Hand-sewing leather patches on jeans can be a great way to add personality. You can find leather patches in the shapes of letters, animals, and other cool designs; this is a great way to express your creativity.

The available designs are limitless. Anyone interested in doing this can easily find thousands of different patterns and interesting ideas online by visiting a number of forums, social groups or websites that specifically cater to creative sewing enthusiasts.

There are a few very important things about sewing leather you will need to know before attempting to attach a leather patch to your jeans.

Though such a project does not seem like it would be extremely dangerous, a few safety precautions must be taken to avoid any small mishaps that can turn into big problems.

Safety First

Sometimes, a project such as this will only require the use of dull stitching needles, which can damage your fingers or other parts of your body if enough force is exerted. In a case such as this, there is less of an injury concern as long as you pay close attention and focus on what you are doing.

On the other hand, no pun intended, careless use of sharp needles can result in several physical injuries ranging from irritating finger pricks to infections if the needles are dirty.

Safety concerns about using scissors to cut threads and materials for your project are self-explanatory. Cutting, stabbing yourself or losing a finger would very quickly zap the joy out of your project. Need we say any more about this?

What Tools Do You Need?

We will now look at some of the considerations and some of the items you will need to add leather patches.

Choose The Right Thickness of Leather

Choosing the right thickness and flexibility of your leather is very important because it will need to be bendable, twist-able and even scrunch-able throughout the life of your garment.

Another thing to consider about the thickness and rigidity of your leather is how difficult it will be for you to poke and pull a needle through it.

Use The Correct Thread

The thread that you use must be much more durable and longer lasting than the thread that is commonly used around the household for repairing holes in socks and such. If you can visit a hobby store or leather outlet to purchase the proper materials for your awesome project, that is highly recommended.

Use A Needle Designed For Leather

Leather needles come in a variety of sizes so that you can choose one or more that is easy to handle. They also come in different lengths and shapes to complete specific projects.

Though it is possible to use some of the needles designed for more standard materials, such as cotton and polyester, it would be a little wiser to use a set of needles designed for leather projects.

Have fun expressing yourself, and for goodness’ sake, please be safe.

Using leather to make handmade items can take a while to master. Whether you plan to use real leather or one of the available faux options, you will find the following advice on how to sew leather quite helpful.

1. Don’t Use Pins

Most people prefer to use pins to hold the fabric in place when sewing. While this is fine when working with many materials, it is not a good idea when dealing with leather.

Placing pins will leave holes that don’t close once they are removed. It would be better to use clothespins, tape or paper clips to hold things in place.

2. Do Fitting Ahead Of Time

You can do fittings a few times when sewing on standard fabric; however, this is not the case regarding leather. Every time you create a stitch, it will leave a hole, so there is no way to make alterations once a stitch has been made.

3. Choose The Right Needle

Some sewing needles are made for use with specific fabrics, and leather should use a needle designed specifically for sewing on it. When you are shopping for needles, make sure that you place these at the top of your list.

If you try using a standard needle when sewing leather, there is a possibility that it can bend or break when trying to force the needle through the fabric.

Remember that threading leather needles is a bit more involved than doing so with a traditional needle. It may take you a few tries to master it, so be patient.

4. Practice Your Stitching

As explained earlier, once you create stitches in leather, there is no way to redo them so they have to be done perfectly the first time.

If you are worried about messing things up, grab some scraps and practice your stitches beforehand.

Once you see that you can sew without mistakes, then you can move on to the leather you purchased for your project.

Again, this will take a bit of patience, but this is one of those cases where everything has to be done right the first time.

5. Place Markings On The Wrong Side

When sewing with a pattern, make sure you place all markings on the side of the leather that will not show when the piece is complete.

It’s important to note, marking wheels and transfer tape are not ideal when working with leather. Tailor’s chalk and marking pens are much better options.

Learning how to sew leather can be tricky, especially if you are not familiar with it. Use these tips to learn and find some scrap leather to practice on first.