phil Posted September 26, 2006 Report Share Posted September 26, 2006 hello has anyone any experience of quilting with this material ( leather ) what size needle do you think the machine should be fitted with ? can a thicker thread be used other than the regular superior thread ? has anyone already used woll thread ? thank you to all http://www.apqs.com/quiltboard/images/smilies/tongue.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stagecl Posted September 26, 2006 Report Share Posted September 26, 2006 Phil, I haven't quilted with leather only sewed it on my old Pfaff. I used a leather needle which is thicker. I would think you would need a larger needle for quilting. I have purchased MR20 for the gammill I previously owned (I purchased those needles from Kingsmen Quilting Supply. I haven't checked to see if APQS has them for sale). I used the same weight thread when sewing. So for quilting the leather...I don't know...I would probably use Signature cotton (40 tex) or Perma core (poly wrapped poly). Do you have a piece of leather to practice on to see how well your choice of thread holds up? Does this quilt have a batt and a backing? I would quilt slowly over seams...are they flat felled seams? or traditional seams? Just wondering about the possibility of puckering. Once you quilt you will not be able to rip out the old stitches without leaving a mark. I probably would use a larger stitch...at least 10 per inch maybe even 9 stitches per inch...sorry don't know the meteric conversion. I haven't used woll thread, so I don't know anything about it. I do not know if any of this is helpful, but maybe it will give you some ideas. Take care, Cheryl Mathre Stone Creek Quilting Sandy Hook, VA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret Posted September 26, 2006 Report Share Posted September 26, 2006 I have quilted leather. I was using a 4.0 needle at the time but I am planning on trying a 3.5. The holes in leather won't close up after the needle has gone so I am looking for the smallest possible hole. Garment weight leather is pretty soft so there shouldn't be any prblem with the 3.5. So long as you avoid very fine threads you should be OK. If you were to use one of the fine threads designed for bobbin use and as much tension as the thread will take you run the risk of cutting through the leather. Thicker threads or lower tensions will avoid this. The only concern I would have with wool thread is will the chemicals left in the leather from the tanning and dyeing process effect the wool? I've never tried it so I can't really help with that one. The worst part about quilting leather is you have one chance to get it right. If you have to rip out the holes will be left in the leather. If there is anything else you want to ask, I both sew and quilt leather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret Posted September 26, 2006 Report Share Posted September 26, 2006 Ah, just realised I forgot a couple of things. When I join leather in a quilt I lay one piece on top of the other and sew through both layers. It is less bulky than having to fold either piece of leather. Also I do use a longer stitch when I quilt leather, to avoid weakening the leather too much. Ferret Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stagecl Posted September 26, 2006 Report Share Posted September 26, 2006 Wrote the needle size wrong...oh well...it was an 5.0 which is about 18/20 needle. Ferret has a good point regarding needles...what about the titanimum needles...they would be stronger and you could use a finer needle. Cheryl Mathre Stone Creek Quilting Sandy Hook, VA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WLct49 Posted September 26, 2006 Report Share Posted September 26, 2006 I created a small quilt 14 x16" the center of this was leather that I embroidered a Greenman design on. Then added borders and quilted it by outlining the design and then SID around the borders. The embroidery was done on my commercial embroidery machine using a size 11 needle and a slow speed. I didn't use a bigger needle because I didn't want to have to worry about the needles causing so many holes that it would fall apart. It worked very good. In fact so good that I sold the quilt and it now hangs in a private collection of Greenman images in Scotland. Timi Originally posted by phil hello has anyone any experience of quilting with this material ( leather ) what size needle do you think the machine should be fitted with ? can a thicker thread be used other than the regular superior thread ? has anyone already used woll thread ? thank you to all http://www.apqs.com/quiltboard/images/smilies/tongue.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancingstitcher Posted September 27, 2006 Report Share Posted September 27, 2006 Thanks for the leather information. I'm new to longarm. When sewing ultrasuede garments I purchased a small book that was very helpful in construction. Yes, overlap raw edges, slightly bigger stitch, polyester thread. APQS just called about my shipment and they have a 5.0 needle for leather, but I did think that the hole would be too big, so like your recommendation to stitch at a slower speed. Let us know how the wool thread works. Timi, was your embroidery done with rayon threads? Any photos? Thanks. Vicki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WLct49 Posted September 27, 2006 Report Share Posted September 27, 2006 Hi Vicki - I think the embroidery used both rayon and poly threads. There's a pic of it in my webshots in the My Quilts folder, 2nd page. http://community.webshots.com/user/wlct49 Timi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annettevaltl Posted September 28, 2006 Report Share Posted September 28, 2006 I know there are SChmetz needles for leather out there, I would give it a try..... on a pracitce piece first....... should work. Good luck and let us know, Annette Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret Posted September 28, 2006 Report Share Posted September 28, 2006 There are specialist needles for leather but really for soft leather like in most clothes you don't need them. Ferret Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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