The saddle stitch is older than the handbags: Hermes has used it since Thierry opened his Paris harness workshop in 1837, when the customers were horses. A machine lockstitch is one thread looping through itself, so a single cut point unravels the row; the saddle stitch crosses two needle-ends through each hole so every stitch is its own knot. Slower, about a working day per bag, and that is the point.
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01HERMES STILL HAND-SEWS EVERY LEATHER BAG WITH THE
SADDLE STITCH, THE HARNESS-MAKER'S TECHNIQUE IT HAS
USED SINCE 1837, BACK WHEN ITS CUSTOMERS WERE HORSES.
02IT IS ONE THREAD OF WAXED LINEN WITH A NEEDLE TIED TO
EACH END. BOTH NEEDLES PASS THROUGH EVERY AWL-PUNCHED
HOLE FROM OPPOSITE SIDES, CROSSING INSIDE THE LEATHER.
03BECAUSE THE THREADS CROSS IN EACH HOLE, EVERY STITCH
LOCKS ON ITS OWN. A MACHINE SEAM IS A SINGLE LOOPED
THREAD: CUT IT ANYWHERE AND THE WHOLE ROW LADDERS OPEN.
04SNAP ONE HERMES STITCH AND THE SEAM SIMPLY HOLDS.
IT TAKES THE BETTER PART OF A WORKING DAY PER BAG,
WHICH IS EXACTLY WHY THEY STILL DO IT BY HAND.