Upholstery with leather, rocking chair seat

[ValJ]

I am new to working with Leather. I have done some upholstery with Fabrics, but I know there will be some differences working with Leather. I will be sewing with a Juki LU563.

Can you please tell me guidelines for cutting leather for the seat cushion? I know I will need to add the seam allowance, but how much do I subtract to accommodate for the stretch of leather?  The Cushion is not square which may add a bit more of a challenge.  

When sewing on the Juki, what leather needle point shape and thread would you recommend for black, upholstery, weight leather? I managed to buy a nice sturdy side  from a multi generation leather shop in Indianapolis,   – just a side-note: If you’re ever in Indianapolis look up Landwerlen Leather (the d is silent). 
All help and tips on this subject will be very much appreciated!
If I can figure out how to add pictures, I will add a picture of the cushion. I do need to go in and work on the springs before doing the upholstery.

[Handstitched]

I am not an upholsterer , only know from trial  & error. 

Is there any piping involved?  If so, you may need a piping foot on your machine, it helps . 

I used the old pieces from swabs/seats  as templates, and allowed enough for seams etc.  The springs have to be free from rust, and not broken. They also need to be tied together  in a certain way so that they don't move around .

A good source of info is ' good 'ol Uncle Youtoob ' 

HS

[ValJ]

5 hours ago, Handstitched said:

I am not an upholsterer , only know from trial  & error. 

Is there any piping involved?  If so, you may need a piping foot on your machine, it helps . 

I used the old pieces from swabs/seats  as templates, and allowed enough for seams etc.  The springs have to be free from rust, and not broken. They also need to be tied together  in a certain way so that they don't move around .

A good source of info is ' good 'ol Uncle Youtoob ' 

HS

Thank you for your tips.
Unfortunately, the original leather pieces went missing when my son and the chair moved to Virginia, so I cannot use them as a Pattern.  Therefore, I also don’t know if there was piping on the original seat is there a structural reason to include it?

I have a head injury from a person talking on their cell phone hitting me with their SUV and therefore have memory issues which are affecting remembering some upholstery details that I used to do. 

I know that there is a sort of formula for the amount of leather to use something like: for every 10 inches of leather subtract 1/4 inch to account for the stretch of leather overtime. I am just plugging in some numbers there; I can’t remember for sure what they are. Have you had experience with this? I hope that anybody reading this could offer some help please. 

[Aven]

ValJ, Sailrite has several videos up on youtube that might help you figure things out as far as stretch goes and construction techniques.
The piping is optional.  It does help to protect the seams, prevent stretching and it makes it look nice. 

https://www.youtube.com/user/Sailrite1

[toxo]

14 hours ago, ValJ said:

I am new to working with Leather. I have done some upholstery with Fabrics, but I know there will be some differences working with Leather. I will be sewing with a Juki LU563.

Can you please tell me guidelines for cutting leather for the seat cushion? I know I will need to add the seam allowance, but how much do I subtract to accommodate for the stretch of leather?  The Cushion is not square which may add a bit more of a challenge.  

When sewing on the Juki, what leather needle point shape and thread would you recommend for black, upholstery, weight leather? I managed to buy a nice sturdy side  from a multi generation leather shop in Indianapolis,   – just a side-note: If you’re ever in Indianapolis look up Landwerlen Leather (the d is silent). 
All help and tips on this subject will be very much appreciated!
If I can figure out how to add pictures, I will add a picture of the cushion. I do need to go in and work on the springs before doing the upholstery.

Go on YouTube and subscribe to a guy Called Cechaflo. An absolute maestro with a sewing machine and a piece of upholstery. English is not his first language and he never says a word but somehow makes everything so clear. You'll thank me later.