Leather covers are a chic option to upgrade chairs or a sofa. You can sew genuine leather covers with your own hands: there’s a master class, tricks and tips for your attention.
We already talked about how to sew fabric covers on a sofa, chair. Leather covers are more durable and chic, but this work is somewhat more complicated than in the case of fabric. Below is a workshop on sewing leather covers for a chair, plus a few tricks and tips that will help when sewing genuine leather covers on a regular household sewing machine.
New furniture covers: we sew with our own hands
How to sew leather covers on a chair: a master class
Genuine leather: types and description
You will need:
- a sufficient amount of skin (it is better not to take too thick skin - most often, even with all the recommendations, a simple household machine will not take it);
- tape measure;
- paper for the template;
- ruler;
- marker;
- big strong scissors;
- roller knife and mat mat;
- clamps;
- leather needles for a sewing machine;
- ideally - a walking foot or Teflon, PTFE, roller foot for a sewing machine;
- sewing machine and thread;
- stapler and staples (both a large office stapler and a special furniture are suitable);
- a tool for punching holes in the skin.
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Step 1
Dismantle the chair, if necessary, and remove the old covers. You can use old covers as templates, scattering them into parts. You can measure the chair and draw patterns for cutting a new cover. Cut out patterns from paper.
The article will continue after the advertisement.Step 2
Cut out the details from the skin. Add allowances of about 1.2-1.5 cm. It is better to clearly draw all lines of parts from the wrong side, mark corners (for example, with a marker).
Step 3
Sew the cover as you would a fabric cover. But do not wring parts or pin, use clamps. Use a special needle and foot, do not sew too small stitches (detailed recommendations - below, in tricks and tips).
Pay special attention to turns: drive them very slowly, maybe even turning the wheel of the machine manually. It may be worth practicing first on a patch of skin. It is theoretically possible to tear apart and redo the unsuccessful seam, but the needle for the skin leaves holes in the material, and it is better to avoid this by immediately completing the seams as needed.
Stitch seams with longer stitches.
Step 4
When the cover is ready, punch a few holes in the inconspicuous parts of the cover. Put the cover on the chair, straighten it well and attach with a stapler.
Tips and tips for sewing a leather cover for a chair:
* Be sure to use a skin needle and a special foot;
* if you sew from imitation leather, use a special foot and a universal durable needle (a needle for genuine leather can leave unnecessary cuts on the artificial);
* Especially strong threads are usually recommended, but from experience universal, not too thin synthetic threads are suitable;
* If you are a beginner when working with skin, take not contrasting threads, but threads matching the skin;
* when sewing, fasten the skin with clamps, combining corners, recesses, and so on, it is better not to use pins and dangling;
* Sew a fairly long stitch (3.0-3.5 mm for stitching, 4.5-5.0 for stitching);
* when passing through particularly difficult places (for example, when you stitch the corner of the cover and need to flash several layers), move very slowly, you can periodically lubricate the tip of the needle with baby oil using a cotton swab;
* In inconspicuous places of the leather cover, make several holes for air circulation.
Photo and source: deliacreates.com
