Sewing faux leather: With the right tricks and ideas, it’s quite easy

Sewing faux leather is not magic. With the right tips and tricks, it can even be a lot of fun, because the beautiful results speak for themselves. :)

The most important things at a glance

• This post is about how to achieve great sewing results with faux leather
• Faux leather is waterproof and washable
• You should avoid using pins when sewing faux leather and use fabric clips and fabric weights instead
• Faux leather is ideal for bags and pouches, but you can also sew clothing with it wonderfully
• All the tips compiled here are also excellent for sewing with oilcloth and coated cotton

You can create wonderful cosmetic bags, handbags, accessories, and clothing from faux leather^*!

Main problem: The faux leather keeps sticking to the presser foot. This causes it to not feed evenly, and the seams become anything but beautiful.

But the firmness of faux leather can also be a struggle for some sewing fans.

In this post, we’ll look at how to achieve great sewing results with faux leather.

By the way: All the tips compiled here are also excellent for sewing with oilcloth and coated cotton! :)

What is faux leather made of?

Faux leather usually consists of a blend of PVC and polyurethane.

This makes it waterproof and washable.

Most faux leather has a textile backing.

I recently found some very beautiful faux leathers^* at Hemmers. They are so well-finished and slightly roughened on the back that the leather does not need any reinforcement at all.

They are ideal for bags and pouches. I especially love the navy blue faux leather^* with a caiman structure and the faux leather with a holographic effect^*.

Do you have to reinforce faux leather?

The faux leather I sew with is already reinforced.

Important: If you want to reinforce faux leather yourself, please do not use fusible interfacing.

Faux leather melts at high ironing temperatures.

However, you can attach interfacing to the back of the faux leather using temporary spray adhesive.

Alternatively, you can stitch the interfacing onto the wrong side within the seam allowance.

Can you also sew clothing from faux leather?

Of course you can. However, you should ensure that the material meets the requirements of the pattern.

This means: if the pattern calls for an elastic material, the faux leather should also be elastic.

A great example is "Swedish leather," sometimes called "monkey skin." It can be processed with raw edges and is very suitable for cardigans, jackets, or skirts.

Which needle should you use to sew faux leather?

There are several options here. You can sew faux leather with a leather needle, a Microtex^* needle, or even a latex needle. Depending on the thickness of the material, you can also adjust the needle size. For the caiman and holo leathers, I sewed with a size 90 leather needle^*.

Which thread should you use to sew faux leather?

In my experience, the seams look best with a good universal polyester thread. I always sew faux leather with Gütermann Allesnäher^* in the matching color.

It is important that the bobbin thread is the same as the top thread. Especially when there is tension on the seams—such as in the darts area of the bag in the picture—the seam will otherwise look less than perfect.

Which stitch can you use to sew faux leather?

Faux leather can—depending on the sewing project—be sewn well with a longer straight stitch (3–3.5).

This is appropriate because every needle puncture creates a perforation. This creates a potential breaking point in the material. Fewer stitches = less risk of tearing.

Exception: Curves. More on that below.

But other stitch types are also possible. Especially if the faux leather is elastic, you should prefer an elastic stitch.

Cutting and pinning faux leather—how does it work?

When cutting faux leather, you should avoid using pins. But there are alternatives.

I like using my homemade sewing weights to hold patterns in place.

My favorite method: Tracing the pattern on the back of the faux leather. Due to the textile backing, the pattern hardly slips, and I don't need any fixatives.

It also works very well to stick the pattern onto the faux leather using washi tape^*.

Better not use Scotch tape here, as it can leave adhesive residue.

By the way: Even when pinning before sewing, you should avoid using pins.

But that’s no problem:

Faux leather and fabric clips are really good friends!

My tip: When sewing faux leather, the thickness of the material can sometimes cause the layers of fabric not to lie perfectly flat on one another.

A few extra fabric clips^*, which also flatten the area in front of and behind the seam, will help.

When sewing faux leather, make sure to leave a generous turning hole.

The larger the turning hole, the less the material is crumpled. Some faux leathers don't like being squeezed and develop permanent creases.

Then you can try to smooth out the creases a bit with a hot hairdryer.

Simply WOW! The simple cut ensures that the beautiful navy blue faux leather^* can take center stage. The color of the faux leather^* has an almost violet tint. I am totally in love with this shade!

Sewing ribbon onto faux leather

Ribbon is a nice addition to faux leather. And it's not a problem at all to sew it on perfectly straight.

Simply mark the center and the upper edge of the ribbon^* on the faux leather.

Now stick a piece of Style-Fix^* or Wondertape^* onto the center marking.

Then you can stick the ribbon on, using the upper marking as a guide.

Afterward, you can edge-stitch the ribbon without the adhesive from the Style-Fix or Wondertape gumming up your needle.

How to get flat seams with faux leather?

You should make sure that the seam allowances are open and the seams are perfectly aligned. When sewing, ensure that the seam allowances don't flip over under the presser foot.

If you are sewing darts, you should trim the seam allowances at the tip of the dart so that they can open slightly.

But be sure that the seams are well backstitched at the beginning and end: the tension of the material pushes the seams apart. Without backstitching, the seam could open up again.

Sewing curves with faux leather—how does it work?

Curves and rounded edges should be sewn with shorter stitches (e.g., stitch length 1.5–2) in faux leather.

This guarantees that the seam doesn't become "angular" but nice and smooth.

Afterward, trim the seam allowances with pinking shears^* up to 3 millimeters from the seam. This relieves the tension in the material after turning.

Which thread tension for faux leather?

You can sew faux leather with medium thread tension. But definitely test on a scrap piece first to see if the seams look nice.

What do I do if the presser foot sticks?

You can deal with this problem in several ways.

Stick washi tape onto the faux leather

Use only thin and easily tearable washi tape. You can use this option when sewing ON the leather, e.g., topstitching a zipper from the right side.

Stick washi tape onto the presser foot

You can also use this to prevent the presser foot from sticking to the faux leather.

Sewing faux leather with a Teflon foot

Teflon feet are coated presser feet. For some sewing machines, these clever feet—which you can use to sew not only faux leather but also plastic film, leather, or oilcloth—come as standard. For others, they can be purchased for a small amount.

Sewing faux leather with a roller foot

Roller feet are usually made of plastic and are equipped with a small, textured metal roller at the front that allows the foot to roll over the material without sticking.

Roller feet are also excellent for use with real leather.^*

Sewing faux leather with a walking foot

This is my favorite method because I get the best sewing results with it. The walking foot^* is great, especially for topstitching.

That is because it keeps detaching itself from the fabric. A small gripper holds the fabric, the presser foot lifts, and the material is fed through. This way, the seam becomes truly even and beautiful.

It is also a special challenge when you need to sew over fabric (e.g., ribbon) and faux leather at the same time.

I’ve had the best experience using a walking foot for this as well!

Sewing a zipper into faux leather - how does it work?

It’s a good idea to bind the zipper beforehand and leave a gap of approx. 1.5 cm from the fabric edge on both sides.

This way, the zipper ends won’t make the seam bulky. And it just looks tip-top!

More information can be found in my blog post on this topic: Binding a zipper made easy.

As a sewing pattern for the silver holo bag, I used our Nanami cosmetic bag. The pattern and instructions are available here on the blog.

Where can you order faux leather?

As I mentioned before: after a few bad experiences, I now buy my faux leather exclusively from my favorite shop^*. That is also where these beautiful holo leathers^* come from, which you can see in the tutorial.

I made a practical (and, I think, very chic) pen case for my notebook out of the pink holo leather^*. I always keep a sewing journal to jot down my ideas and plans. From now on, I won’t have to search for a pen when inspiration strikes. ;)

The tutorial for the pen case is available here on the blog.

The cool blue holo leather^* (which I didn't think much of at first - until I sewed with it!) has become a truly stylish Roos cosmetic bag. Because of the stability of the faux leather, the bag holds its shape really well.

You can also find the sewing pattern for the Roos cosmetic bag here on the blog.

The Caiman faux leather - such a beautiful material! I love this rich blue that almost shifts into violet... Amazing.

I used the silver holo leather^* to sew a Nanami with a silver lurex zipper^* and a silver metal pull^*, which I think makes it look especially elegant.

I combined the futuristic-looking faux leather with a beautiful, simple grosgrain ribbon^*.

The result is quite impressive, don't you think? ;)

Probably one of the most beautiful bags I have ever sewn.

Did my post help you? Or do you still have questions?

Feel free to leave me a comment! :)

Happy simple sewing,

your Sabine

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