How to quilt leather

I have to say, I’m in love with the look of quilted leather. Especially when you use it in somewhat non-traditional ways. I mean, yeah, you see quilted leather in purses and jackets, but there’s so much more you can do! Pants, skirts, elbow patches, the list goes on. It just brings a sophisticated, kind of edgy look to any garment!

This is a technique I’ve been experimenting with lately and so far I’m loving the results. The pants you see in the photos above are a test run with rayon and faux leather before I cut this pattern out of more expensive fabric and real leather. Hopefully all the details on the pants will be coming to the blog in the next month.

But in the meantime, I thought you guys might find a tutorial on how to quilt leather useful. It’s so easy to do! Fast, no. But easy, yes!

*This list contains affiliate links for your convenience, so I receive a small commission if you purchase something through one of my links. This helps support my site so I can continue to create tutorials and DIYs for you! 

What you need:

• Leather or faux leather fabric
• Quilt batting
• Elmer’s glue stick
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Fabric marker or chalk
• Sewing machine
• Leather or denim needle
• Thread matching the color of your leather

Steps:

1. Glue quilt batting to the back of the leather with an Elmer’s glue stick.
2. Trim edges of batting to be equal with the edges of the leather.
3. Use a ruler and fabric chalk/marker to draw a grid of equally sized squares on the batting.
4. Sew along the grid lines.

Instructions:

First, cut the quilt batting to be slightly larger than your (faux) leather piece. Turn the leather over so that the back of the fabric is facing up and lay it flat. Starting from one side begin gluing the quilt batting (with the fluffier side facing down towards the leather) to the back of the leather.

Once it’s all glued down, trim the edges of the batting to match the edges of the leather. This makes drawing your grid easier since all the edges are straight and lined up with each other.

Next, use a ruler (I liked my clear square quilter’s ruler for this: ) to draw a grid onto the batting, covering the entire piece of fabric with equal squares. I used a 2 inch square grid, but you can draw any size squares you like. Also, I found it easiest to start from one edge of the fabric, drawing parallel lines all the way across, then turn the fabric 90 degrees and repeat the process.

Finally, all you have to do is sew along all of the grid lines. This takes a while but is so worth it! A couple tips for sewing:

1. Sew with the batting on the top so you can see and follow your grid lines.
2. Lower the presser foot tension so the thick layers can pass through the machine easily and the leather doesn’t get bunched up.
3. Go slowly and focus on following your lines exactly! Precise, straight lines are what makes it look professional.
4. If you’re having trouble with skipped stitches, try a leather or denim needle. If that doesn’t work, try a ball point needle, especially if your leather has some stretch.

Once you’ve sewn it all together, you can go ahead and cut out your pattern pieces for your project. Just keep in mind that this will need a lining because the batting won’t feel nice on your skin.

I hope you found this tutorial helpful and are inspired to try quilting some leather for your own projects! If you want to follow along with my blog and never miss a tutorial, I would love for you to sign up for my email newsletter.