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Working with Leather on a Sewing Machine

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.

The first thing that you should know when you are taking into account working with leather on a sewing machine is that ordinary sewing machine needles will not work for your project. You will need to buy a special needle from a craft store that is specifically designed for leather. Sewing needles that are designed for leather will cut the substance appropriately. These are called tripoint leather needles. There are many sizes of leather sewing needles, so, you will have to evaluate the thickness of the leather that you are working with to establish the needle size that is needed.

It is important that you recognize that leather is a unique type of material and some stitches will not be able to work. For instance, doing a small stitch on leather usually does not work well. Many people have tried small stitches and have found that the material is ruined after doing so. It is essential 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 standard size stitch that seems to do well when working with leather on a sewing machine is about three and a half inches.

On most sewing machines, you can adjust the overall tension of the thread that you are working with. It is imperative to know that if you are working with thin pieces of leather on your sewing machine that the tension should 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 experiencing other issues, you should try to fine-tune the tension on the thread of the sewing machine to see if it helps.

Working 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 find that if you do this with leather, you will visibly scar the material. The best thing that you can use in order to bind leather material together while using a sewing machine is alligator clips. 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 tricky task, but if you follow these tips you are sure to find that you will accomplish this task well! Then you can enjoy your leather project for many years.

Leather craftsman and author Ethan O. Tanner discusses how to sew leather on a sewing machine and gives tips for successfully sewing leatheron a sewing machine.