Club Obi Wan

I have a 1.5 year old Wested ROTLA jacket. The side leather band for the buckle has come off. There is no damage to the leather, the thread has ripped and the band has come off. I want to know if I should send this to Wested to have them repair it and what I should expect for such a small repair.

If it's such a small repair, what about finding a local tailor to handle it? I had the cuffs on my Wested lamb shortedned a bit, and the tailor had no trouble. A small repair such as that should be easy enough.

is this an of the rack special rotla?

if it is i can understand why it has ripped. the of the racks from India tend to come with only one stitch on the strap anchoring. not to durable.

jsut have it reattached at your local tailor. very easy job.

As far as my opinion can be useful, I agree with Holt and hunter. I think any tailor could repair a thread damage. I would suggest you to have him reinforcing all the stitches, while you are at it, in order to avoid future problems

Buy a new one!

thanks for the info, i think I will find a tailor before it gets too cold.

I had this happen with my first Wested. I didn't order X box stitching on the side straps, and it came undone after awhile. I took it it a local tailor, and he fixed it, and installed x box stitching as well. Real easy stuff.

Probably the cheapest and best way to make sure it won't happen agian would be to get an awl and lockstitch it back on yourself. I have horses and have to repair tack (leather stuff like saddles, headstalls, and breast collars for those that don't know) all the time. it's easy to sew the lockstitch and very sturdy. There is also a bit of satisfaction in doing it yourself. IMHO.

I love my Handy Stitcher for sewing leather pieces, too. However, lock stitching can be tricky in this case since the jacket is lined.

I think to get access to the underside of the leather, you'd have to get under the lining, then sew the lining back in.

Check with a tailor, first. They will probably be able to do a much cleaner job of it.

I also suggest getting a extra piece of leather sewn in inside the lining at the anchor point to reinforce it. Do it on both sides. and add 'K' stitches to all the strap boxes.

I like a 'K' stitch rather then an X. JMO.

Yeah, I didn't think about the lining. Might need a tailor to make it clean. You also migt check if you have a Tandy Leather co. local, they are in every state and would be able to fix you right up. With a little sweet talk you could get it done right then, just act interested and they are usually more than willing to help in the name of educating. You can also find all the stuff you need for making things like bag straps, whip holders, holsters, or even braiding your own whip