Stitch It Awl

• Use craft glue to position items to be sewn.

• Mark stitch lines and stitch spacings in pencil.
• Use waxed whipping twine to refill spools.
• Ensure that thread is wound neatly on spool.  If jamming occurs, reverse spool in body.
• If the material is so tighly woven that it does not stretch, or if it is very thick, predrill the holes with a 2mm (approx. 3/32") drill.

Practice makes perfect!

One user from Florida, USA, found a couple of tricks that are helpful:

"I found the working with the loose end of fine thread (on the back side of a piece) was a bit difficult.  To make that easier, I passed it through a common household needle that I blunted and tied a knot in the end of the thread to keep the needle from slipping off. The extra needle makes is very easy to pass the thread through the loop from the awl."

The other tip concerns the  fine thread and has been addressed:
"The fine thread seems to pull out of the handle too easily despite wrapping it around the locking screw: he added a small rubber band under the screw to add a little resistance.  It seems to work very well with that."
The small O-ring on the screw provided with the Full Kit serves this purpose.
 

Using a finer needle

• The finer needles have the  same length as the standard one, but smaller eyes and smaller longitudinal grooves.
• The Fine needle is meant to be used with the thinner size 0.5mm waxed thread (e.g. Marlow No 2). The thicker size 0.8 mm waxed thread (e.g. Marlow No 4) can be made to go through the eye of the finer needle. It does not however fit so well in the groove. If using size 0.8mm thread with the Fine needle, when the needle is partly withdrawn to form a loop (step 4 of instruction guide), it can happen that the thread can come out of the groove and form an additional loop. In this case, pass the loose end of the thread through the 'normal' loop at the opposite side to the groove, then take extra care when tensioning the stitch by pulling on both sides of the thread.
• The Ultra-fine needle uses a reel of normal polyester top-stitching thread which fits in the tool in place of the spool. More turns may be necessary around the tension post. 
  

Threads

Any thread can be used but threads that are not waxed will be harder to wind on the spool.

- size 0.8mm: Marlow No 4 or FSE Robline TY-08
- sixe 0.5mm: Marlow No 2 or FSE Robline TY-05.

NEW TIP FROM THE MAKERS OF STITCH IT AWL:
For long rows of stitching

For long rows of stitching, the Stitch It Awl can also be used without the spool :

- Thread the needle (on the tool) directly from the reel, remove the end cap.
- Pierce the end cap with the threaded needle between the words 'Stitch' and 'It' that are embossed on the end cap.
- Push the threaded needle through the end cap, retrieve the needle so that it forms a loop, pull the loose end through and unthread the needle.
- Retrieve the needle: you should now have the thread passing through the end cap.
- Thread the tool as per instructions (through the feed hole,etc), then replace the end cap with the thread from the reel passing through it.

 How to refill a spool using a battery drill

For this is required: 
-a battery drill
-the reel of thread
-a wing nut
-a 6 mm (or a quarter inch) diameter bolt with the head cut off, about 70 or 75 mm (3 inches) long

• Place smooth end of the bolt in the drill chuck.
• Fit spool on the bolt and clamp it with the wing nut.
• Place the reel in such a way  that it will unwind  easily,  and  tie the end of the thread on the spool.
• Press the trigger of the drill at  the lowest speed possible. If the drilling speed is  too fast  to control the winding rate, press the trigger of the drill by  successive  short bursts.