Leather needle/foot for normal sewing machine?

[purplecinnamon]

Okay I know you are all going to tell me this is a bad idea and that I should just buy a real leather sewing machine, but I don't have the money to make the investment yet, so I wanted to try this first.

 

If I were to try sewing softer oil tanned leather with a normal sewing machine, what should I buy to make it work right?  I hear that you can buy walking feet for normal sewing machines along with leather needles for them too. What do you guys think of that idea and what needle/ walking foot should I be looking at?

 

Thank you for your advice!

 

-Cole

[Constabulary]

What means "normal sewing machine" - what machine do you have? Wall Mart plastic bomber, Industrial sewing machine...? Brand and model number would help very much...

[cjartist]

As far as I know, you cannot add a walking foot to a machine that is not built for it.  You can however sew leather on an old industrial machine.  I have a Singer 241 that I have outfitted to sew lightweight leather using a size 21 leather point needle and 90 weight nylon thread.  The machine cost me $150 from a Craigslist ad.  My problem with the machine is I can't control it very well.  I reduced the gear size and slowed it down a bit, but it really needs a servo motor if I want to use it properly.

[JKHelms]

4 hours ago, cjartist said:

As far as I know, you cannot add a walking foot to a machine that is not built for it.  You can however sew leather on an old industrial machine.  I have a Singer 241 that I have outfitted to sew lightweight leather using a size 21 leather point needle and 90 weight nylon thread.  The machine cost me $150 from a Craigslist ad.  My problem with the machine is I can't control it very well.  I reduced the gear size and slowed it down a bit, but it really needs a servo motor if I want to use it properly.

I have this same machine and just ordered a servo motor for it. 

Hoping it will slow it down enough ..

[purplecinnamon]

I have a Brother 280 from like 1971. Do you think this is upgradable?

[AresUniversal]

6 hours ago, purplecinnamon said:

I have a Brother 280 from like 1971. Do you think this is upgradable?

As someone who used a home machine (although it was an "industrial/home hybrid" Juki) to learn the craft, I can say that if you're looking to stitch softer/lightweight-ish oil tanned leather like you're talking about, you can make a home machine work for a little while.  The least you can do is give it a try. Brother home machines from the 70s are built pretty tough, so you might have some luck. I suggest hitting up a JoAnn Fabrics and getting a pack (or several) of leather machine needles, and some upholstery nylon thread that's #69 or a bit smaller (that's the thickest thread you'll be able to run through the machine).  

You'll want to set your stitch length almost as long as it goes, I had mine set between 5 and 6, ended up giving me a stitch about 3/16" long.  The feed dogs will mark up oil tanned leather, so if you find yourself needing to do stitching with the face of the leather downward, either file down your feed dogs or sandwich some tissue paper between the leather and the machine, and pull it off when you're done. If the machine groans at you for stitching something too thick, and you're decently stubborn, you can always hand-turn the machine via the wheel or knob on the right, and you can get through about anything, albeit very very slowly and very very tiring on the wrist.

 Hope this is somewhat helpful, I've had to rig some pretty weird situations to make do with what I had before I was able to make the investment in a walking foot machine.  You'd be surprised what you can accomplish if you're stubborn enough  

[purplecinnamon]

45 minutes ago, AresUniversal said:

As someone who used a home machine (although it was an "industrial/home hybrid" Juki) to learn the craft, I can say that if you're looking to stitch softer/lightweight-ish oil tanned leather like you're talking about, you can make a home machine work for a little while.  The least you can do is give it a try. Brother home machines from the 70s are built pretty tough, so you might have some luck. I suggest hitting up a JoAnn Fabrics and getting a pack (or several) of leather machine needles, and some upholstery nylon thread that's #69 or a bit smaller (that's the thickest thread you'll be able to run through the machine).  

You'll want to set your stitch length almost as long as it goes, I had mine set between 5 and 6, ended up giving me a stitch about 3/16" long.  The feed dogs will mark up oil tanned leather, so if you find yourself needing to do stitching with the face of the leather downward, either file down your feed dogs or sandwich some tissue paper between the leather and the machine, and pull it off when you're done. If the machine groans at you for stitching something too thick, and you're decently stubborn, you can always hand-turn the machine via the wheel or knob on the right, and you can get through about anything, albeit very very slowly and very very tiring on the wrist.

 Hope this is somewhat helpful, I've had to rig some pretty weird situations to make do with what I had before I was able to make the investment in a walking foot machine.  You'd be surprised what you can accomplish if you're stubborn enough  

Thank you so much for your advice.

 

Is there a specific size of leather needle I need?

 

Second question: Is it possible to put a walking foot on it?

 

Thanks!

[Wizcrafts]

10 hours ago, purplecinnamon said:

Thank you so much for your advice.

 

Is there a specific size of leather needle I need?

 

Second question: Is it possible to put a walking foot on it?

 

Thanks!

A walking foot machine has three bars coming down out of the head. One is the needle bar. The next one inline is the vibrating or alternating foot bar. The third bar is the presser foot bar. The way they work is that the material is pulled back by a combination of a moving needle, a moving alternating foot and a lifting/lowering presser foot, in coordination with the moving feed dog.

Your Brother 280 is not an industrial sewing machine. It only has a needle bar and presser bar. All of the feed is on the bottom via the teeth on the feed dog. The attachment that you think is a walking foot is really only an even feed foot for quilts. I had one for a while on a domestic sewing machine and all it did on leather was reduce the thickness I could sew. It didn't help move the leather. It did however stop the two layers from separating as much as would happen with a standard flat foot pressing down on the top layer.

Bottom line is yes, you can buy a mislabeled even feed foot attachment. It will not convert or upgrade your machine into a walking foot machine. It does the same work as a Teflon or roller equipped foot does.

[purplecinnamon]

9 hours ago, Wizcrafts said:

A walking foot machine has three bars coming down out of the head. One is the needle bar. The next one inline is the vibrating or alternating foot bar. The third bar is the presser foot bar. The way they work is that the material is pulled back by a combination of a moving needle, a moving alternating foot and a lifting/lowering presser foot, in coordination with the moving feed dog.

Your Brother 280 is not an industrial sewing machine. It only has a needle bar and presser bar. All of the feed is on the bottom via the teeth on the feed dog. The attachment that you think is a walking foot is really only an even feed foot for quilts. I had one for a while on a domestic sewing machine and all it did on leather was reduce the thickness I could sew. It didn't help move the leather. It did however stop the two layers from separating as much as would happen with a standard flat foot pressing down on the top layer.

Bottom line is yes, you can buy a mislabeled even feed foot attachment. It will not convert or upgrade your machine into a walking foot machine. It does the same work as a Teflon or roller equipped foot does.

Okay good to know. So if I were to get say, a Teflon foot, do I need to worry about compatibility, or are they all just the same size? And the same question goes for the needles. Would any leather needle work for me?

[Wizcrafts]

8 hours ago, purplecinnamon said:

Okay good to know. So if I were to get say, a Teflon foot, do I need to worry about compatibility, or are they all just the same size? And the same question goes for the needles. Would any leather needle work for me?

Take off your presser foot, take it to Joann Fabrics or a sewing store and compare its length and mounting bracket to those that they sell. I'm reasonably certain you will have a standard domestic machine foot. They are called low shank.

Kenmore machines use a high shank foot. These are harder to find anymore.

[mikesc]

The only "domestics" that you can get away with to sew light leather ( without the layers "slipping" ) are the Pfaff Select or Pfaff Jeans machines..they have a drop down ( presser foot bar driven, but built into the machine ) top "pulling foot"..the same design is available under the Gritzner ( various models ) name or as Silver Viscount ( beginning with the 4084, which is the equivalent of the older Pfaff select 4 models ) ) ..You can get 3oz chrome tan through them and 2 or if you are lucky and help them 3 oz oz veg tan.

They use a Pfaff system called IDT.( integrated synchronised top pulling foot that works at the same time as the lower feed dogs )

These are manual selection machines ( push button stitch ..not electronic stitch selection )..and are more expensive tan the electronic stitch selection models..I have a Silver Viscount 4084D..( I have real walking foot leather industrial machines and other industrial leather and industrial textile machines too )new they cost around $600.00 to $800.00 , used they hold their value pretty well..they are solid machines , but they still have some plastic ( nylon ) parts in their drive trains..they are used by a lot of costume makers and tech schools to teach pupils on..The older Pfaffs were made in Germany, the Gritzners too ( now they are made in Asia ), the Silver Viscounts are made in Iran..Best is an older Pfaff Select or Gritzner..or a Silver.

The walking foot attachments that I think you are looking at ? ( that attach to the presser foot bar ) are crap..sorry no other way to describe them..the "Pfaff Select system isn't perfect, but it can do light weight leather in combination with other textiles..and you get 3 step zig zag and stretch stitches etc..Ideal lingerie machines...and they can be run slowly..

HTH :)

Edited October 9, 2017 by mikesc