How to Repair a Broken Seam in Leather Upholstery

Item # X-HT-300159

If you have a split seam on a leather upholstered chair or sofa, don’t worry! You can stitch that seam right back up with a needle and thread. We’re taking the guesswork out of your repair with a quick video tutorial to show you how to stitch a broken upholstery seam back together. Even if you're not a sewer or have never repaired furniture before, this is a simple and straightforward repair job. We'll show you the steps to take — and the materials and supplies needed — to fix your leather furniture so it's as good as new. Let's get into it.

How to Repair a Broken Seam in Leather Upholstery 2

To fix the rip, you’re going to want to sew a ladder stitch to close up the opening and to hide the stitches. This will give you a clean, professional looking seam. In fact, the ladder stitch — also known as an invisible stitch — is so effective you won’t even be able to tell that your seam was once split open! We recommend using a curved needle for this project. The curved shape of this needle makes it easier to feed it in and out of the leather upholstery against the chair frame.

Watch the full video tutorial for this easy leather furniture repair.

You can find curved needles and upholstery thread for this and other projects right here at Sailrite.

Interested in more quick Tips & Tricks blogs? Look through our catalog of clever sewing hacks and useful techniques. We have tips on how to make your own custom piping, how to replace a sewing machine needle, how to backstitch in leather and more.

In fact, if you're interested in getting into leatherwork, you should check out our Beginner's Guide to Leather Craft series. This five-episode leather fundamentals series covers the basic topics and techniques you need to know to start your leather crafting journey. If you dream of becoming a master leatherworker but don't know how to get started, this is the series for you. Soon, you'll be crafting custom leather wallets, belts bags and more. Sailrite is your source for the best leather supplies and educational content available anywhere.