Hey! David Myhre here. I'm new to the forum and would love some insight on making belts using embossed lamb hides or thin prints.
If combing the embossed leather with a veg tan backing, would you always glue and sew them together? What would be best if you don't want the look of stitching, but the belt needs to be combined with something to make it hold up over time? If it does need to be stitched, would you saddle stitch or machine stitch a belt like this? Also is there another type of leather other than veg tan that would be preferred for the backing of a belt? Thanks so much for any help!
David
On occasion, I've made belts that did not have stitching seen. The only stitching I did was the backing around the buckle and a lot of careful work to place the front of the belt over the backing through the buckle. Most of it was glued up to that point and then worked around to the back. I used a strong solvent based adhesive and Uniters edge paint on the edges and inside the buckle tongue. It's time consuming but it's the look wanted.
I also used a fabric tape as a non-stretch reinforcement (I don't know what it is but I got it in Woodhead's, Cape Town) but I've never used anything other than veg-tan as a backing for a belt. I suppose as long as you can get the length required, anything will do but I think consideration ought to be given to the fact that it'll be sliding in and out of and held against fabrics worn by the user. Not sure this helps any, but no one else was answering!