Leather Fundamentals 4: Leather Sewing Essentials

Welcome to today’s installment of our Beginner’s Guide to Leather Craft series. In today’s episode, Sailrite® Leather Specialist Corbin discusses the benefits of machine sewing your leather goods. Why machine sew your leather goods? A boost in productivity, more project volume and variety, less hand fatigue, and more consistent stitching and uniform results are just some of the reasons to consider upgrading from hand to machine sewing. Join us as Corbin demonstrates which thread weights and types are best for sewing leather and the various specialty leather needles available for leatherworking. 

If you’re a leatherworker who spends countless hours hand stitching, this episode is for you. To test how efficient machine stitching is compared to hand stitching, Corbin sews two identical coasters using both methods. How much faster is machine sewing? You’ll have to watch the video to find out!

If you’re in the market for a leather sewing machine, Sailrite has two great choices — the compact Leatherwork® and the industrial Fabricator®. Corbin reviews both machines to help you choose the right one for your leather career and project list. He even gets into the details of thread tension and how to adjust both machines to achieve perfect top and bottom stitch tension.

Are you ready to take the leap from hand to machine sewing? Watch today’s leather fundamentals masterclass episode to learn everything you need to know about leather sewing essentials. 

And if you’ve been following along on the progress of our leather projects, stay till the end to watch Corbin sew the pieces of the Wave Wallet together.

Download the PDF below for a closer look at the technical differences between the Leatherwork and Fabricator Sewing Machines.

Leather Sewing Machines Comparison Chart

Materials & Tools List:

• Vegetable Tanned Leather
• Sailrite® Leatherwork® Sewing Machine #300800
• Sailrite® Standard Fabricator® Sewing Machine #400500
• Nylon Thread
• Polyester Thread
• Twist Point Leather Sewing Machine Needles
• Sailrite® Scratch Awl #123270
• Work Surface
• Sailrite® Adjustable Leather Wing Divider #124919
• Sailrite® Adjustable Leather Stitching Groover #123293

Click here to view all episodes of our Beginner’s Guide to Leather Craft series. And if you’re interested in more leather crafting resources, our leather crafting page has excellent blog content, videos, product recommendations and more. Sailrite has all the tools and know-how you need to start your leather crafting journey.