In the first video I talk about how to handle buckskin in general. Buckskin is very stretchy and you must be careful not to stretch it out of shape when you cut your buckskin thongs or match several pieces together. Sewing with a buckskin thong is really more lacing than sewing. So I cover how to cut a thong of even width, and how to punch holes with an awl evenly along your seams. You may want to read my post on how to make a bone awl here, though I also talk about metal awls.
I talk about the simplest way to put two pieces of buckskin together, mainly by overlapping their edges and using a simple running stitch. Then, I show you the advantages of adding a welt to your seams, how to cut a proper welt, and how to tighten your stitches in the best way possible.
In the second video, I cover how to splice two buckskin thongs together. Indeed, even though I prefer starting with a thong that will be more than long enough for me to get the job done, sometimes you end up a bit short and need to add more length. Splicing is a great way to do so without adding any bulk to your stitches and can be nearly invisible to the eye.
Then, I show you how to make four decorative stitches.
- At minute mark 6:17 I start with the French Twist, which gives the appearance of a twisted rope running along the seam. It's very easy to do and actually looks very good. It's also a very strong stitch that can take more abuse than a simple running stitch.
- At minute mark 15:38 I show you how to make the X stitch. It's a nice decorative stitch and can also be used to hold pieces of buckskin that are not right next to each other, as in the case of creating more airflow for summer wear.
- At minute mark 27:00 I show you the Baseball stitch. If you've ever seen a baseball then you already know what it looks like. It's particularly great to bring two pieces of buckskin together without any overlap.
- Finally, at minute mark 32:47 I show you the Herring Bone Stitch. If you're just starting out in your buckskin sewing journey, I recommend to get a little experience with the other stitches first as this one takes a long time and requires you to pay very close attention to the way it starts before you can actually get into a nice groove. Nevertheless, it's a very beautiful stitch and can be very fancy. It can also help to mask an overlapping seam if that's what you want to do.
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial on how to sew with buckskin.
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