My Winning Article & Leather Sewing Tips

I just received the new winter issue of Notions from American Sewing Guild. My win at the Passion for Fashion contest lead me to being mentioned in an article. I am very honored and excited that my work and passion is recognized by other professionals in the fashion business. I am very thankful for the opportunity and to have been part of the contest and would encourage anyone who loves to sew to try to be apart of such an amazing experience.

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In the same issue, I read an article called "Sewing Vinyl" by Shira Steinberg-Oberkirsch, where you can find a lot of very useful tips and information on how to sew with vinyl or leather-like materials. I can really relate to it, because I had to work with these types of materials during my Passion for Fashion competition.When I finally realized what I had to deal with, it was too late for a backup plan to change my fabrics. These leather-like materials look very nice, most of them are soft and strong, and they are much cheaper than real leather. If you decided to sew something from these material, you have to know how to work with them to achieve a sophisticated look.

Here are some tips:
-If you have selected a pattern, try to make the garment from muslin first and adjust the pattern if necessary.
-Cut pattern pieces with seam allowance no bigger than 1/2 inch, so you don't have to use basting stitches to construct every seam.
-Use 5-6 stitches per inch to minimize the piercing of stitches per inch. If you think it is not going be strong enough, you can add a strip of light-weight fabric under the seam. In most cases, you probably have to do top-stitching because these fabrics are very difficult to iron/press, so try to iron a small piece before you touch a garment by an iron.
-Iron the fabric if possible on a low temperature, but only wrong side up. Use steam instead of pressing, if possible. If you cannot get rid of  the creases easily, then you may add more temperature, but always test the heat level on a scrap piece of fabric before, and use a press cloth to protect the surface from burning.

If the base of the leather-like fabric is stretching, you have to be very careful when inserting a zipper.
Use basting stitches when connecting seams allowance with the sides of the zipper, so when you actually start to stitch the skirt, the sides won' t stretch too much. Use a thin needle and thread, so the holes from the basting won't be too visible.

Sometimes top-stitching the hem may look cheap, so you can glue it using fusible materials. Use a press cloth when pressing the hem, because you have to apply a high temperature in order to melt the fiber and connect the fabric sides together.

Happy sewing!