Decorative Ways to Seam Leather

You can stitch leather using a typical home sewing machine, no heavy-duty machine is required. Ashley Hough teaches you seaming techniques for any leather project that are both functional and decorative, using a combination of machine and hand stitching.

Leather can typically be found in packages of small pieces in craft and fabric stores. Ashley gives tips for smoothing out creases that may have been pressed into leather from storage by warming the leather from the wrong side and pressing it out with your hands.

Use the following seaming method to join leather pieces together to create a larger area for use in a project. When seaming leather pieces together, choose leathers that are similar thicknesses. Trim the leather edges to achieve a straight line for joining the pieces together.

Choose a triple stitch on the machine for reinforced stitch strength. Stitch the straight edge of each piece ⅛” from the edge.

Tip: If the leather is sticking to the underside of the presser foot, use a roller foot or a Teflon foot to help the fabric slide under the foot easily.

Thread a needle with embroidery floss. Or fold a length of thread in half and thread the needle eye with the loop. Then knot the fold and the two thread ends together to achieve four strands of thread.

Ashley demonstrates how to create a laced up zigzag and ladder stitch pattern by hand stitching through the machine stitching line, rather than piercing through the leather.

After each stitch, ensure the hand sewing thread stays taut and the leather edges stay abutted tightly, without overlapping.

Repeat the process on the wrong side of the leather pieces for structural integrity of the seam.

Get even more tips for sewing with leather. Check out this class on working with faux leather.