Valkenburg/Castleford style caliga step by step

[Martin Moser]

Yarn length for this type of seam is about 4x the length of the length of the piece you want to sew. I am using blunt long and flexible steel needles here, until not so long ago a shoemakers choice was a pig's bristle (right word? - stiff and yet flexble hair from a pig), in fact the needles I am using are called steel bristles (Stahlborsten in German). Before actual sewing I found that I had to widen the holes once more, as the leather tends to close those holes, especially when pressed or moved. That of course is exactly the effect we are looking for, opening a hole with the awl 2-3x wider than the yarn's diameter so that it passes through easily and then have that hole close itself around the yarn again nicely.



Here are two details of the actual sewing in progress. Take care not to pierce one yarn with the other's needle, as you cannot pull the seam tight anymore afterwards then - another reason why especially with those double seams I prefer to use those blunt needles




Time needed to prepare the holes, pitch the yarn and sew both from the inside and outside down the length: 2 hours