Embroidering on leather or vinyl can seem intimidating. Leather can be thick and stiff or thin and soft. Some leather may have a bit of stretch. Needle penetrations leave permanent holes, so it is important to not make a mistake that needs embroidery stitches removed. Once a hole is created in leather, it will always be there. If the embroidery stitching is too closely spaced, then the needle holes create a cut line where the embroidery design can pop out and leave a large hole in the leather.
Vinyl has similar problems. Upholstery and marine vinyl are best for embroidery, as they have a fabric backing that will help support the embroidery stitches. Other types of vinyl are likely to quickly tear along the embroidery stitching lines, punching out the embroidered design and leaving a hole in the vinyl.
With a few tips, however, embroidering on leather or vinyl doesn’t have to be confusing or difficult.
Tips for Embroidering on Leather and Vinyl
- Use designs digitized for vinyl or leather. Embroidery designs digitized for leather and vinyl should have lower density and fewer underlay stitches. Unless a design states it is specifically digitized for leather, then the stitches are likely spaced too closely together. Satin and fill stitches on regular designs normally have a density around 4mm, while designs digitized for leather have stitches with a density of around 6mm. Underlay stitches for leather are lighter and more sparsely spaced. Pull compensation is also different for designs digitized for leather. The distance between stitches should be greater for a design digitized for leather than for a design digitized for fabrics.
- You may also be able to stitch redwork designs on leather. Redwork designs don’t have fill stitches or columns of satin stitches, which would cause problems when stitching on leather.
- Use titanium needles, as they are made to stay sharper longer. Leather embroidery needles can be used when the design is digitized for leather, as the stitch spacing will be wider than for a regular embroidery design. Leather needles have a wider tip to slice through the leather, and you risk slicing nearby stitches when you have closely spaced satin stitches or closely spaced fill stitches. If your design was not specifically digitized for leather, then use a titanium embroidery needle.
- Use a 75/11 or an 80/12 titanium needle. Thicker leathers need a larger size needle, while softer leathers and vinyls can use the 75/11 size needle.
- Use a high tensile strength polyester 40 weight embroidery thread. Polyester embroidery thread is stronger than rayon embroidery thread. Stitching through leather or vinyl produces more stress on the thread, so using polyester thread means fewer thread breaks.
- Use sparsely filled designs, as denser designs make more holes, and holes are permanent in leather and vinyl. With upholstery vinyl, you have a fabric backing to support the stitches, but you don’t have that with leather. If you have a too dense design, you risk ‘punching out’ the design. Closely spaced stitches act like perforations on spiral notebook paper, making it easier to tear along the stitch line.
- Use a 2.5 ounce medium weight cut away stabilizer when embroidering on leather. You need a permanent backing to help support the stitches.
- Use a cutaway, tear away, or water soluble stabilizer with marine vinyl or upholstery vinyl. Marine and upholstery vinyl have a fabric backing to help support the embroidery stitches. Vinyl is often used for key fobs, snap tabs, and sanitizer holders. These items use two layers of vinyl, so using a water soluble stabilizer (or a tear away wash away stabilizer) makes nicer finished edges on the final project. The remaining bits of water soluble stabilizer can be removed using a wet cloth or cotton swab dipped in water.
- Float and use a temporary spray adhesive to attach the leather to the stabilizer. Leather is prone to getting hoop marks, so floating works better.
- If you use a magnetic hoop, then use a thin cloth on top of the leather to keep the hoop from rubbing the leather. Scuff and rub marks are permanent, so it is necessary to protect the leather from hoop damage. Felt is a good choice of fabric. Muslin can also work if it isn’t too thin. Lay strips of fabric between the hoop and the leather to protect the leather. You can also create an embroidery window using a square of fabric with the center opening cut out. Fabric placed on top of the leather where the hoop touch will help protect the leather from getting rub marks or hoop burn. Traditional hooping is not recommended for leather.
- Slow down your machine to around 350 stitches per minute. If the machine’s speed is too slow, the machine may have trouble piercing the leather. If the machine’s speed is too fast, the stitch may not look as nice and the needle may pull up the leather with each stitch, creating hoop flagging.
- If you get thread loops, pull the threads to the back of the leather after the design is complete. Use a small straight pin to gently lift and pull individual threads on the back of the leather, removing any loops on the front of the design.
- You can use liquid silicone rubbed on the needles to reduce friction and help the needles penetrate the leather. Liquid silicone (like Sewer’s Aid) does not last long, however, so it may need to be applied several times during a longer stitch out.
- Don’t try to embroidery thicker leathers. Softer, more supple leathers work better than thicker, stiffer leathers for embroidery.
- Don’t try to embroider leather garments with too many layers, such as heavy jackets. Too many layers allow for shifting, especially of the top leather layer. Even magnetic hoops may have trouble holding several thick layers.