Page 19 - How Leather was Sewn
Published by Ronald Caplan on 1973/5/1 (745 reads)
With this waxed thread alone you could do your sewing, but Peter Kerr of Cape North told us that years ago, "when we killed the pig late in the fall we always took the bristles for to have to sew. You took the bristles before you scalded it for to clean it. If you scalded them it took the good out of them. And then you'd take that bristle and split it down to an inch and a half you'd leave for sewing with. Then you'd put your thread end in the split." It had to be an older pig, something very difficult to find today. You put the very tip of your thread well into the split, close the split and roll the entire bristle away from you, winding the thread on 6 or 7 turns along the split. See Drawing E. Hold the bristle as you did the threads in Drawing A. Let the bristle be (1) and the waxed thread (2). And twist each in turn exactly as you did the separated strands of the thread. Keep doing this till you come to the portion of the. thread where it begins to be its full thickness (after about 5 or 6 twists and exchanges) • and it is stout enough to open the thread with the awl, back about 1/2" from your last twist. Drawing F. Put the pig bristle through this opening and gently draw it through. Always be extremely careful of the bristle • it is just to get thru the awl holes. Once through, grip the thread itself to pull. Wax all but the end of the bristle. Put one on the other end, and sew. -Dt'AWlNG- F T P CiF THREAD INl
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