Saddle stitching for the first time
With Nour Benkirane · Medina, Fez
A practical digital course on the hand-stitching technique used in quality leatherwork. I will show you everything I show a new apprentice in the first month: how to mark and pierce the stitch line, how to thread and lock the saddle stitch, and how to finish edges so they last. You can follow along with any leather — I will tell you what tools to get and what you do not need to spend money on.
- Lessons
- 5 lessons
- Total length
- 2 hours
- Format
- Self-paced video
The ability to saddle stitch a straight seam and a corner correctly. Confidence in tool selection and leather choice. An honest sense of how long handwork actually takes.
Anyone who wants to work with leather by hand. No prior experience required. Also useful for people considering a commission who want to understand what the work involves.
5 lessons · 2h total
- 1Tools — what you need and what you do not20 min
- 2Leather — full-grain, top-grain, and why it matters18 min
- 3Marking, scoring, and piercing the stitch line30 min
- 4The saddle stitch — two needles, one seam40 min
- 5Edge finishing — burnishing, waxing, and the corner turn25 min
Nour Benkirane
Leatherwork — bags and belts · Medina, Fez, Morocco
An Amussu regional coordinator has visited this artisan in person, seen the workspace, and confirmed they make what they sell.
My workshop is on the second floor of a building near Bab Boujloud. I cut and stitch goat leather by hand. I do not use a sewing machine. Most pieces I make are bags, satchels, and belts. I learned from my uncle, who learned from his father. I do not take more than four collaborations at a time because saddle stitching is slow and I am not willing to rush it. Tell me the size, what you carry, and how you want it to age, and I will tell you whether I am the right person for it.
In the archive
Nour has documented this tradition in detail in the Amussu Archive. It is free to read.