u/WrenLeather

Image 1 — The hidden details you don't usually see - the traditional way of stitching in a keeper.
Image 2 — The hidden details you don't usually see - the traditional way of stitching in a keeper.

The hidden details you don't usually see - the traditional way of stitching in a keeper.

In this shot, you can just see the end of the keeper, captured by the stitchline down the one side of this buckle turn, skived down to nothing to reduce bulk. An easier and more common way nowadays (second photo, I have rotated the keeper, as it's not actually 'attached', to show the join) is to make your keeper a full loop, stitching or stapling the two ends together. This keeps the full thickness of the keeper the whole way around, adding to a bulky mess at this section of the belt. With the full loop method the turn over is then often secured either side of the keeper with just a couple of whip stitches around the edge of the belt, unlike a traditional stitched keeper that has a full stitch run the whole length of the turn down both sides. A much stronger solution.

You can also see the twist of the linen thread where I go from one side of the turn to the other, this keeps the thread tight and tidy, and is done so the stitch lines down either side of the turn is done with one continuous piece of thread.

It's a bit more work and quite a fiddly process, but I think it makes a big difference to the final outcome.

Do you think it's worth the extra to do it this way?

u/WrenLeather — 11 days ago