Many people believe it is impossible to sew leather at home unless they own an industrial leather sewing machine. However, the regular sewing machine can do the job depending on the thickness of the leather being used. This is how you can sew leather using the sewing machine.
Don’t pin!
Pin marks are permanent. When you make holes in leather, whether with a pin or needle will remain there. Leather holes don’t rub out as they do with fabric since leather isn’t woven or knitted from the thread, making an irreparable hole. Use clips to secure pieces of leather in place if it is necessary.
The sewing clips illustrated below also called Wonder Clips, are excellent for working with leather. If you don’t own sewing clips, binder clips purchased from the office supply store could be helpful. If you must pin or baste, you can do this using an allowance in the seam that is hidden within the final project.
Tips on Sewing Leather:
Make use of a Rotary Cutter
A rotary cutter permits cutting in a continuous direction without stopping, giving you a better edge. If you’ve never tried the rotary cutter, you can find an instruction here. The advantages are usually apparent or exposed while sewing leather and you’ll want to make them as smooth as you can on every leather piece.
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Make Sure To Mark Pattern Pieces With Care.
You’ll need to mark leather with a marker or pen on the right side of the hide or draw on it on its right-hand side. Don’t employ tracing paper or the tracing wheel because it will create a permanent indentation on the leather. Check out this article for more information about the different options to mark all types of materials.
Switch from Textile to Leather Needles
The leather used in the production process is denser and more elastic than the typical range of textiles. This is why you should select and use the needle explicitly made with a leather stitching machine, as they are heavier than needles for materials and can easily penetrate the fabric.
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Choose a Lengthier Stitch Length
The longer stitch will also benefit your machine because it means that there are fewer stitches it has to stitch across the seam. I suggest saving the scrap leather for testing thread lengths, tensions, and stitch lengths before you begin sewing your work. Scraps can help ensure that your machine can manage your project before you damage the leather.
Pay Attention to Your Presser Foot.
The presser foot, the essential component of a sewing machine, is intended to work with feed dogs to move fabric around. But leather might stick to this type of presser foot because it cannot move like fabric.
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If the leather gets attached and can’t feed smoothly, there won’t be beautiful stitching that is uniform. In this situation, a rolling presser foot, Teflon foot, or walking feet might be beneficial. Three options are listed below. This is another reason to try sewn scraps from leather to find out which will yield the most results.
Final Thoughts
Leather is challenging. However, our sewing abilities are more robust. With the right tools and double, every stitch for leather is now better than able of stitching leather.
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