The Hidden Backstitch

When I was making Finishing the End of a Stitch a few weeks ago, I wrote a whole section on hiding your backstitch. I also made and shot an example, but it didn’t fit into the post. I learned the hidden backstitch technique from French saddlemaker Pedro Pedrini when he lived in California. Here are the steps, along with a video to demonstrate.

Sometimes, you need to hide your backstitch. Like when you’re forced to end the stitch in the middle of a seam. Ending in the middle of a seam can be necessary if the required thread length is too long to manage, if you break your thread, or if it’s unfeasible to end elsewhere. You can put in a backstitch like usual or do what’s called a hidden backstitch. You hide the backstitch by laying the second thread on top of the first one. Let’s take a look:

1. Sew the seam as usual to two stitches before the end.
2. Use your round awl to score a groove into the leather where the thread will lay. If using regular pricking irons, the thread will travel from the end of the previous mark to the beginning of the next. It’s the opposite slant as the mark itself.
3. Press firmly with the awl, but do not cut the leather. The score only needs to be as deep as around x1.5 the thickness of your thread.
4. Repeat this scoring on both sides for the two last stitches.
5. Sew the next stitch and pull a little tighter on the tension. It should be enough for the thread to lay into the channel you created. The thread should be slightly recessed from the surface.
6. Repeat this step for the remaining stitch.
7. Start the backstitch.
8. When you start to pull the slack on the back stitch, guide the thread into the channel. It should go there on its own; use your round awl to position it if needed.
9. Carefully pull tension on the backstitch so the thread goes over the previous one.