Handmade in Delta, British Columbia
One maker. Evenings and weekends.
Ariadne Leather is one person. I cut, stitch and finish every belt, wallet and sheath myself, in Delta, British Columbia.
- Maker
- Nick Sevostiyanov. No staff
- Trained
- Self taught, from age fourteen
- Warranty
- Lifetime, on every piece I made
02 The Record
It started with a belt.
No school and no apprenticeship. I learned by making things that failed, and then making them again.
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Age fourteen
Taught myself to cut and stitch
The first piece I ever made was a belt. A strap, a buckle, a keeper, and a row of holes punched one at a time.
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The second piece
A sheath for a Leatherman
It failed, and it kept failing, until it did not. Working out why a sheath comes apart is where most of what I know came from.
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One summer
Three months as an electrician
That wage bought the hand tools and the PFAFF 545-U3 industrial machine. The shop was paid for before it sold anything.
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July 2025
The first sale
A belt. The first thing I made that somebody else paid for and wore.
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Now
Evenings and weekends
One maker, no staff, no outsourcing. Every piece is still cut, punched and stitched here in Delta, one at a time.
03 Method
Hand stitched, in five steps.
This is the whole process, in order. It is the same five steps for a belt and a sheath.
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01
Cut to pattern
Every part is cut against a pattern rather than freehand, so the second one matches the first and a replacement part fits a piece made two years ago.
A hide is not the same material all over. It is firmest along the back and softens toward the belly, so straps come off the firm part.
If this is wrongA strap cut from soft leather stretches, and a belt that has stretched never sits on the same hole twice.
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02
Mark and bevel
The stitch line is marked down the full length before a single hole is made, so the seam runs parallel to the edge instead of drifting toward it.
Both faces of every cut edge are then bevelled. A cut edge leaves two sharp corners, and the bevel takes them off so the edge can be rounded and closed in step five.
If this is skippedA square edge frays from the corner inward. It is the first place on any leather object that starts to look old.
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03
Punch at 3.85 mm
Holes are made with pricking irons at a 3.85 mm pitch. The iron is walked along the marked line, with the last tooth dropped back into the last hole cut, so the spacing carries the whole length without a reset.
The iron sets the angle of each hole as well as its position. That angle is what gives a finished saddle stitch its even slant, and it is why a hand stitched seam looks the way it does from across a room.
If this is wrongRespace halfway along a strap and the join is visible for as long as the belt exists. Holes cannot be moved once they are cut.
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04
Saddle stitch, two needles
One length of thread, a needle on each end, both needles passing through the same hole from opposite sides. Every hole is locked on itself before the next one is started.
This is the reason for doing it by hand. A machine lockstitch is one thread held down by a second thread underneath. Cut or wear through one of them and the seam can run. A saddle stitch has no second thread to pull, so it has nothing to unzip.
Why it mattersIf a hand stitched seam is ever cut, it stays one cut stitch. The stitches on either side of it do not open.
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05
Burnish the edge
The bevelled edge is dampened and rubbed under pressure until the fibres lie down and the edge goes hard and dark. Vegetable-tanned leather does this on its own. It takes water and friction, not a coating that can chip off later.
If this is skippedA raw edge is open fibre. It takes in water and dirt and swells. A burnished edge is closed, so it wears down slowly instead of fraying apart.
The numbers
- Stitch
- Saddle stitch on the belt and the sheath. Two needles, one thread
- Pitch
- 3.85 mm pricking irons
- Holes
- Punched by hand, the full length
- Edges
- Bevelled, then burnished
- Sheath seam
- Stitched around a leather welt A strip of leather set between the blade and the seam, so a sharpened edge cannot reach the thread.
- Wallet
- Hand-stitched, 3–4 oz leather
- Order
- Cut, mark, punch, stitch, burnish
04 Materials
Thick where it has to be.
Leather is sold by weight, not by thickness. Picking the weight is the first decision in every piece I make.
Vegetable tanned
Tanned with tannins drawn from tree bark. It takes weeks. The leather starts firm, darkens and softens as it is used, holds a shape, and will take a burnished edge. This is what the belts and the sheaths are cut from.
Chrome tanned
Tanned with chromium salts. It takes about a day. The leather is soft and even from the start, stays close to the colour it was dyed, and does not burnish the same way. Most leather made today is chrome tanned, because it is faster.
Neither one is a fault. They are different materials for different jobs. I use vegetable-tanned for anything that has to hold its shape and close its edge.
What goes into a piece
- Belts and sheaths
- 9–10 oz full-grain vegetable-tanned leather One ounce is about 0.4 mm, so this is roughly 3.6 to 4 mm thick.
- Wallets
- 3–4 oz leather Roughly 1.2 to 1.6 mm. Thin enough to fold and still sit flat in a pocket.
- Wallet thread
- Ritza Tiger, 0.6 mm
- Sheath thread
- Cream
- Rivets
- Solid copper
05 The Promise
If it breaks, I fix it.
Every piece I have made carries a lifetime warranty. Send it back and I repair it, or replace it, free.
- Term
- Lifetime
- Covered
- Any broken or damaged piece I made
- Cost
- Free. Repaired, or replaced if it cannot be repaired
- To claim
- Email a photograph and proof of purchase
- Refunds
- No refunds. Faults are repaired or replaced instead
06 Commissions
One at a time, in Delta, BC.
I take commissions within reason. Tell me the object and the size and I will tell you whether I can make it.
- Commissions
- Yes, within reason
- Not making
- Bags Not enough leather, and not enough hours.
- Workshop
- Delta, British Columbia
- [email protected]