Side Seam Moc Tutorial

Here is a good tutorial on how to make traditional side seam mocassins.

For the sewing, I recommend making holes an inch or so at a time, and then sewing with a DULL needle.  Make a few more holes and sew.  Make a few more holes and sew.  Or, don't punch holes and use a glovers needle which is very sharp with a pair of very small pliers from Harbor Freight to pull it through.  Glovers needles are expensive and make it a bit slower, so I choose to sew most things with an awl and dull needle. 

I don't like the boys breaking my expensive needles.  With a big fat dull needle, they usually only bend it.  Sometimes, the boys have bent my awls.  How they do it, I'll never know.

Make a "dull" needle by breaking the tip of with pliers.  A dull needle is necessary, because it will only go through when it finds the hole made by the awl.  If you punch a hole with an awl, then try to use a sharp needle of any kind, it will just try to make a hole wherever you stick it.  And, on the "suede" side of the leather, it can be hard to see the hole exactly.

Scout On!