| If you are new to leather sewing, you may be | | | | true heavy duty machine and may simply give up the |
| wondering if you can use a normal domestic sewing | | | | ghost, or you may break or bend part of the machine. |
| machine or whether you need a walking foot sewing | | | | However, if you have a heavy duty sewing machine, |
| machine to sew leather. It's certainly a tricky question | | | | attaching a foot is a way of ensuring that the needle |
| but you can find the answer right here in this article. | | | | and feed mechanism are suitable for leather when the |
| There are three ways in which you can attempt to | | | | mechanism of the underlying machine is not, perhaps |
| sew leather on a sewing machine, and only one of | | | | because the leather slips or the machine cannot make |
| them involves using a walking foot sewing machine. | | | | long enough stitches. Personally, I would not want to |
| Let's look at each method: | | | | sew anything more than lightweight leather into items |
| | | | like purses and bags on this sort of set-up. |
| 1. Using a domestic machine -- this is the cheapest | | | | 3. Using a true walking foot sewing machine -- this is |
| way of sewing leather if you already own a machine, | | | | the way to sew leather if you are intending to do it |
| at least on the face of it. Unfortunately, if you use a | | | | often, or if you need to sew heavier grades of leather. |
| cheap machine to sew leather; even lightweight | | | | A true walking foot sewing machine is designed as a |
| leather; something will very soon give and it probably | | | | heavy duty sewing machine and will happily feed |
| won't be the leather. Either you will bend or break a | | | | through and sew the heaviest of materials, whether |
| part or the motor will burn out. However, it is true that | | | | denim, canvas, sailcloth or leather. What's more it will |
| a heavy duty domestic machine may well be able to | | | | carry on doing so without complaint for many years. |
| sew lightweight and medium-weight leather even | | | | It's a great investment and if leather sewing plays a |
| without a walking foot. A clue to its suitability is | | | | significant part in your world, then you might as well get |
| whether a machine is advertised as being able to sew | | | | the machine for the job if you can afford it. Apart from |
| several layers of denim or canvas. Such a machine, | | | | being a sound investment, it will also be much more |
| even if leather is not mentioned in the description, is | | | | enjoyable to sew all those leather purses, bags, belts |
| quite likely to be robust enough to cope. | | | | and clothes on a machine that really is up to the task. |
| 2. Using a universal walking foot attachment -- for | | | | Note that whatever machine you sew leather with, |
| about twenty dollars you can buy a little foot and | | | | you need proper leather needles (three-sided chisel-tip |
| attach it to a domestic sewing machine. The same | | | | needles) and your machine needs to be able to make |
| caveats apply here as to the previous method. The | | | | long stitches so that you don't tear the leather. |
| machine's motor may not be as resilient as that of a | | | | |