The Art of Hand Sewing Leather

This book (it's more of a manual) should be in the hands of everyone that's interested in hand sewing leather. It is a bible of sorts and I keep going back to read it just because I adore it so much! The illustrations and instructions are detailed and easy to comprehend. It literally is only about hand sewing so it won't go into different types of leather, dyes, glues, finishes etc that you'll have to understand regarding leather craft but for someone that wants to learn how to sew using the traditional laborious method, it will answer a lot of your questions. It will show you how to make a belt, how to sew around corners, sew circular items and join two pieces of shearling together among many other things. Al Stohlman teaches in this book how to sew a twin needle method called a saddle stitch using a needle on both ends of the thread. You can also do this stitch with one needle (he tells you how also) but the twin needle is the stronger, neater and time intensive way which pays off in the end. A variation of the saddle stitch called a lock stitch isn't shown. Personally, the saddle stitch is the better of the two anyhow. There's also directions on how to make a half stitching horse to help with holding your work steady so your hands are free to sew which is fantastic.

This book is very well illustrated. It is easy to understand and inspires me to start multiple hobby projects with leather. It covers the basics, tools, techniques and a good variety of projects. Projects include many things including belts, artwork, custom cases, and repairs. All of which are of immediate interest to me. I especially appreciated the quantity and quality of the illustrations that brought understanding and life to it as compared to indepth books that are composed of large blocks of text. Yes they are useful but this is very practical and clearly writtten, by one who has hands on experience. You should also know that this is a medium sized book, not a large one. But it is rich in content. I love this book.

Covers may types of stitch styles (including the baseball stitch that another review said wasn't covered) and how to's for stitching together a square leather box, a round drink can holder, a round leather carrying strap/handles (adaptable for making leather wraps for lever action rifles), and there is even a plan for making a stitching horse. But if you're starting out and expecting something that's a comprehensive A-Z on leather stitching... in all honesty, this isn't it and you'll be disappointed. I was looking for guidance on stitch spacing, thread and needle sizes, what to use on what weight leather, and I did not find that type of detailed info. For example, I still have questions such as, what's the most used/common stitch spacing? I see 4mm and 6mm stitching chisels being the ones commonly sold, when do you use a 4mm versus a 6mm stitching chisel? It's one of those publications that was very good for it's time, but now it's a tad dated, there is still a lot of the info that's still relevant, and considered a "classic" for stitching techniques.

So you want to know how to hand stich leather; then this is the book for you. If you know nothing about leather crafting and are looking to get started, this is not the book for you; at least not yet. But you will want a copy if you get into leather working. The author Al Stohlman was a master at the art of leather working. He wrote a series of books on the subject form the 1950's through the 1980's. Yes, this is an older book. As such the photography is questionable. Fortunately, the bulk of the book is high quality line drawings. The drawings are superior to photographs in relating information on the stitching process. They are clear and precise with no extra information; such as the table background or extra tools on the workbench and so on. As for the actual instruction on stitching, I have not seen better in another book. Granted my leather crafting library is still small, not quite dozen book. This one is head and shoulders above anything else I have seen. It covers hand stitching leather in the greatest detail. I have my doubts a modern publisher would allow such a micro focused book to be published in this day and age. The book also includes a complete set plans to build a stitching pony. A nice bonus. This is not a book for the beginner, as it only covers hand stitching leather and nothing more. But you will want copy of this book if you get passed those first few projects and want to stick with it.

I have done a little leather work in school and wanted to start again after almost 40 years(!). looked around for some basic books and found this one among others. I do consider reviews so I am not buying blind and I am glad i did so. this book is Very well written and excellently illustrated. Mr Stohlman indeed has a very good grasp of his skill. Only gripe is that a few pages are poorly printed making these illegible. A bit of a let down though no fault of the Author . Hope Amazon can do some thing about it. 21 Dec '12. Well Amazon has done something about it - they've sent me a new copy at no extra charge. Good on you Amazon!

This little book has been around for quite some time. It is a very useful book for beginners and has excellent illustrations. I bought this copy for a friend of mine who wanted to get started in hand sewing leather. She says the book has been a great help.

If you want a book for beginners this is it. Perfect pictures and descriptions are perfect for all ages and levels. If you want the perfect book for leather, this is it.

I have been working leather for about a year. I principally make gun holsters, belts, and other hunting equipment. I purchased this book to give me other ideas as how to hand stitch and improve my projects. I was not overly impresses by the drawings and diagrams. This book was originally published in the 1970s. I would imagine that in that time this manual was fine, however I can frankly get better information on the internet. There were some finer points discussed, that might add some polish to your projects, however this book was far from any Ahah moment. This book is not expensive, so I would say, it was not a waste of money, however it will not give an experienced leather worker any "tools" to make them better. I don't believe a novice would gain much as it helps to have an understanding of leather craft and sewing when you read this book.

I am very happy with my purchase it is going help me a lot. Thank you

Un des rares ouvrages sur le sujet . Beaucoup de schémas assez clairs. Cela mériterait tout de même une bonne traduction. Le vendeur très courtoisement m'a prévenu du retard possible, et effectivement, l'attente a été plutôt longue !

This book is just the bees knees with very clear diagrams and instruction including how to make leather working equipment yourself. There can't be a better book on sewing leather. I have other books on the subject but they go nowhere near the detail of this one. Highly recomended.

Le livre est très plaisant, très bien illustré et l'anglais ne gêne pas tant les dessins parlent deux même. 5 étoiles pour le contenu. seul bémol de taille pour la livraison.livre arrivé avec tranche déchirée et contenu arraché de la couverture. Pas très sérieux.

Arrived in good time, excellent book will get a lot of horse tack repair work done thanks the detailed instructions and hey, perhaps attempt some of the more artistic work also shown