Hand stitching is a traditional skill that still has a very important place in 21^st Century manufacture; Bespoke suits, Saddlery, Shoemaking, Glove Making, Harness and Bridle work, Leather Goods, Curtains and Soft furnishings, are some of many more everyday goods and apparel. At the Worcestershire Leather Company, Tim Hardy and his craftsmen use hand stitching on all of our Bridle leather belts, Drinks Cases, Cartridge Cases, Luggage, Handbags and Shooting Accessories simply because it provides an extremely strong and fine looking stitch that surpasses anything a sewing machine can produce.

Thought by some, (including some leather companies I have noticed recently), to be stitching done by machine whilst the work is guided by human hands, it is in fact a term that applies (rather obviously) to the skill, or in this case many skills, needed to effect good stitching with one’s hands using a needle (or needles in our case) and thread. This art form evolved over the centuries preceding sewing machines to reach its zenith during Victorian times since when it has changed very little if at all.

The advantages stitching by hand

The advantages stitching by hand offer are numerous due to the direct connection of human hand to the article being made. Should a stronger or weaker tension be required for certain parts of the work, then the craftsman imparts this knowledge and skill directly through the stitch – something a machine cannot achieve. This becomes more obvious when applied to the very best that Savile Row and similar high echelon tailors of bespoke suits produce where for example hand sewing is needed on the parts of the jacket that have to be flexible, such as the collar and armholes. Only a skilled tailor will know exactly how to stitch this correctly by hand and ensure just enough stitch tension and spacing is used to keep the pieces firmly together but with enough movement between them.

Curtain makers of the higher order will use a similar understanding to the Savile Row tailor with the linings of curtains ensuring what amounts to the difference between them hanging beautifully or looking like old rags put up to the window. The delicate stitching used in this instance is almost invisible from front or back and is the mark of quality curtain making.

Glove making in years past was one of Worcester’s main industries when hand sewn gloves were produced in abundance by the renowned names of Dents and Fownes alongside many other manufacturers. The very best examples such as hogskin gloves were hand sewn by the most experienced glovers and although no longer made in Worcester, these much sought are after symbols of Gentlemanly style are still produced today.

Differing Stitch Types

Saddlers have one of the biggest selections of hand stitching techniques in their armoury, all of which are employed during the complex manufacture of top quality saddles, made to be the very best and to fit the very best horses with uncompromising comfort for horse and rider with total reliability. These stitch types will include both double and single hand stitching when welt sewing for example, or the ‘lacing in’ of the pommel, cantle and surrounding areas when heavy duty thread is used to hold the whole seat, panel and tree parts of the saddle together. Several more disciplines will use different lengths and shapes of needles and a variety of thread weights and thicknesses according to leather types and their respective function within the saddle as in the case of girth straps (heavy) or knee rolls (light).

Shoemakers, or Cordwainers as they are also known, will know many of the types of hand sewing mentioned above but probably by different names and with different applications. Most allied trades have unique terms for their skills even when the same technique is used and the shoe trade is no different where they will stitch the very finest shoes by hand, often making the linen threads by hand also (as do the best Saddlers I must add), but where a Saddler may say ‘lacing in’ the Cordwainer may say ‘closing’.

Demand for Hand stitching in today’s world is largely driven by two factors I feel, the first being pure economics and the second being the refusal of skilled craftsmen to compromise on quality. The specific types of hand stitching we use are of the sort practised by Harness and Bridle makers as this is the predominant leather in our collections. The second part of this article will explain more of this, why it is stronger and some of the techniques involved.

There are still some great bargains to be had in the last few days of our Studio Stock Sale so if you have a leather belt of an 36” waist (there are some other sizes too) or a wallet that should really not see the light of day again, act this weekend or miss it for a very long time.

Our Leather belts and Leather Wallets have enjoyed continued success since introducing them to our new website earlier this year with the Benchmark,Thoroughbred and Strand collections proving equally popular.

The recently introduced Pershore Postie and Malvern Mailman messenger bags have also got off to a great start which calls for a celebration we think!

If you are unsure of how good they all are, don’t just take our word, read some of the reviews we have already received within the few months since launching the new site.

Featured products this month are from the new Strand Range of Bridle Leather belts designed to give more of a Metropolitan look to Quality Denim and Chinos.

Secure Ordering & International Shipping as Standard.

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Long before the current interest in the ‘manbag’ swept the globe with its multitude of good and bad offerings, I had used many briefcases, attaché cases of my own making to carry the necessary business accoutrements needed for my endless tours of shows where I exhibited throughout the year.

None fitted the bill well until I developed an idea born out of my interest in fishing and its numerous bags. The Fisherman bag pictured above, was the first of many in this style I made for several years and is still in use today.

Suitable For Today’s Technology

Progress in the technology markets and a lot of requests from customers spurred me on to designing and making two new styles, one based on the original and another of the ‘portrait’ proportions. Essential options are now included in them such as the ability to readily hold a standard laptop, folders of everyday sizes and pockets of various sorts to accommodate all manner of stuff.

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iPads and similar tablets, smart phones and all the paraphernalia that goes with them all have to fit and be protected from the knocks and drops incurred during the daily battle called work. Equally, too many pockets and you struggle to find the very thing you need urgently, so a balance was determined bringing two zipped pockets to the outside rear of the bags and the inside rear lining, a cushioned pocket for tablet sized technology to the inside front lining, and pockets to both sides of the gusset for smart phones and the like, tucked neatly under the strap fastenings to afford maximum security.

The large interior of the bags provides lots of room for the indescribable variety of items you the customer will find to put in there.

Consideration For Materials Used

The selection of materials needed to ensure its longevity was relatively easy and comprises of English Saddlery hide in the form of Pittards Cruiser WR100 cowhide which is impregnated with waxes and a waterproofing compound proven over many years in Sporting footwear production.

Linings of luxurious pigskin suede in more colours than Joseph’s coat give a durable and sumptuous interior to be coveted by all who set eyes upon them. None of this will provide the highest quality we demand without our trademark bridle leather straps using Sedgwick’s finest equestrian bridle butts which are hand sewn to ensure the shoulder straps will not let you down.

Our favourite webbings are employed to give strength, comfort and adjustment for your shoulder with solid brass, nickel or nickel plate fittings from foundries in the English Midlands make certain that breakages are extremely rare!

By far the biggest problem is what to call them, as they will find use by both men and women, but my preferences are the ‘Pershore Postie’ for the Fishing bag style and the ‘Malvern Mailman’ for the portrait messenger style.

We give you the opportunity to own one of these original bags which we are confident will give you unfailing service for the next ten years and more.

I would like to take this opportunity and thank you all for making Christmas very successful and wish you a Happy and Prosperous New Year. I also hope that all of your purchases have exceeded your expectations.

Rather than bother you now with a New Year Sale when all and sundry are shoving things under your noses, we will wait until later in the month to bring you our ‘Studio Stock Sale’ when all of the products currently being photographed will be sold off at considerably discounted prices and include something for everyone and not a load of overstocks or goods nobody wanted to pay full price for!

2012 will also bring you a veritable plethora of new products to expand your choices at The Worcestershire Leather Company and include our two new remakes from our back catalogue of Gentlemen’s Bags in superb saddlery hides trimmed with bridle leather.

The Strand collection of leather belts with a more contemporary styling, beautiful web belts using the finest Belgian and English webbings finished with hand stitched bridle leather and solid brass or nickel finished buckles.

Soon we will also be releasing more choices for Wallets including coin holding options and much much more.

Many thanks to all of you who have ordered, shown an interest or simply offered support for my products at worcestershireleathercompany.com and timhardy.com

As a gesture, please accept this Christmas gift of 10% discount off any of my products, (use XMAS10 in the shopping cart – valid until Dec 2011), we are also offering free shipping on orders over £200.00

For Christmas you may like to treat someone with a hand crafted English Bridle Leather Belt, perhaps a new Bridle Leather Trouser Wallet or simply you may just want to spoil yourself (and why not?), but please don’t procrastinate if you need it by Christmas as the clock is ticking – order now to avoid disappointment.

Our Christmas recommendations:

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One such devotee of this art, a customer who has bought leather belts and leather wallets from me over the years, approached me recently to see if I could reproduce a beautifully made reel case originally from the famous Farlows of Pall Mall, purveyors of fine fishing tackle for over 170 years. I would guess at it being at least 80 years old and in fine condition with hand stitching throughout, fine baize lining, covered buckle (also hand sewn at 16 per inch) and an overall patina that only years of use could give.

My customer is an avid collector of Allcock Aerial reels which in their day back in the early nineteen hundreds, were the ‘state of the art’ reel but were over engineered and crafted which limited their marketability until eventually production ceased altogether in the 1950’s. My client was keen for me to make a case based on the antique version specifically for one of his 4 ½” sized reels and to be as true to the original case as possible.

Although I try to stick to the mantra ‘Make what you can Sell, do not Sell what you can Make’, I am prone to wandering off this track, especially when presented with something with such provenance made by the dedicated craftsmen of yesteryear. Hey ho here we go, I thought and agreed to have a go.

Some months passed whilst I picked it up, looked it over and put it back down again, before finally getting to grips with the challenge of sizing, pattern cutting, guessing allowances and finally cutting the materials. Not only is the choice of materials critical; correct substance and leather type, reinforcements of the right stiffness and thickness to give the case it’s rigidity, suitable adhesives and linings, but also the demands of case/box stitching by hand are considerable and are not seen often these days as most cases of this type are almost always sewn with a corner stitching machine.

I use this method for several items I make including the drinks case and done correctly with matched right and left pricking irons and precise use of the awl when making the holes for stitching with double hand twin needle stitch, it gives a beautiful looking stitch with great strength. Beware, just one slip with the awl point going too deep or in the wrong place and it can all end in tears and a ruined piece of work. However, luck was on my side and the case came to fruition and doing great justice to the original (pleased though I was, I always get a fellow craftsman to pass such judgement). The proof however would be down to the customer’s opinion and also if the reel, not yet in my possession, would slide snugly into the case.

The customers return was, as always, a welcome and interesting experience and having shown me lots of additions to his valuable collection it was judgement time – thank you God, customer over the moon, reel fitting perfectly and an order for several more in the bag – bingo – sometimes you have to lead with your heart!!

My grateful thanks to him for his passion for the subject, his patience and advice, and for giving me an insight into the world of Traditional Fishing which will not only provide me with more business, but has already inspired some fledgling ideas for new products.

Rolling brightly and busily into this Autumn with all its lovely Nut browns and Tan colours, the new website is proving its worth already and keeping us very busy, my thanks to all of you who have already purchased through it so far.

However, I realise that coming soon is the big season with all its festivities and present buying but I still get caught out and have a last minute dash around to get what’s left – fun but always resulting in my missing out on the best goodies – please don’t do it!

You may already know which of our products you have lined up for yourself or a lucky recipient, so don’t delay and miss the boat, especially for wallets or our larger items.

The last posting date seems to come around more quickly every year and I want to do our best to get everyone’s order out on time so please – Don’t delay and be disappointed!

Two new products deserve particular attention:

Secure Ordering & International Shipping as Standard.

Should you want to see more than we have here on www.worcestershireleathercompany.com with its secure shopping, own account options, special offers, and order tracking, then take a look at our sister site at www.timhardy.com where other ieces of our work can be seen.

We hope you like everything you see and if so why not add us to Facebook or Twitter? Should you not be so pleased we welcome your opinions, likes and dislikes so that we can improve your shopping experience.

Embracing the latest technology the site is designed to compliment and sit alongside the existing site at www.timhardy.com but be able to offer you many more facilities such as secure shopping, your own account, special offers, order tracking and much more. It also enables us to expand our collections in a user friendly system with better visibility.

As a result we will be able to offer you much more in the future and continue to produce our highest quality English Leather goods. Our skilled team of craftsmen are proud to make them for you and as such are maintaining the core skills of our English manufacturing heritage whilst giving you the pleasure of ownership.

Three new products deserve particular attention:

The Stockwood Bridle Leather Belt
The Stockwood belt which has all the classic attributes of our hand sewn bridle leather range with extra detail to deliver our take on the Stockman’s belt.

Billfold English Bridle Leather Wallet
Billfold wallet – a smaller alternative to the trouser wallet and so called because of its origins derived from our cousins across the pond. The organised person will appreciate its scaled down features when pocketed.

Bridle leather objet d’art – The Night Tidy
How many of us have a piece of English leather craftsmanship especially designed to keep our accoutrements safely in one designated bedside place? Does your bedside table look like the end result of a thorough and fast customs procedure last thing at night? The answer to said problem lies within this smart and functional Bridle Leather objet d’art.

We hope you like both the new products and the Worcestershire Leather Company

Taking a leather belt you use regularly, thread it through your preferred or current favourite trousers/denims. This will get around the problem of where on the body you are currently wearing them e.g. on the hips or waist which can make a difference of up to four inches.

Fasten your leather belt comfortably and in the preferred position on your waist noting carefully which hole you are using to fasten the buckle tongue through. This is usually obvious from the mark left by the buckle tongue from continued use.

Remove the leather belt and lay it flat on a table where you can now easily measure with a tape from the hole discussed above to where the leather turns through the buckle.

This measurement is the size of the leather belt you need to order and the reason the measuring is only done to where the leather goes through the buckle is because the length of the buckle allows for length lost in fastening and the extra circumference needed to go around the waistband which more than often is an inch or so.

We usually size our leather belts to the second tightest hole because as our leather belts are known to last for up to twenty years it allows the wearer to expand, which is more often than not the case! They can however be ordered to fasten on the middle hole but one inch of expansion on the waistline and the leather belt will look out of balance.

Hope this helps some or all of you and avoids needless disappointment and the tedious task of returning the goods.

Initially available to order online in the Quick Release 1 ¼” Brass belt style, certain other styles can be made by emailing us with your preferred details.