Considering ... Leather placemats
 

I have a sofa and a love seat that we are going to toss. I told my husband that before toss it, I want to cut the leather off of it as most of it is in pretty good condition. He said sure ... as long as I had a plan for it. (Reason being is that the next room we do after the family room is my sewing room so I PROMISED I wouldn't be making any purchases other than for things that have immediate plans).

One of the things I'm considering is making place-mats out of them and quilting a design on the top. The leather is fairly thick, good quality leather. I figured I could just put a simple muslin back on it and bind it with a coordinating color batik fabric.

But I would want a quilted design in the middle.

Has anyone tried to FMQ leather? Is it possible?

I think a quilted pattern on leather would make awesome place mats for our new dining table.

Updated to add: I have two machines I can work with. A Janome 6600 or a Huskvarna Lily 535.

Sue

I don't know if quilting leather is possible but if it is I would really like to see them -

I never tried it but i gotta think that it would be the same as sewing a heavy weight denim? So the usual rules would apply - heavy duty needle, probably a ball point? Good thread. I am also guessing that you really only need backing, not batting. Slow speed on the machine....

Sounds like a great idea. You can get a special "Leather" needle that will help you sew it. Be sure to do some test sewing first and see how it works out since sewing leather is way different than sewing fabric. Keep in mind that once you put a needle hole in the leather it is there to stay... no ripping out and re-sewing your designs.

You might try it on a piece of scrap...Leather will perferate with every stitch, as will vinyls and faux leather products. You certaily wouldn't want it seperating at the stitches, so I wouldn't make them very close together and I would use a sharps or leather needle as well.
I will be curious to see how/if this works well. Good luck with your project!

I have embroidered on leather with my Husqvarna SE... on a leather vest for a friend who was in a motorcycle club and it worked fine. Just can't use a very dense stitch out and need a good stbilizer.

Leather will perforate, but a bigger issue may be that it sticks to the bottom of the foot. A leather foot for straight stitching has rollers on it so the leather doesn't get bunched under the foot. Because a hopping foot doesn't come in contact with the fabric that much, it may be OK. Also, the finish on some leathers makes it easier to sew. A trick to sewing leather is to put a piece of tissue paper over it and sew thru that so the foot glides over it. You could draw the quilting pattern on the tissue and use painters tape to position it. As suggested by other posters, try on a scrap.

You can't throw leather into a washing machine. I don't think I'd make placemats out of it.

I have naugahyde (spelling?) placemats and cleaning is not a problem. Of course they can't go into the washer, just spray with 409 or similar. I occasionally 'condition' my placemats with a leather cleaner/conditioner. It keeps them supple.

do it! iron freezer paper to it and sew through that! Use a leather needle, a larger stitch, less tension, and heavy thread, perhaps a 28wt. Just do it! If it works out, make a bowtuck too! Leather cleans easily, so just do it!

I agree with Jacquie, I would use it on a bow tuck, maybe for the bottom part. I don't think I would make placemats out of it. Any water would ruin the leather and you need special cleaners for it so it stays supple.
Sue