Riveting and Lacing

Part of Leatherwork

Joining leather pieces with rivets and lacing for strong, functional, and repairable connections.

Why This Matters

Stitching is the most common method for joining leather, but it isn’t always the best choice. Rivets create permanent mechanical connections that resist pulling forces better than thread — essential for harness fittings, armor joints, and tool attachments where failure could be dangerous. Lacing provides a decorative and functional alternative that can be done without needles and creates joints that are easy to repair in the field.

In a rebuilding scenario, you won’t always have access to strong thread or fine needles. Rivets can be made from any small piece of soft metal — copper, brass, or even iron nails. Lacing uses strips of leather itself as the joining material, meaning the supply is self-contained. Between these two techniques and basic stitching, you can handle virtually any leather assembly challenge.

Understanding when to use each method is as important as the technique itself. Rivets excel at point loads and permanent connections. Lacing works for edges, seams, and situations where you need the joint to flex. Many of the best leather goods use a combination of all three methods — each applied where its strengths matter most.

Riveting Fundamentals

Types of Rivets

In a rebuilding context, you’ll work with three basic rivet types:

Rivet Type	Construction	Best For
Burr rivet	Wire shaft + washer (burr) + peened head	Straps, harness, heavy connections
Split rivet	Shaft split into two legs that bend outward	Lighter work, easy to set
Tubular rivet	Hollow tube rolled over on both ends	Decorative, moderate strength

Burr rivets are the workhorse of leather riveting. They consist of a headed nail-like shaft pushed through the leather, a small washer (the burr) pushed over the shaft, and the protruding end peened (hammered flat) to lock everything together. These are the strongest option and the easiest to fabricate from scratch.

Making Rivets

You can make functional burr rivets from copper or soft iron wire:

1. Cut wire to length — the shaft must be long enough to pass through all leather layers plus 3-4mm for peening.
2. Form the head: hold one end of the wire against a small anvil or flat metal surface. Heat the tip and hammer it flat in a circular pattern, creating a head about twice the wire diameter.
3. Make burrs (washers): cut small discs from thin sheet metal. Punch a center hole matching the wire diameter. If you lack sheet metal, a coiled wire ring works as an improvised burr.
4. Smooth any sharp edges on the head with a file or stone.

Copper vs. Iron

Copper rivets are far superior for leather work. Copper is soft enough to peen easily without cracking, resists corrosion (which would rot the surrounding leather), and looks attractive. Save iron rivets for applications where copper isn’t available or extra strength is needed.

Setting Rivets

1. Mark the rivet positions on both leather pieces. Ensure they align precisely — hold or clamp the pieces together and mark through both layers simultaneously.
2. Punch holes using an awl or leather punch. The hole should be a snug fit for the rivet shaft — tight enough that the rivet doesn’t wobble, loose enough to push through without damage.
3. Insert the rivet from the visible (grain) side of the leather. The decorative head faces outward.
4. Stack all layers onto the shaft. Ensure leather pieces are tight against the head with no gaps.
5. Slide the burr over the protruding shaft. Push it down firmly until it sits flat against the leather.
6. Trim excess shaft leaving 2-3mm above the burr.
7. Peen the shaft end. Place the rivet head face-down on a smooth, hard surface (anvil, flat stone). Tap the protruding shaft with a small hammer in a circular pattern, gradually spreading the metal over the burr. Use moderate, controlled strokes — heavy blows can split the shaft.
8. Check the joint. The leather should be firmly clamped between head and peened end with no play.

Rivet Spacing and Placement

• Space rivets 15-25mm apart for structural connections.
• Place rivets at least 8mm from any leather edge to prevent tear-through.
• For straps under tension, use at least two rivets side by side — a single rivet creates a pivot point that will eventually wear through.
• Where a strap wraps around a buckle or ring, place rivets on both sides of the hardware to distribute the load.

Lacing Techniques

Preparing Lace

Leather lacing is cut from the hide itself, creating a self-sourcing supply of joining material. Two methods:

Straight-cut lace: Cut thin strips (3-5mm wide) from flat leather using a straight edge and sharp knife. This produces short pieces limited by the hide dimensions. Best for short runs and repairs.

Spiral-cut lace: Start with a circular piece of leather. Begin cutting from the outside edge in a spiral toward the center, maintaining constant width. This produces remarkably long continuous lace from relatively small leather pieces. A 30cm diameter circle yields approximately 5-6 meters of 5mm lace.

After cutting, condition lace with a light coat of oil and pull it through a smooth hole (in wood or bone) to even out the width and round the edges slightly. This makes it much easier to work with.

Basic Running Stitch Lace

The simplest lacing technique — used for joining two edges:

1. Punch evenly spaced holes along both edges, 8-10mm from the edge and 8-10mm apart.
2. Cut a lace about 4x the length of the seam.
3. Starting from one end, pass the lace through the first hole from back to front, then across to the first hole on the opposite piece.
4. Continue in an over-and-under pattern, pulling each loop snug before proceeding.
5. At the end, pass back through the previous hole to lock, then trim and tuck the tail.

Cross Stitch (X-Lace)

Stronger and more decorative than running stitch:

1. Punch matching holes along both edges.
2. Lace forward through one side, then cross to the opposite side, creating X-patterns.
3. Each lace pass crosses the gap diagonally. The next pass crosses in the opposite direction, forming the X.
4. Keep tension even — uneven tension creates a wavy, weak seam.

Whip Stitch

A simple edge-wrapping technique ideal for quick field repairs:

1. Punch holes along both edges.
2. Pass the lace through both layers from the same direction each time, wrapping over the edge.
3. This creates a spiral pattern around the edge. It’s fast but less strong than cross stitching.

Edge Lacing (Single-Piece)

For finishing a single raw edge decoratively:

1. Punch holes 5mm from the edge, spaced 6-8mm apart.
2. Starting from the back, bring lace through the first hole.
3. Wrap over the edge and through the next hole from the back.
4. The lace spirals around the edge, covering the raw cut.

Combining Rivets and Lacing

The strongest leather assemblies often use both methods strategically:

• Rivet the stress points — where straps meet bags, where buckles attach, where handles connect.
• Lace the seams — along edges where the joint needs to flex and where loads are distributed.
• Use rivets as lace anchors — place a rivet at each end of a laced seam to prevent the lacing from pulling out under load.

Practical Example: Tool Belt

1. Belt strap: Single layer, riveted to buckle hardware with 3 burr rivets.
2. Tool loops: Double-layered leather, riveted to belt with 2 rivets per loop.
3. Large pouch: Sides laced to back panel with cross stitch. Flap closure riveted at the hinge point.
4. Reinforcement: Where the pouch attaches to the belt, both rivets and a short run of lacing share the load.

Repair and Maintenance

One of the chief advantages of laced joints is repairability. When lacing wears through:

1. Cut out the damaged section of lace.
2. Splice in new lace by overlapping the old and new pieces through 2-3 shared holes.
3. Pull tight and continue the lacing pattern.

For rivet replacement:

1. Place a flat tool under the rivet head.
2. File or grind off the peened end from the back.
3. Tap the shaft out through the head side.
4. Ream the hole slightly if needed and set a new rivet.

Rivet Hole Weakening

Each time a rivet is replaced in the same hole, the leather around that hole weakens. If a rivet has been replaced more than twice in the same location, punch a new hole nearby and patch the old one with a small leather washer on each side.

Store spare rivets, burrs, and pre-cut lace in your repair kit. These small items weigh almost nothing but can keep critical leather gear functional in the field when stitching supplies aren’t available.