Sewing Leather ‒ Tips about sewing various Materials and Fabrics

We have carefully collected exciting tips and tricks from various inspiration magazines and published them on the blog. This tip is taken from inspiration issue 1/2022. If you want to read more helpful tutorials, you can find an overview here: “Tips and Tricks”. It’s worth checking back regularly or subscribing to the newsletter to make sure you can learn our experts’ tricks for your sewing work.

Sewing leather and imitation leather – The right tools 

Leather and imitation leather can be processed very well with a few tricks. The only problem is that it is usually not possible to undo the stitches without leaving visible holes. If you sew a garment using a new cut, it is essential that you sew a sample dress beforehand and transfer any changes to the cut. 

The work succeeds best with the right tools!

Every leather is different. Different stretchability, thickness or surface affect the feed.

Choose the right BERNINA Presser Foot 

You can reach your goal safely with a  Three-Sole Walking Foot with Seam Guide #50 or the Dual Feed. The coated presser feet are also well-suited, for example the Zigzag Foot with Non-Stick Sole #52. If available, you can also use the Leather Roller Foot #55. You can also vary the pressure of the presser foot which can make a significant difference.

Leather Roller Foot #55

Especially suitable for contour quilting ✓  For sewing tight curves ✓  For multiple and quilted layers of fabric ✓  For creating jumbo piping ✓  For plastic, vinyl, leather materials and quilted fabric layers ✓ 

Learn more

Zigzag Foot with Non-Stick Sole #52

For all utility and decorative stitches ✓  Non-stick coating on the sole ensures it slides smoothly ✓  For plastic, vinyl, leather, etc. ✓  For 5.5 mm and 9 mm machines ✓ 

Learn more

Three-Sole Walking Foot with Seam Guide #50

With three soles for sewing, quilting and topstitching ✓  Perfect fabric feed and even stitch formation ✓  Seam guides help you sew with precision ✓  Materials that are stretchy or tend to stick ✓ 

Learn more

Always use a quality thread

Bags or home decoration items look particularly professionally sewn when an extra strong sewing thread is used. The thread tension must be considerably increased, and a proportionally thicker needle must be used. To avoid perforation of the material, the stitch length should not be less than 3 mm. For topstitching, we generally use stitch lengths of 3.5 to 4. The thinner the leather, the thinner the needle. For soft clothing leather, a needle size of 70 to 80 is recommended. One exception is the “Extra Strong” sewing thread: use a needle of the size 90 to 100. A special leather needle is usually only required for very thick material.

Additional BERNINA tips for you

You may have noticed that we have already published a few blog posts with helpful tips. These tips are written for various BERNINA inspiration magazines.

Are you looking for a specific topic right now? You’ll find a lot of supporting content on this page. And if the topic you’re looking for isn’t listed yet, check back regularly for the latest tips.

If you have any other useful tricks, feel free to share them below in the comments. Let’s take your sewing experience to the next level!  

Creative regards,
Jasmin