Repairing your Penny Loafers

There are many different leather products that have hand stitched seams or seams that were originally stitched with a machine when the article was manufactured, but needs to be hand stitched to repair it. Penny Loafers, handles of briefcases, many purse straps, horse tack and saddles, leather saddlebags both for motorcycles and horses, moccasins, golf bags, motorcycle seats, car seats and so many other types of leather products. I have hand stitched & sewn more types of leather articles that I could ever list or count over the years. I will try to describe how to repair the different types of articles in various posts, which can make it easy to do it yourself or you can take it to a shoe repair or leather repair shop.

For most of these hand sewing issues and types of leather products you will need to get the following tools:  Hook Awl Needle with handle (extra needles)
           Catgut sewing cord (strongest hand sewing thread)
           Colored hand sewing cord to match if possible (tan, brown, black, white, etc.)
           Large needles (for hand sewing with large enough eyes for the catgut thread.)
           Sharp Scissors or knife
These tools can be bought through a shoe repair or you can find a Tandy Leather Factory store to buy the supplies you need to do the job that you are working on. You should be able to get further advice from either source on how they would go about repairing the article as well.

For most of these leather articles listed above, you will be able to sew the seams that use a heavy thread or cord such as the catgut cord using the large needle and the catgut threat. The catgut thread is a natural type of cord that is prepared from the natural fiber found in the walls of animal intestines, especially sheep. The other hand sewing threads are strong and do come in different colors which can give you a better match in shades. 


PENNY LOAFERS: The toe of penny loafers and the side of the strap that holds the penny in the front are machine sewn when the shoes are manufactured, but can only be hand sewn to be repaired when the stitching breaks and comes unwound. If the leather tears through the holes and cannot be just hand sewn, you will need to take it to a shoe repair to have them patch it for a professional look. One stitch for the hand sewing of the toe is very simple in most cases. It simply loops around and around in one direction from one end to the other non-stop. Then you tie the knot under the strap and cut and tuck. The second stitch is a little more difficult, it is sewn every other hole going one way and then every other hole coming back the other way to get a complete stitch. Then you tie the knot under the strap, cut and tuck it as well. The strap has a row of stitches that hold it on both side of the shoe. These stitches are large thread and need to be hand sewn to replace them when they break to maintain the look of the shoe. When you tie the knot, make sure it is between the strap and the shoe so that the knot is not on the inside of the shoe against your foot. You can lightly tap the new stitching with a hammer to flatten them out, but DO NOT hit the leather hard it can be cut by the hammers edge. Polish the leather when finished to complete the job and even out the color and bring out the shine once more.

 For all of you that live in or near WAXAHACHIE, TEXAS you can contact my brother, J.D. at his shoe repair at 972-938-7979. Hours of operation are: Tues. - Fri. 10 am - 6 pm & Sat. 10 am - 5 pm. If you are close to the area, you could just stop by his shoe repair at: 507 N. Hwy. 77, Ste. 1100C, Waxahachie, TX 75165. You can also contact him at: TexasBootRepair.com

For those of you that live in or near WEST JORDAN, UTAH you can contact my brother, Dan at his shoe repair at 801-448-1928. Hours of operation are Tues. - Sat. 10 am - 6 pm.  If you are close to the area, you could just stop by his shoe repair at: 7650 S. Redwood Rd., Ste. B, West Jordan, UT 84084. You can also contact him at: roycecustomleather.com, his business is Royce Custom Leather LLC.