Did you use a two-tine iron to mark the curves? Put one tine in the last marked hole and make one new mark or hole, then repeat. It’s a bit like walking a compass to mark eyelet spacing.
This is also why I tell people not to buy expensive sets of pricking irons with many tools with many different numbers of tines. You really just need one with two tines and one with more.
If you have trouble with lateral consistency—holes wandering off the intended stitchline—I recommend scribing a line with a scratch awl or creaser.
No need to gouge out a groove or cut a slit unless you want to. Even a shallow impression from an awl that will disappear in time can serve as a little divot for the tips of pricking irons to settle into. If you use round- or diamond-tipped irons, the points will center themselves on the line. If you use flat blade-style irons, sometimes called “French”, like Blanchards, you have to decide whether to split the line or index on one edge or the other of the irons.
It was more of an experiment geared toward getting a handsewn look but with machinelike consistency on curves. I’ve only see a couple of people ever who can do that. I didn’t mean to imply I don’t know the standard way to hand sew
He is pretty dang good! I think it’s my turn to take a trip to Melbourne that drive is a chore. I need to get trained up on last making too. I got all the stuff and software for printing over a year ago but have been neglecting it
