Now it's time to draw a white chalk line on the inside of the wheel exactly where you want the stitching to go. It is easy enough to follow the line of the original stitching as it is imprinted on the soft rubber.
You can now carefully stretch the leather over the wheel. Gently, no ripping the leather! Make sure the welt is in the cut at the bottom, and that everything is nicely square.
Then pinch the leather with your finger and mark where that line goes onto the leather. This is where you will need to cut. Go slow and carefully, the leather can be stretched so a little short is ok, but not too much. Tape is great to hold it in place while you go around the inside.
Once the top is marked and cut, go around and do the bottom.
You can "feel" the ridge of the top as a guide to cut the bottom.
The end result should have the leather properly fitted and nicely tight when the top and bottom edges are closed.
Now it's time to start stitching'! You need to make a cardboard template with the distance between stitches (5mm) clearly marked. Then, place this on the seam and mark each point on both sides. It is important to note that the stitching cannot be evenly spaced on the spokes as these are at a sharp radius. Use the template on the top, and transfer straight down to the other piece.
Once removed, you should see all the markings for the stitches:
Then, take an owl and poke the holes at a fixed distance (2.5mm) from the edges.
