Tips for Sewing with Faux Leather, Fur, & Suede

Faux fabrics are great for making fashion statements, but sewing with them may seem a little daunting. However, there’s no need to shy away from making faux-tastic garments. It just takes a bit of prep work to get familiar with different techniques to find out what works best for each fabric type. We’ve gathered all of the best tips and tricks so you can get informed, gather your tools, and get straight to construction!

Here are some tools you’ll want to have handy when working with faux fabrics:

• Cutting surface
• Marking tools
• Pattern
• Faux fabric
• Press Cloths
• Clips or pattern weights
• Sharp scissors/rotary cutter (faux leather and suede)/razor knife/box cutter (faux fur)
• Universal non-stick needle and thread (faux fur and suede)
• Leather needle and heavy duty thread (faux leather)
• Walking foot
• Fusible Interfacing (faux suede)
• Lint roller/tape (faux fur)
• Wide-tooth comb (faux fur)

How to Care for All Faux Fabric:

• For all faux fabrics, it is recommended to spot clean them; alternatively you can wash on a gentle cycle and hang dry or spot dry

How to Care for Leather & Faux Suede:

• Always press leather and faux suede with a press cloth from the backside

Faux Fur:

• Remove unnecessary items from your work space so that loose fur doesn’t fall on them
• Keep a garbage can nearby to help keep your space tidy
• Use scrap fabric like fleece to clean up loose fur 
• Give your fur a good shake outside to release any loose remnants
• Clean your machine after working with fur so that it doesn’t get into the inside of the machine 

Faux Leather & Suede don’t shed and luckily don’t require any additional cleanup.

All Faux Fabric

• Trace your pattern pieces on backside 
• Use weights to keep fabric from slipping when marking or cutting
• Cut one layer at a time

Faux Fur

• Any sharp bladed tools from “material suggested” can be used to cut the backing, but we strongly recommend a box-cutter
• Make small snips when cutting the backing, making sure not to cut the fur pile to avoid any fur inconsistencies (especially near the seam edges)
• Comb fur to face its natural direction and cut all pieces to match the same direction
• Once it’s cut, gently separate the pieces to keep the fur intact
• Use a lint roller or sticky/wide tape to gather any loose fur piles from the cut edges

Leather & Suede

• Cut with rotary cutter 
• Cut on cross grain (faux suede)

All Faux Fabric

• A standard needle and thread (faux fur and suede) with a lengthened straight or zigzag stitch and a walking foot will work with most 
• Test stitching on a scrap of similar material
• If you experience skipped stitches, try different needle sizes and point types

Faux Fur 

• Comb fur often, seam by seam (it’s much easier to comb as you go rather than combing in bulk) and 
• Use a pin to pick any fur out that gets caught in the seams

Faux Leather

• Use heavy duty thread
• Teflon Foot (so the leather won’t stick), or walking foot
  • You can lay down a layer of wax/parchment paper if you don’t have one
• Thin faux leather with mesh backing sews well
• Leather needles, as well as denim needles work well when sewing faux leather
• Do not back stitch when sewing leather (leave ends long and tie off when done)
• Sew leather with care- if you try to remove the stitches there will be holes and you’ll need to use a new piece

Faux Suede

• Keep designs simple avoiding details like darts
  • Need a dart? On the wrong side of fabric use a small circle of fusible interfacing at the dart point and stitch then top-stitch dart to keep it flat
• While stitching, hold fabric taut to avoid wrinkles
• Stabilize high-stress seam areas with interfacing 

All Faux Fabric

• Practice sewing with similar fabric before tackling a big project
• Thrifted faux fabrics from a remnants bin will be cost effective and will still give you room to practice

With the help of our tips, you’ll be able to design faux garments with ease, whether you want a full-on faux ensemble or are looking to spruce things up using faux details. Have a faux-bia, thinking that they’re tricky to work with? Our tips and tricks that will make everything so much easier! Are you going to make a jacket with a faux fur collar or something a little more edgy like a faux leather jacket?