In the description of handmade products, you may see the phrase “hand sewing with saddle stitch…”. Let’s imagine that we are talking about a classic belt with a length of 120 cm. In such a belt there will be about 888 stitches, with a pitch of 2.7 mm. And the time for hand stitching will be 5-6 hours. Women’s bracelet with a double wrist circumference up to 200 stitches with a pitch of 2,25 mm.
Thin thread 0.35 mm and a small step of 2.7-2.25 mm gives products an elegant look, but requires time, diligence, patience and “iron fingers” of the master. We have to use the thinnest needles, which often bend, break, rub the thread and dig the ear into the fingers of the master.
There are plenty of good needles, but it is important to find the right one for specific tasks and features (ratio of thread thickness/stitch size to needle length and diameter).
System S+U Art.953 are great for hand sewing leather and saving on finger bandages.
No.1 – 60 mm length, 1.1 mm diameter, suitable for 0.6mm threads.
No.2 – 56 mm length, 1.0 mm diameter, suitable for 0.55mm thread.
No.3 – 54 mm length, 0.9 mm diameter, suitable for 0.5 mm thread.
No.4 – 48 mm length, 0.9 mm diameter, suitable for 0.45 mm thread.
No.6 – 42 mm length, 0.8 mm diameter, suitable for 0.4 mm thread.
No.7 – 42 mm length, 0.7 mm diameter, suitable for 0.35 mm thread.