Managing Leather on a Sewing Machine

By Joyce Walters


In recent years, the use of leather in a variety of projects has started to become more popular. Leather can be used to craft a variety of items. Many people have started to work with lightweight garment leather with the sewing machine. If you are not sure how to work with leather using a sewing machine, this can be an extremely intricate task. Here, you will find some simple tips that will assist you while working with leather in a sewing machine.

First and foremost you should know when you are considering working with leather on a sewing machine is that normal sewing machine needles will not work for your project. You will need to go to a craft store and buy special needles that are specifically designed for leather. Sewing needles that are designed for leather will cut the material properly. These are called tripoint leather needles. There are many sizes of leather sewing needles, so, you will have to estimate the thickness of the leather that you are working with to determine the needle size that is required.

It is important that you understand that leather is a unique type of material and some stitches will not be able to work. For example, doing a small stitch on leather usually does not work well. Many people have performed small stitches and have found that the material is destroyed after doing so. It is important that you buy a scrap piece of leather in order to test the stitch that you wish to use. If the stitch works, then you can use it. The average size stitch that seems to do well when working with leather on a sewing machine is about three and a half inches.

On nearly all sewing machines, you can adjust the overall tension of the thread that you are working with. It is important to note that if you are working with thin pieces of leather on your sewing machine that the tension must be increased. If you are working with thin pieces of leather on a sewing machine, the thread tension should be decreased. If you find that the thread is constantly breaking off, or you are experiencing other issues, you should try to adjust the tension on the thread of the sewing machine to see if it helps.

Crafting with leather on a sewing machine can prove to be quite a challenge if you must have the material stay together. When you are working with basic types of material, you can simply bind the fabric together using pins and similar items. You will discover that if you do this with leather, you will visibly scar the material. The best solution is you can use alligator clips in order to bind leather material together while using a sewing machine. I even prefer to place a piece of tape over both sides of the binding spot prior to placing the clips in place to avoid having to worry about clip marks.

Working with leather on a sewing machine can be a difficult task, but if you follow normal common sense guidelines, you are sure to find that you are a success in this task! A leather project will give you many years of achievement and enjoyment.




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