I agree entirely. Welt is made of strips of the leather when they cut it out in the pattern - and believe it or not it uses quite a bit of hide to make welts for a single sofa. On some pieces the stitch closure won't look right - and you need the welt trim. The key is to consider changing the leather sometimes, to something that won't flake off. You can even use contrasting welt trim on most pieces and have the welt made of something thicker and stronger. For example, if I were doing a piece in GR 4 Antelope, I'd specify the welt trim in something like Equestrian (GR3) which is tough and not top coated. No charge to do that at H&M if the welt is done is same grade or lesser. You can still get friction wear that you can see on any leather used, but the anilines won't flake off the color like the finished leathers can - because the latter is painted, not dyed.