Best Leather Stitching Wheels for Leather Working

Leather stitching wheels make it easy to mark where holes for stitching will be made in leather items. If one often hand-stitches leather, these are essential and valuable additions to the shop. Some recommendations include paid links to products that I trust.

The Kyoshin Elle Pro Stitching / Marking Wheel is a great all-around stitching wheel, click here to see it on Rocky Mountain Leather. This set includes 4 wheels for options on stitch-per-inch spacing. It’s build solidly with quality materials and should serve most projects very well.

Let’s take a look at the options available, and what to consider when decising on a pricking wheel or an overstitch wheel.

Types of Leather Stitching Wheels

Stitching wheels are used to physically impress marks into the leather surface, usually towards the edge of the material, where stitching will go. Stitching wheels can be used to make marks, for holes, or make small holes directly, depending on the type that is used.

Leather Pricking Wheel

The leather pricking wheel has a series of sharp points, fixed onto a wheel, that generally make deep holes into, and sometimes small holes right through, the leather. These indendations and holes make it easier to push a needle through the leather material.

Also, since the markings and holes are made with a wheeled device, they are evenly spaced along the line on which the wheel was moved. This makes for consistent and visually appealing stitching in the leather.

Leather Pricking Wheel - Liberty Leather Goods — Leather Pricking Wheel

Leather Overstitch Wheel

Overstitch wheels are intended to leave visible marks in the leather surface, at equal distances, though are not intended to puncture the leather. Often, an overstitch wheel is used to mark hole positions, while then another tool such as a chisel (with equally spaces prongs, to match the spacing of the overstitch wheel) is then used to put physical holes into the leather.

Best Leather Stitching Wheels

Preference for leather stitching wheels can be driven by a crafters’ workflow; if they want to prick small holes for hand stitching, or if they want to mark hole positions then follow them up with a chisel to make the actual holes. Here are a few recommended options that work well in the shop.

Best Leather Pricking Wheel

Co-Link makes a nice, basic pricking wheel with 4mm spacing bewteen the tines, click here to see it on Amazon. This will work well for marking hole positions with smaller, circular marks, and perform well for making holes in thinner leather material.

Best Leather Overstitch Wheel

Kyoshin Elle makes a great Pro Stitching / Marking Wheel, click here to see it on Rocky Mountain Leather. This set includes 4 interchangeable wheels for options on stitch-per-inch spacing (ranging from 3.0mm to 6.0mm spacing). This brand makes quality products that are generally affordable in conext to their performance.

Best Leather Stitching Wheel Set

Some wheels have a fixed wheel, others have interchangeable wheels so varying spacing can be utilized across different projects. Stitching wheel sets usually have a handle with interchangeable wheels, so one can choose whichever wheel is best fitting to the task at hand.

The Vergez Blanchard Pricking / Marking Wheel Set is quality, click here to see it on Rocky Mountain Leather. It has a wooden handle with steel arm, and the wheels come in any one of nine different spacing sizes, ranging from 2.25mm (size 12) to 6.75mm (size 4) spacing.

While the set comes with one wheel of choice, the other wheels are available individually, click here to see them on Rocky Mountain Leather. For a crafter that seeks precision and options in stitch spacing, this is a quality and reliable set.

Premium Leather Stitching Wheel

Sometimes we look for options that provide excellent function, though might bey slightly beyond daily necessity. This is one of those tools 🙂 The Vergez Blanchard Pricking / Marking Wheel & Fence Set includes a wood, steel, and brass handle, an adjustable fence (to set spacing from the edge of the leather), and 4 separate stitch spacing wheels.

The adjustable fence is really nice, as it provides a consistent guide for one to push the wheel againlt the leather, ensuring a straight strich mark line (assuming a straight edge on the leather), making that part of the process very easy and consistent.

This is one of those tools that if one finds themself doing specialised and repeated work, or enjoys a hefty tool that is made with quality craftsmanship, this might very well be one to check out. Is it necessary, no. Is it awesome, yes 🙂

In Closing

Leather stitching wheels can provide a very easy way to mark stitch lines that are straight and consistent in stitch hole spacing. If one is looking to just mark hole locations, or make holes in thinner leather, having one around the shop will likely find use on more and more projects over time.