The Glowforge didn’t fully cut through the leather, so I had to pull the cuts apart, which worked fine except all the fringey fibers along all the edges. I’ll probably take a quick flame to the edges to burn all the fibers down, and once I learn how to burnish, I’ll probably do that.
The inside stitch on the right was the first time I’ve ever attempted a hand saddle stitch, so it looks pretty bad, but I like it. It’s a little reminder of the beginning of a little journey of learning new techniques, so I’m not mad at that.
I also enjoyed the stitching process. Little zen moments and the points of hyperfocus. An enjoyable time.
I hope it will be more a ‘lifelong’ journey of discovery for you.
I still have the first fan sticks I made, about 30+ years ago, and they bring a wry grin to the inside of my head.
John
Hahaha–cute idea! The wallet came out great. One thing I learned (painfully) about the saddle stitch is to use blunt needles. Also, I ran a needle with waste thread through every hole to clean out the char, before stitching up the project.
Love that you just ‘did it’…the best way to learn. I’m the same way. I think I would also enjoy the stitching process…rather theraputic. I’ve also said that I enjoy weeding the mask off of engravings, for the same reason. I’m sure some people would find that crazy. Great first attempt. I have yet to try more leather myself, and look forward to that.
The directions in that article were pretty good. I also learned a lot of nuance as I moved along… a consistent rhythm, push this needle in first, move it over the same way before pushing the other needle through the other way, etc. the sorts of things that make far more sense by just doing it (rather than reading about it.)
I don’t mind weeding unless it’s very fine, or when it’s gradient tones where sometimes there’s more adhesive than paper since it’s partially burned off.
Now: off to google how to get rid of that burnt leather smell.
I’ve found that rinsing the project off and wiping it down with warm water + a bit of dawn dishwashing soap helps. I have sponge dedicated to my laser projects, and I use the scrubby side to swipe off the charred edge of the leather (obvs don’t do that if you like that look). Then I set it outside to air out for an hour or two before working with it. This really seems to mitigate the smell for me, YMMV.
Lovely job and beautiful perspective. It’s taken me years to apprechiate this as I first to see my flaws. I try to remember that the little flaws make our work uniquely ours and that’s very cool.
