Top Tips for Sewing with Leather and Faux Leather

This entry was posted on February 9, 2018 by Sew Essential.

Have you ever fancied sewing with leather or faux leather? If so you are in luck. This week we are sharing a beautiful bag our very own Angela made from faux leather and her top tips for getting great results with these fabrics. For an extra little twist Angela even machine embroidered a design onto the faux leather so there are tips for that too!

All of the tips below are in reference to lighter weight leathers and faux leathers such as those you would use for dressmaking. You can find all of the tools and products we mention on our website by clicking the links below.

Cutting Out Leather and Faux Leather

Angela chose to cut out the leather for her bag using a rotary cutter and quilting ruler. This was the easiest way to cut the right sized pieces according to the dimensions stipulated by the pattern she used. There were no pattern pieces rather instructions to create pieces of the fabric with specific dimensions. However, it really is down to personal preference which cutting tools you use and dressmaking scissors will work just as well. It is also advisable to cut your pattern pieces on a single layer due to the thickness of the fabric. Remember to transfer any markings onto the wrong side of the fabric using tailors chalk or a marking pen.

If you need to use pattern pieces it is better not to pin them to the fabric. This is because the pins will create holes that won't disappear when you remove the pins. Instead use pattern weights to secure the pattern pieces on top of the leather.

Sewing with Leather and Faux Leather

It is also best to avoid pinning your leather together for sewing. These handy wonder clips are a great alternative for securing the layers of leather.

It is possible to use a standard sewing machine foot to sew leather, however, the fabric can annoyingly stick to the foot making it rather an unpleasant task. A teflon or non stick sewing machine foot will prevent this problem and allow you to enjoy fuss free sewing of your lovely fabric. Always remember to check the compatibility charts on our website to make sure the foot is compatible with your machine.

Use a leather needle, which has a chisel point designed to pierce these fabrics. You may need to increase your stitch length just a touch from 2.5mm to 3mm for example. As always test on scraps of fabric first to make sure you are happy with the results.

Clipping the fabric is vital to allow it to shape around curves. Take care to snip to, not through, the seam line about every 1/4" along the curve.

One of the advantages of working with leather is you don't have to finish the seams. There are various options for seams including faux flat fell seams, lapped seams, single or double topstitched seams or standard seams. If you choose to sew standard seams a good tip is to glue the seam allowances down with leather glue and use a wallpaper roller to press them shut.

Piping with Leather and Faux Leather

For best results with piping Angela always recommends using a piping foot. With this method you sew your fabric around the piping cord before attaching it to the main garment/project. You can see a detailed blog article we wrote about this technique here. Before attaching the piping to the main project, remember to clip round any curves.

Angela chose a size 3 piping cord to make the piping on her bag. Due to the thickness of the fabric plus the piping cord the standard piping feet weren't big enough. Therefore Angela used a grand piping foot, which allowed her to position the needle really close to the piping. An alternative option would be to try using a zipper foot.

Machine Embroidery on Leather and Faux Leather

When choosing an embroidery design it is important to choose one that is sparse and open rather than anything with a heavy satin stitch for example. This is because the repeated action of the needle piercing the leather next to the previous needle puncture could create a hole in the fabric.

Angela used an embroidery needle and Gutermann sulky rayon thread to stitch the design.

She chose Vilene solufleece water soluble backing as a stabiliser because she wanted to create a textured effect on the leaves. To create this effect she hovered steam over the back of the design and 'scrunched' the leaves. If you didn't want to create a textured effect a tearaway stabiliser would work well or you could choose this specialist backing designed specifically for leather and faux leather.

Angela used her Pfaff Icon embroidery machine to create this embroidery, you can see our full range of embroidery machines here. As machine embroidery fanatics we are always happy to help with any queries you might have about these machines, just give us a call or drop us an email.

\We hope you've enjoyed our top tips for sewing with leather and faux leather and Angela's lovely bag!

 

Have fun sewing!

Lucy

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