I finally caved and bought that $80 Japanese hole punch guide

Thought it would fix my wonky sewing holes. It did not. The holes are still off by a tiny bit, maybe a millimeter. But now I'm out eighty bucks and still lining things up by eye. Should have just kept practicing with my awl. Anyone know a better trick for keeping signatures straight before punching?

3 comments

3 Comments

gracec1621d ago

Oh man, my friend had the EXACT same meltdown over a fancy leather stitching guide. Spent a ton, holes were still a hair off, she threw it in a drawer. What finally worked for her was just a cheap metal ruler from the hardware store and a sharp pencil. She marks every single hole position down the fold before she even touches the awl. Says it slows her down but everything is straight now.

elliot_gibson2721d ago

That ruler and pencil method sounds solid, @gracec16. Does your friend do anything special to keep the leather from shifting while she's marking it?

ninar1221d ago

I mean, the ruler and pencil trick is good, but marking every single hole on the fold sounds like a lot. I just make a couple of light marks at the top and bottom of the signature as guides, then use a really thin needle to poke a starter hole before the awl. It keeps things from shifting as much. Maybe it's just me, but pre-poking all those pencil dots would drive me nuts.