Stitch Spacing Calculator
Work out stitch count, holes per inch and the pricking iron to use for a seam of a given length and spacing.
At a glance
- What you enter
- Seam length, Pricking iron spacing, Number of seams, Tines on your iron, Seconds to sew one stitch
- What you get
- Holes in one seam, Stitches in one seam, Holes across all the seams, Stitches across all the seams, Holes per inch, Holes per centimetre, Leftover at the end, Iron strikes per seam, Iron strikes in total, Sewing time for all the seams, Marking time, Working time for the stitching, Working time for the stitching, What this spacing is usually used for, Holes are close enough to risk tearing, Thickness this spacing handles well
- Formula shown
- Yes, every step, right below your results.
- Cost and privacy
- Free, no account needed, and nothing you type is stored.
See worked examples ↓ Read the FAQ ↓ Share this calculator ↓
Results are estimates for general information only, always verify with a professional or official source before acting on them.
How to use the Stitch Spacing Calculator
- 1 Enter Seam length (mm), The length of the seam to be stitched, along the edge.
- 2 Enter Pricking iron spacing, The spacing between the tines, in millimetres. Four is the most common compromise.
- 3 Enter Number of seams, How many separate seams this length applies to, for the total counts.
- 4 Enter Tines on your iron, Two, four, six and ten tine irons are the common ones. Ten marks the most holes per strike.
- 5 Enter Seconds to sew one stitch (s), A steady saddle stitch is about ten to fifteen seconds. It is faster for a short seam and slower on thick leather.
- 6 Press Calculate. You get Holes in one seam, Stitches in one seam, Holes across all the seams, Stitches across all the seams, Holes per inch, Holes per centimetre, Leftover at the end, Iron strikes per seam, Iron strikes in total, Sewing time for all the seams, Marking time, Working time for the stitching, Working time for the stitching, What this spacing is usually used for, Holes are close enough to risk tearing, Thickness this spacing handles well, and every intermediate step stays visible under "How is this calculated?"
- 7 Change one number at a time to see what moves the result, that is usually the most useful thing a calculator can tell you.
Worked examples
Real numbers run through this calculator. Open any example to load it into the form above and change it.
Two wallet edges at 4 mm
A pair of 300 millimetre seams, one down each side of a bifold wallet.
You enter
- Seam length
- 300 mm
- Pricking iron spacing
- 4
- Number of seams
- 2
- Tines on your iron
- 4
- Seconds to sew one stitch
- 12 s
You get
- Holes in one seam
- 76
- Stitches in one seam
- 75
- Holes across all the seams
- 152
- Stitches across all the seams
- 150
- Holes per inch
- 6.35
- Holes per centimetre
- 2.50
- Leftover at the end
- 0.00 mm
- Iron strikes per seam
- 25
- Iron strikes in total
- 50
- Sewing time for all the seams
- 30.00 min
- Marking time
- 3.33 min
- Working time for the stitching
- 33.33 min
- Working time for the stitching
- 0.56 h
- What this spacing is usually used for
- 3
- Holes are close enough to risk tearing
- 0
- Thickness this spacing handles well
- 6.00 mm
Seventy five holes and 74 stitches per seam, at 6.35 holes per inch, which is about half an hour of stitching.
A belt keeper at 3 mm
Two short 60 millimetre seams at a fine spacing.
You enter
- Seam length
- 60 mm
- Pricking iron spacing
- 3
- Number of seams
- 2
- Tines on your iron
- 2
- Seconds to sew one stitch
- 14 s
You get
- Holes in one seam
- 21
- Stitches in one seam
- 20
- Holes across all the seams
- 42
- Stitches across all the seams
- 40
- Holes per inch
- 8.47
- Holes per centimetre
- 3.33
- Leftover at the end
- 0.00 mm
- Iron strikes per seam
- 20
- Iron strikes in total
- 40
- Sewing time for all the seams
- 9.33 min
- Marking time
- 2.67 min
- Working time for the stitching
- 15.60 min
- Working time for the stitching
- 0.26 h
- What this spacing is usually used for
- 1
- Holes are close enough to risk tearing
- 0
- Thickness this spacing handles well
- 4.50 mm
Twenty one holes per seam and 8.47 holes per inch. The seam divides exactly, so no shortened stitch is needed.
A heavy strap at 5 mm
Four 400 millimetre seams on a thick strap at a coarse spacing.
You enter
- Seam length
- 400 mm
- Pricking iron spacing
- 5
- Number of seams
- 4
- Tines on your iron
- 2
- Seconds to sew one stitch
- 11 s
You get
- Holes in one seam
- 81
- Stitches in one seam
- 80
- Holes across all the seams
- 324
- Stitches across all the seams
- 320
- Holes per inch
- 5.08
- Holes per centimetre
- 2.00
- Leftover at the end
- 0.00 mm
- Iron strikes per seam
- 80
- Iron strikes in total
- 320
- Sewing time for all the seams
- 58.67 min
- Marking time
- 21.33 min
- Working time for the stitching
- 68.00 min
- Working time for the stitching
- 1.13 h
- What this spacing is usually used for
- 4
- Holes are close enough to risk tearing
- 0
- Thickness this spacing handles well
- 7.50 mm
Eighty one holes per seam and only 5.08 per inch, so the stitching is quick and the look is deliberately chunky.
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