I saw a show on Simply Quilts many years ago where a guest was showing how to make a quilt out of ultra suede, I think it was, maybe real suede. He arranged the squares so the shading on every other block was different, I guess with and against the grain. It was gorgeous. He did simple quilting in the ditch. It inspired me, but I used a fabric that looked like ultra suede and did the same thing - 12" squares set on point and stitched in the ditch. It was king size and I quilted it in my dinky mechanical Brother XR-52. It was for my son and he loved it. Anyway, the inspiration from the show was very simple and very beautiful.

If you want as many squares as possible, I would cut the best size square I could get out of the piece and then machine applique to a square of fabric, no loss of suede in seams.

Hello! My advice would be to use it on a project that requires as little cleaning (laundering) as possible for obvious reasons lol. I sew with leather every day making handbags. I am an apprentice to a man who has been doing this for 30 years. If your suede isn't thick I would not worry about needle size - a practice piece is probably the best idea so you can get a feel for a good stitch length - it is most likely going to stretch on you. I sew on a Juki at the shop - it is the fastest machine! I have a hard time coming home & sewing on my own - they just seem to crawl lol. Good luck with your project and let us know how things are going.

At MQX last year there was at least one quilted wall hanging made of leather. It was of a horse and it was exquisite. Done on a LA I believe.

Wow! Y'all came through in spades! Lots of really great ideas to consider and tons of encouragement. I can't wait to check out episode 508 on QNNTV (thanks Paper Princess). Couple of quick questions:

1) Not More Craft--how do you glue the seams open? And with what kind of glue?

2) Yankee Girl--though my suede is quite thin and your advice is not to worry about the size of the needle, I still need to use a leather needle, right? I can't get away with just a regular sharp needle. (Also, I'm so interested in your apprenticeship. If you feel like sharing more, feel free to send me a PM).

3) Finally, it seems like the consensus is to have longer stitch lengths, which makes sense--the fewer holes the better (I think this was cookie monster and a few others' point) and I know I will have to test out. But, any ideas? The Juki 2010q goes up to 6.0, but that seems too long. 3.5? 4?

As always, thanks so much for your help! I have a feeling that this might be really satisfying (and then expensive....).

Bestest,
A