Subula: Thread & Needle

Four ways to name the same thread, and none of them agree. If you sew leather on a machine you already know the problem. The same spool is #138 to one supplier, T135 to another, Ticket 20 to a third and FF to the government — and Ticket runs backwards, so a smaller number means a thicker thread. Then you still have to match a needle to it, and decide how close to put the stitches. The answer lives on a supplier's web page that people copy into forum posts because they are afraid the page will disappear. Subula is that page, off the wall and into your pocket, working offline. START FROM YOUR LEATHER Set the total thickness you are stitching through — every layer added together, in ounces, millimetres or inches. Subula gives you the thread size, the needle, the needle point, where to start on stitches per inch, the breaking strength and the thread diameter, on one screen. ALL FOUR NOTATIONS, SIDE BY SIDE Every thread shows its V number, its Tex, its Ticket and its US government size together, with a standing reminder that Ticket runs the other way. The full chart is one tap away — ten threads from #33 to #554, with minimum needle size, breaking strength, diameter and yards per pound. THE PART THAT IS NOT A CONVERSION Thin or soft leather needs a round point; a leather point would cut it apart, and Subula says so before you reach for the wrong needle. Heavy thread needs stitches kept apart — crowd them and the leather between the holes ends up weaker than the thread going through it, and the thread cuts it. Holsters, duty belts and lifting belts each break the plain thickness table, so they get their own rules. TELL IT WHAT YOUR MACHINE WILL DO Heavy stitchers have a practical floor — below it they will not form a reliable stitch, however fine the thread. Set yours and Subula flags any recommendation that falls under it. KEEP WHAT WORKED When a setup runs clean, save it. Name it after the piece, add a note about the hide and the machine, and it goes into your own library — thickness, project and machine floor kept together. Open it later and the main screen comes back exactly as you left it. Nothing leaves the device. WHERE SOURCES DISAGREE, YOU SEE BOTH #92 thread is listed at 14.5 lb on supplier charts and around 16 lb by experienced stitchers. Subula shows both rather than quietly picking a winner. That is the whole point of a reference you can trust. MADE FOR THE BENCH No account, no sign-up, no tracking, no internet needed. ──────────────────────────────── A STARTING POINT, NOT A SPECIFICATION — PLEASE READ Subula is a reference aid. The thread chart follows conversion charts published by industrial sewing machine suppliers; the thickness bands, project exceptions and stitch spacing limits are long-standing community rules of thumb from leatherworking forums. Experienced people run about one step apart from each other by preference, and suppliers label the same thread differently. Treat every figure here as where to begin, then test on scrap cut from the same stack you are about to sew. This app is not an engineering authority and not a safety rating. Where a piece carries load or matters for safety, follow the requirements that apply to that work. ──────────────────────────────── Made by SmallPaper. Built for the people at the machine.