in position exactly opposite the straps in the other end. Then
backstitch the pieces in each end all round, in the same way as the
binding was treated. Put a second row of stitches farther in than
the first, through the strap ends and through the end of the chapes;
leave about ½ in. between two rows, and then lay on the back straps.
Having pricked them, stitch them in the same way as the others. If
pasted on, they can be kept more easily in their place; if pasting is
not convenient, pencil on their positions and keep them to the mark
in stitching.
It is usual to put a piece of whalebone or good hard cane inside
these to keep them up; thin the bone or cane and push it in between
the leather and webbing from one end, and then stitch both ends
across. Put four or six holes in the straps and see that they work
easily in the loops, when the belt is finished.