Putting a welt on leatherwork is an often forgotten or misunderstood topic because the simplicity of making a good one can be overlooked.
Take a look at these three Lyman Belt Bags made by my good friend Brokkennock up in New England and Mike from Oklahoma.
Broke put a divider in the pouch, easily put in because the bag is sewn with a flat seam and the divider is actually positioned where a welt would have gone if he chose to put one in there.
Two more little beauties are from Mike from Oklahoma, also flat seamed.
These bags are efficient and useful in and of themselves and if you work with leather it is not hard to see how well they will age in patina and appearance in general.
So, then, why welt a seam?
A welt is simply a strip of leather sandwiched into a seam. It is most useful in three areas ( excluding shoemaking, where it is used differently);
- Along the edge of a Knife Sheath where the blade runs along the seam
Along the edge of a holster for that percussion gun we don’t mention in the forum
In any product where the work is turned inside out.
The latter, one of those ever useful belt bags, is what we will work with here. It’s main feature is the ability to add strength to, and protect, the seam once the work is turned inside out. It will also make the bag easier to turn. Lastly, it will maintain the integrity of the curve in the seam where you want it; such as the corners or round of your pouch.
Take a look at these patterns for my own Lyman pouch. The leather is raunchy enough to be aged before I even begin work, so I drew and cut on the flesh side for clarity. That black area, along the edge of the cut marks, will be the welt. It is about 3/8 to ½ inch, depending on your taste, and will be easier to work with because cutting it out along the pouch cut mark makes it easily follow the shape of the bag.
Of course, you can cut a simple, straight strip, but it can be a little hard to place and bend along the seam. Doing it this way fashions a strip that is already shaped.
BEFORE you assemble the pouch do whatever you wish with belt loops or the edging or the internal small pouch. That way it will be easier to work with
There are other Tutorials in “Every Man A Cobbler” somewhere in the forum ( if you wanna do a search) that will cover edges and stitching. Jump onto YouTube and there are a lot of segments on leatherwork. Weaver, Springfield, Tandy have pretty good pieces on stitching with off-the-shelf products, so you won’t starve for technique.
I tend to vent the shop when using Good Ol’ Barge contact cement rather than tacky glue and a lot of clamps. If you use Barge, be sure to come up for air once in a while because there is nothing quite like the smell of Barge and it doesn’t…smell like…Victory…
You also have to rough up the small edge of the flower side of the leather to make it stick better.
Glue one side of the welt to the OUTSIDE of the bag.
Now rough up the edge and glue to other piece of the pouch. Note that your bag is assembled inside-out. Of course, if you are making a sheath or holster, you are not going to turn anything inside out and your welt will separate a plain flat seam. A pouch gets turned inside out.
Whether stitching by hand or by machine, it helps to draw your stitch line on the surface of the bag so your stitching does not wander off the welt or…worse…off the edge of the piece. A good rule of thumb…but NOT an absolute… is to position the line off the edge by half the welt’s width. Once this seam is closed, I like to run some warm water onto the whole project when this piece is made with a relatively stiff leather. Fill the pouch but drain it before the leather drowns. You don’t need a lot of water, especially if you are working with cowhide. Oil tan and chrome tan tend to soak from the flesh side because the finish resists water. Deer, Elk and the soft leathers don’t need to be soaked.
Immediately turn this bad boy inside out and patiently knead it along the inside of the seam to its final look. If you are working with veg tanned cow and want an aged look, this will be where you scrunch up and stretch the bag to get that antique look. Try to position all those wrinkles where they would be if they wore on a bag over time…such as on the face of the pouch or toward the middle of the flap. If you are going to color the bag and show wear, try to put the worn or thin color areas along the edges, where a bag wears over time. Some terrible smelling de-glazer rubbed vigorously on the finish will get that look, and some saddle soap will be as close as you get to having the abused leather forgive you.
Be sure and spend time with your fingers forcing the seam to extend outward all the way so you can see the full welt. It will almost always be easier to turn because of the welt, but may take more patience and time than you have if your corners are squared. I did not finish the welt edge so it would photograph better, but This’ll be what you end up with;
One last word; If you are one of those persnickety types who is looking for the ultimate authentic look, the way to distinguish your work from machine work is to have it just a smidge less than perfect and uniform when scrutinized by some guy with a magnifying glass. Don’t tolerate sloppy or poor work, but allow just a little bit of differential. Look close at this bag for a sec. The stitches are tight and even, but if you stare long enough you will notice little irregularities that suggest wear and age. I was once told that many Cordwainers would slip a stitch somewhere because only God is perfect, so I did that.
When you’re done the delicacy and smooth appearance of your work will pronounce itself over time.
Yeah, yeah, I know….delicacy…we’re tough guys. I was a Marine too. When the boogie man goes to sleep he checks under the bed in case there is a Marine there, etc., et al.
I betcha over time your patience and touch will beat this example…
