Strange type of stitching on Khyber knife scabbard, has this been encountered before?

[Sakalord364]

To be fair, the leather on the scabbard has shrunk, and the material used for the stitching is uncommon (what looks like perhaps hemp rope or string) but the stitching seems very uneven, the pattern seems to change instead of being uniform. Was this the work of a novice, or was this type of stitching deliberate?