Saddle Stitching by Hand: Why Two Needles Beat a Machine

The saddle stitch is the signature of hand-made leather goods. It is slow, it needs no machine, and it produces a seam that is stronger in one crucial way than anything a standard sewing machine can make.

How it works

One length of waxed thread is fitted with a needle at each end. The maker punches a row of holes, then passes both needles through each hole from opposite sides, pulling the thread tight after every stitch. Each hole is crossed twice, by the same thread.

A sewing machine makes a lockstitch instead: an upper thread loops around a lower bobbin thread inside the material. It is fast and neat, but if one stitch breaks, the seam can begin to unravel. With a saddle stitch, a broken stitch stays a broken stitch; the threads on either side are still locked in place.

The tools

• Stitching chisels or pricking irons, to mark and punch evenly spaced, slanted holes.
• Two blunt harness needles.
• Waxed linen or braided polyester thread.
• A stitching pony or clam, which holds the work between the knees.
• A groover, to cut a shallow channel so the thread sits below the surface.

Spotting it on finished goods

Look at both faces of the seam. A good hand saddle stitch shows neat, slanted stitches on both sides. A machine lockstitch looks straight on top and slightly different underneath. Hand stitching also tends to be a little bolder, with more thread showing.

When rivets and studs win

Not every piece needs stitching. Minimal designs often use duty studs or rivets instead, which hold a fold without any seam. Many makers mix both: stitched pockets, riveted stress points.

Stitched leather is everywhere once you notice it: on a saddle, a watch strap, a baseball glove, even the padded rail of a poker table, where upholsterers hide their seams under the edge. Our guide to how poker table rails are built shows that side of the craft.