New complex 'Center Seam' weekender

Hi strap lovers, Some straps are a lot more complex that they look and that's really the goal in a lot of ways to make a strap seem as natural and elegant. But sometimes a simple design concept and turn out to be much more complicated that simply cut, fold and stitch. The strap you see hear is a perfect case in point. My very good customer Scott, from Canada, had recently acquired a Graham Silverstone Luffield GMT and wanted a strap make for it using our 'Weekender Series' leather, but had a few special requests regarding design and fitment. first, he wanted the strap to have a center seam similar to the strap that comes with the Graham RAC 6 Nations celebration is the photo below. Second, he wanted the strap to be in black leather and with the large accent stitching to be in white instead of black. Third, he wanted the strap to also be padded. And fourth, he wanted the strap to have a nice tight fit at the lugs and curving at the case.

Now any one of the elements would not have been a problem, but combining all of them in combination was going to me a challenge. Just a couple of the issues: First, I had never build a strap with a center seam before, but realized right away that I would need to start the seam above the holes for the buckle, because if I punched holes through the seam stitching, the integrity of the stitching would be compromised and would potentially unravel. Second, the white accent stitching because of its location needed to be done reflectively early in the build process (instead of last, as is typical), so keeping those stitches white throughout was going to be a struggle. Third, the Center seam creates a bulge on the underside of the leather right down the middle of the strap that I would have to design room for in the mid-layer if I wanted the strap to have a nice smooth profile and I had to do this while adding a padding layer. Fourth, incorporating a curved lug while having this center seam bulge and still having it fit the relatively short lugs of the Silverstone. Needless to say it was all a bit daunting. I had to develop a couple of techniques and employ a hand full of others and bring them all together in one strap!

Well I'm pleased to say that it turned out to be a great looking strap and Scott has confirm that the strap fits Perfect! I, myself that it turned out to be a pretty sexy strap, as even my wife was impress!

Here is Scott's completed strap slide show: