Sunday Stash #96 – Ostrich Leather & Bright Skies
I was walking to the supermarket this past week, and wouldn’t you know it, but a pop-up discount fabric shop has, well, popped-up right in my path of travel! Now when something like that happens, you can’t deny yourself a look-in, right? Upon inspection, the fabrics were mostly home decor and synthetics. While beautiful, there were none that I needed to buy a minimum metre cut of, especially when they were all on the pricier side. They weren’t over-priced, I just don’t need to put $30 / metre Sensuede in my quilts. However, after investigating the actual cost of Sensuede, I’m beginning to think I should!
As I was walking out the door though, I found a remnant basket full of goodies to the extreme! La la laaaaa! Gold! There was a whole basket dedicated to leathers, and upon pulling out this piece of faux ostrich leather in a luxurious burgundy, I couldn’t resist. It’s about a third of a metre, and it was $10: Wrap it up! I’ll take it! It’s sold! For now, I’m thinking a simple cushion, but I’d be intrigued to see if it can be patchworked with some Echino. Any of the Glitterati have experience with this type of thing? I’ve read up about leather needles, poly thread, and not to use pins, but if you have other suggestions feel free to share.
- You can make this quilt top in a day. Seriously. Or, over two nights, while sipping wine.
- This QAL has its own t-shirt. Say wha? That’s just one of the amazing prizes to be won.
- The pattern is on sale until Wednesday for $6.95. Forget McDonald’s, this is a true value meal!
Leather?? and Faux Ostrich…I just am not sure I know you anymore…Spandex I could totally understand mwahahaha
Hmmm, I have no advice for sewing leather, but you could always make yourself a killer bag with it!
That faux ostrich leather is very alien to me … But … I can definitely see it's potential as a cushion 🙂
Oooh, you are such a tease!
Never worked with leather but it looks luscious. I'll be patently waiting until Wednesday …. for the other big reveal!
Tula, Tula, Tula…she just speaks to me! I can't wait to see what you're working on!!
When you fabric is too thick to pin then you need some Clover Wonder Clips. I bought a box of 50 from ebay. I use them when punting binding onto the edge of a quilt. I bought a 'non-stick' foot for my machine when I was sewing plastics – helps to push the fabric through on the top.
Loving the sneak peek at your Bright Sky and am intrigued to see what you do with the leather!
Impulse buying leather – god only knows where you might end up once you have started on this path. Hopefully just with a seriously marvellous cushion.
I love the wonder clips too. Also, longer stitch length and a heavy duty needle. Go slow! I haven't needed a Teflon foot or any other special machine parts. If the fabric sticks to the machine bed, use your left hand to prop the fabric and the feed dogs do the work for you.
I tend to use leather as a feature that I sew onto things rather than into (if that makes sense) No special feet or anything, just remember to clip not pin. I also just use whatever needle is in the machine – shh, don't tell anyone ;o)
If it's leather and you don't want the edges to stretch out as you stitch, you'll need cold rubber tape. I believe there's an Australian Tandy Leather site to get it at. Leather needles really do work best. Heavy duty threads are great. You don't want to use cotton threads as the tannic acid in the leather will eat away at the cotton. You'll want to keep that in mind for cotton patchwork as well. I've had some problems using a regular foot, it can stick a bit. A teflon foot or a walking foot work great. You'll want to watch which side of the leather is against your feed dogs as they can scratch the leather. It also helps with those heavy duty threads and leather to turn your tension up or higher. Tailors chalk works great for marking the backside. It cuts like a dream with a new rotary blade and those metal rulers that have the rubber or cork back are great to use for cutting guides as they don't slip. Scissors apparently don't cut it straight and can be a bit jagged (so says Don on Craftsy). If it's faux leather you won't need to worry so much about it stretching nor about the chemicals combined with cotton.