How To Sew Leather On A Home Sewing Machine

Sewing leather on a home sewing machine may look intimidating but it’s very possible to do it anyways. Today, we have some easy tips for sewing leather at home. The steps include collecting, patterning, choosing the right instruments, ironing, pressing, and finally sewing. 

How To Sew Leather On A Home Sewing Machine

Sewing leather on a home sewing machine requires much more care and preparation than it does for normal fabrics. Mostly because leather is much thicker than normal fabric and hard to sew in general.

What You Need

For Sewing leatherwork at home, you are going to need some things.

• Leather
• Leather needles
• Threads 
• Iron 
• Ironing surface
• Paper clips/Tape

Choosing Leather Material

The very first thing you need to do is choose the leather material for the project. The quality of the final finished product depends on the quality of the primary material. So, make sure to choose the best quality material that you can find and afford. 

There are a variety of leathers that you can choose from such as pigmented, aniline, semi-aniline, suede, faux, etc. The thickness of the leather also needs to be correct. For example, thicker leathers are generally used to make coats and blazers whereas thinner ones are great for making close-fitted clothes.

However, you are always free to choose whatever you want according to your taste and preference.

Choosing Leather Needle

Use a needle that is specially designed to sew leather. These needles have a larger diameter than universal needles so they can make smooth stitches. You can choose needles with a slightly smaller diameter for thinner materials.

It’s better to start the project with a new needle. Also, make sure to get a few extra as you might need to change the needles a few times before finishing the work.

Choosing Thread

Choose a durable strong thread that can hold the materials together. All-purpose polyester coated thread is the most commonly used thread for sewing leather. For thicker materials, thread tension is vital. People generally like to use cotton thread as they are convenient to work with. For regular sewing, I also prefer cotton thread.

You can also use nylon thread as they are comparatively stronger. Also, make sure the color of the thread blends in with the color of the leather.

Choose Sewing Machine Foot

Many people use the normal presser foot while doing leatherwork. However, sometimes they tend to stick to the leather and don’t feed through the material properly. In that case, try changing it to a Teflon non stick, roller, or walking foot.

The most popular among these choices is the Teflon foot. It is made of Teflon or has a coating of Teflon on them. So, the leather can easily glide through them without sticking to the foot. They are affordable as well. Then we have the roller foot that’s usually a combination of three small rollers to guide the leather.

The third option is a walking foot. It has an additional set of feed dogs that works in addition to the machine’s feed dogs. So, it holds the leather from both top and bottom and helps its guide through the machine evenly. However, this is the most expensive one among the options.

Pattern Guide

Drawing guide pattern on the leather prevents making any mistakes while cutting and sewing the leather. You can use a bunch of tools for tracing the pattern including a tracing pen, knives, roller cutter, cardboard pattern, clicking press, etc.

Ironing 

Ironing the material helps to remove any wrinkles on the leather and make them flat. However, never iron leather directly as it will completely ruin the ironing unit as well as the leather. Place thin cotton or linen cloth over the leather and iron it gently at medium heat until all the wrinkles are gone.

Pressing The Leather

After ironing the leather, you need to press the leather to make them flat so that they can feed through the feed dogs properly. In this case, you can’t use clothing pins to press the material like fabric as they will leave permanent holes in the leather.

To prevent this, many people use paper clips to hold the leather pieces together. Look out for sharp edges on paper clips as they can still scratch the material. It’s better to try the clips on a scrap piece of leather before using them on the main material.

Another alternative for clothing pins is double-sided tape. They are cheap and can easily be used in long or short stripes throughout the whole fabric. However, carefully avoid the stitching line to prevent them from getting caught on the needle.

Widen Stitch 

Finally, make sure to lengthen the stitch on the sewing machine. Even though short stitches work great for fabrics, it weakens the quality of the leather. That’s because the stitches leave permanent holes in the leather. So, change your stitch length. The shorter the stitches are, the closer the holes are to each other which causes more tearing.

How To Sew Thin Leather

Sewing thin leather is comparatively easier than most other leather works. It requires less effort and time to sew them. All the steps from choosing out the material to patterning are pretty much the same as any other leather project. Thin leathers tend to wrinkle much easier so iron them gently over a cotton fabric.

You can skip the pressing step for thin leathers as it’s easy to hold them down with hands. However, clipping them makes the work easier. Then just sew them together normally.

How To Sew Thick Leather Jacket

Sewing thick leather on a home sewing machine is just like sewing any other leather project. However, it may take more time and effort because of the complicated patterns and thick materials. Using a no 120 leather needles is recommended for these projects. Also, pick out durable and quality materials.

Then trace the patterns on the wrong side of the leather so that it doesn’t leave a permanent trace. Cut out individual patterns for the sleeves, body, and collar. This way it’s easier to sew them individually and put them together at the end. Iron and press the patterns together so it feeds through the machine smoothly.

Now, start sewing. Sew all the parts one by one and keep measuring them to make sure it fits you. After you have sewed the parts, put them together and sew them again to make the complete fit. You can just leave the seam or glue them in. It works either way.

How To Sew Patchwork Leather

Leather patchwork is a very economical way of recycling the scrapes pieces that are left after doing some leather works. Scrutinizing through the pieces is the 1st step of getting into it. Try to pick out pieces that are of almost similar thickness.

The next step is arranging the pieces according to color and pattern. This step depends solely on individual taste. You can place different colors randomly throughout the whole pattern to add an artistic touch to it. As for the pattern, make sure that the outlines are neat with each other.

After you are done with the arrangement, glue the pieces together to keep them arranged while sewing them. You can use any leather adhesives for the glue. They provide a temporary bond so they are great for holding them together temporarily. Now, sew the pieces together normally as you’d do.

Sewing Machine Needle For Leather

While working on leathers, make sure to use needles that are specially designed for sewing leathers. Sewing machine needles are divided and sized by diameter. For example, a size 90 means it has a diameter of 0.9 mm. Generally, no100 to 120 is used for sewing leather. The ends of these needles are shaped like a spear. 

The most used needle for sewing on leather is the cutting point needle. These needles are labeled as DI, S, LR, LL and, D. They can go into thick leather without much resistance. Also, leather needles tend to become blunt quicker than normal needles. So, change them frequently to ensure effective performance.

Frequently Asked Question

1. Can I use a no 90 needle for sewing leather on my home machine?

Ans: Yes. But only if the material is very thin. It won’t work well on thick leathers.

2. What glue should I use to glue leather while sewing?

Ans: You can use any normal leather adhesives.

Conclusion

Not many people are encouraged to do leather projects on home sewing machines as it’s a bit different than sewing fabrics and requires more effort and time. But, with the right instruments and technique, it’s very easy to do so. Following these steps, you can easily make your leatherwork with your special artistic touch.