Bronzing for Leather.—A small amount of so-called insoluble aniline violet is dissolved in a little water and the solution brushed over the article; it will dry quickly. If the result is not satisfactory, repeat the process.
To Gild Calf- or Sheepskin.—Wet the leather with some egg albumen, and, when dry, rub it with the hands damped with a little olive oil. Then apply the gold leaf, and pass a hot iron over it.
CHAPTER III.
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.