View “The Art of a Hand-Stitched Purse”

Photography by Romain Blanquart, Scott Chernis, Shawn Linehan
Written by Todd Oppenheimer

Back in the day, saddlemakers and other leather workers had to set the holes for stitching with crude tools like this one.

Then came the “modern” era of leather stitching, made possible by a revolutionary upgrade: a simple pricking iron. This one is armed with an even set of 12 punches, and sharp enough to go all the way through even thick pieces of leather.

To create a consistent look, each set of holes must be carefully spaced, and carefully hammered. Otherwise your stitches are likely to wiggle across your edges, rising and falling like a tiny, white worm.

Before the stitching begins, Beatrice waxes her thread with beeswax to prevent shredding, and to create grab. Then she threads the needle with a 3-part maneuver specially designed for a long bout of pushing and pulling.

To keep the pieces she is sewing secure, but maneuverable, Beatrice uses an old Hermès trick: a large wooden clamp, which she tightens by pressing the jaws between her knees.

With each stitch, she gives the thread a little tug, which creates stitching that is tighter, stronger, and longer lasting than machine stitching. It can take a student more than an hour to properly stitch a small piece like this. Beatrice finishes it in a matter of minutes.

The sign of mastery of this technique is a tight, even row of stitches on BOTH sides of whatever you’re sewing. Mastering that skill, Beatrice says, “has taken years.”

Romain Blanquart is a visual journalist living in Detroit, Michigan. He studied photography at the Rochester Institute of Technology and for the last 13 years has been a staff photographer at The Detroit Free Press.
Scott Chernis first picked up a camera while attending Tulane University, where a desire to understand the music and culture of New Orleans fueled his early photographic endeavors.
Shawn Linehan is a photographer based in Portland, Oregon, whose work focuses primarily on small farms and farmers.
Todd Oppenheimer is the editor and publisher of Craftsmanship Quarterly, and the executive director of its nonprofit umbrella organization, The Craftsmanship Initiative.