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[TManning74]

Hello all, I am just starting up my own upholstery business and have some experience working in a plant. I have worked with both vinyl and fabric and feel comfortable sewing and upholstering those materials. One thing I have not worked with is leather and this is already causing me to turn down jobs. Ultimately I would like to sew and upholster my own leather material, but for now, what do you think about ordering from leatherseats.com and only doing the installing? Has anyone worked with their products? Is it a straight installation process? Thanks in advance for any help you can provide in this regard.

Tim M

[Hope Komla]

What I can say is it's the same idea for sewing vinyl and fabric that is used in sewing leather.
It just requires lots of precision and care not to damage the work.
But one thing is for sure,you need to start! : You may make mistakes but that's the experience.
So get it on and push the pedal. It would come good!

[John]

Yep exactly what @Hope Komla said! I know the feeling and I was nervous my first time working with leather too. When I finally gave it a shot I was very surprised how similar it was to working with quality vinyls. As long as you buy automotive grade leather you will be fine. Its just a lot more expensive than other materials.

As for leatherseats.com I have never used them.... Some people like premade covers some people hate them....

[TManning74]

Thank you for your advice and response @Hope Komla and @John. I know I need to start working with it, I just don’t feel comfortable using a customers stuff just starting out. I guess I am just going to have to find some of my own stuff to work on first. Looks like we are getting a new leather seat for the living room.

[IvanD]

@TManning74
You can get upholstery leather from eBay for $100/hyde. Not that much more expensive comparing to vinyl. Don't know, but me personally (and I am DIY - not for business) - I like working with leather much much better.

I ordered sample of "NappaTek" from Relicate and was really impressed with feel of it. That material would be my go to choice if I wanted to work with vynil. But it's expensive! I will get it for my next project (motorcycle seat) though.

So, my LX470 interior I did holds up pretty good after 1 year of use, and I paid $330 for 3 hydes I used on it.

I am not saying you should go with ebay as a material source as it's a gamble and no way to get exactly what you need (color/texture). But for trying out - it's a best way to go IMO.

Price gap is huge.
$100 - eBay
$220-250 - many sources. All samples I was getting were dry, very hard.
$600-800 - good stuff. Even after doing 1 interior already and feeling confident - I still probably wouldn't get this kind of material for next project..

[TManning74]

Hmmm, thanks for the information @IvanD, you gave me a number of things to look at. I will certainly look into it. I do have a good supplier for leather and other fabric for customers, but EBay sounds like a less expensive choice for my own learning projects. Thanks again.