Things sewn with genuine or faux leather are always on-trend. But, without professional knowledge and skills, high-quality sewing of leather products is not available to every tailor. Therefore, alternative materials are a great help for beginners and professionals. Sewing from today’s popular faux leather or other natural substitutes is more affordable and easier. Artificial leather is easy to cut, sew, glue, has the same width as a normal fabric and is undemanding in care.

Meanwhile, there are some nuances of sewing you need to know. Otherwise you can ruin the garment already at the cutting stage. In this article you will learn our top 10 sewing tips when dealing with faux leather.

1. The stitches should be quite long.

If the stitch is short, the thread is very stretched and might even damage the material. This is why you often see skin tearing between needle punctures.

2. Don’t rush when you are stitching.

Set the machine to a slower speed. This way the stitching will be neater.

3. Do not backstitch at the beginning and the end of the stitching.

The backstitches may tear the fabric. If absolutely necessary, do it by hand.

4. Before sewing, faux leather should be ironed over a cotton sheet of fabric.

You can use a non-hot iron on the wrong side of the artificial leather. But it’s important to test the material on a small piece beforehand. If it can’t handle the heat of the iron, you can cover the wrinkled areas with wet cloth, and they will straighten up after a while.

5. Use a proven pattern to work with.

6. Interfacing is possible and necessary.

The principle of Interfacing is the same as with the other fabrics.

7. If you need to sew a zipper into the product, you can glue it with double-sided tape before you do it.

8. You can use pencil glue stick, and temporary adhesive spray to hold the allowances in place.

If pinning pins are undesirable due to the quality of the material (holes remain), use clips to hold the pieces in place.

9. Avoid drawing any lines on the fabric’s right side, as even fading pencils and markers can leave traces.

10. If your sewing machine has a function to adjust the pressure of the presser foot on the fabric, release the pressure.

I hope the tips above will make you feel more comfortable sewing with faux leather. If you have ideas or tips or questions which I might have forgotten to cover, do not hesitate to contact me. I will be happy to reply.

Sincerely yours,
Olga