Working with leather... some questions

[gem]

Hey, gentles! I am looking for some tips and suggestions for a first(ish) project working with leather. What do I need to know? I've done a very small amount of leather trim/binding on projects before, and this project is soft, lightweight garment leather, so I don't expect it to be a problem for my machine.

I'm working on a recreation of Kate Beckinsale's signature ensemble from "Van Helsing:"



...And found a gorgeous leather bustier for *a song.* It's not an exact match, though, so it needs a little work.

1.) My first concern is structural. The fit is perfect, but it's a single layer of butter soft garment leather, and I'm a lot curvier than Beckinsale. I don't want the thing to crumple and wrinkle on me. There's a little bit of steel boning here and there, but there might as well not be. I'd like to reinforce what's already there. I was thinking of adding boned canvas panels in strategic places throughout, following the current seams/panels. What would be the best way to do this? I've not sewn much with leather before, and I don't want to wreck it! It wasn't expensive, but it is really lovely, and I'd hate to damage/destroy it.

2.) Second question: the studs! Where do you get them, how do you attach them? We don't have a Tandy Leather here; would I be able to get something at JoAnn/Hobby Lobby/etc? Are they easy to work with?

3.) Third question: Since the bustier isn't lined, I'm worried about dye transfer from the back of the leather onto the embroidered chemise (which *was* expensive! LOL). So I was thinking of lining it, which would work nicely with the extra boning.  I'm thinking a layer of muslin... but is there anything specific I should keep in mind?

Other tips or suggestions?

Gramercy!!

[captmarga]

I have a pro-made leather corset or three.  All are lined.  If you cannot sew TO what you have, at least make a lining that you can lace into it at the same time.  This will also protect your chemise from the studs.  Make the lining reinforced with boning so that the LINING is the support piece and the leather is the outer garment on top of it.  It should work, but is more cumbersome than a single garment made with proper boning.

Hobby Lobby carries some (as to Michaels and JoAnn) but Tandy has an online site as well.  Attachment depends on the type of stud.

Good luck!

Marga

[Rowan MacD]

  A good, heavy canvas/liner cut to fit the inside of the leather, and well boned like a corset would fix #1 and 3#.  If you make it yourself, you can customize it to do what Marga suggested, and make it to lace into the leather 'over garment' so that all the stress of 'squishing and shaping' is done entirely by the lining and not by the thin leather, which will stretch in unattractive ways.
   Tandy has websites and catalogs to order leather studs from, but they are by no means the only source for leather supplies.  Get good measurements for what you want and order them, and make sure you have the proper stud setting tool too.
   The cheater way would be to use 'Chicago screws' in ornamental designs.  These are really just rivets that screw together rather than press together permanently.  Removable too.
   http://www.eleathersupply.com/fasteners.shtml

[lady serena]

I would also recommend doing a separate corset with all of boning underneath, this way you don't have the stud bottom rubbing against you. Some garment leather rips easily, so if you do decide to sew it be careful. Tandy does have a catalog and you can order straight from their site also, they are usually really quick on getting your order out. Here is 2 site that were recommended to me for studs and spikes and the like, one site is a little more risky if you check my drift so if you have children present don't open and it will be the second one posted.

http://www.studsandspikes.com/

risky?

http://www.wwlhardware.com/

[gem]

Thanks! JoAnn and Michael's didn't have studs, but I found some (crazy expensive) 2" studded black pleather trim at JA I brought home to try. I think I still would prefer individual studs, but for the moment I can experiment a little.

So we're all thinking the same thing--it needs a properly boned canvas infrastructure. How should I do it?

--Back each panel with its own separate boned canvas panel? (This was my first idea.)

--Or--

--Copy the whole corset in canvas, sew all the canvas panels together, and then attach to the leather? (This sounds like more work.)

I guess the part I'm most nervous about is attaching the "liner" to the leather. I bought the smallest leather needles I could find, but I've heard that with the really lightweight garment leather like this, sometimes you can just use a Microtex needle. Yea or nay?

I think I'll need to topstitch from the front/leather side, so I can keep my stitches as close to the original seamlines as possible, but I'm fraught with concern that it will be hard to keep track of the location of the canvas panels beneath.

If anyone has specific suggestions for how to tackle this, I'd love to hear them!!

[mollymishap]

Hi, Gem!

My vote is for the "more work" task of creating a separate, finished, boned liner.  It may seem like more effort, but IMHO, it will be infinitely easier in the long run to secure a good fit.  The only caution I would offer is make sure that you're happy with the fit of the new liner and bodice worn together before you decide to try sewing the leather to the lining.

Also, if you're planning on using the existing holes created by the current topstitching to attach the liner, you may want to experiment with a non-leather needle, since the cutting edges of the leather needle's spear-like tip may tend to cut through the existing topstitching threads.

If I've misunderstood and you're just going to use the existing seamlines as a guide, then the leather needles are your friend!

And as to losing track of where the lining is, just use some low-tack painter's tape (experiment in an inconspicuous area first!) to "tape" the edges of the leather & liner together here and there to prevent shifting, since you can't use pins. 

OR you could bind both edges together with a strip of complimentary-colored fabric, in which case you wouldn't worry so much about making holes in the leather with pins, since it won't show in the finished garment.

Either way, I'd suggest getting a buddy to help you pin or tape the edges together while you're wearing the layers, since there may end up being a difference in thickness from one layer to the other which might throw the fit off if you just pin the edges together while they're laying flat on a table.

HTH!

[gem]

Thanks, Molly!

I've decided to make my life 100% easier and am going with the solution of... a longline bra underneath.  Don't ask me why it took me six weeks to think of this!

Still a tad concerned about the leather color rubbing off on the blouse, so I'm going to back it with some lightweight fusible interfacing. A daring test on some scraps (the bustier came with... erm... additional... pieces  ) of the original leather worked out very well. Whew!

Am undecided about the stud trim. I never did find actual studs, and I am still a little nervous about sewing on the existing garment. I'm going to finish the velvet jacket and see how everything looks together before I decide.

...Assuming I finish the velvet jacket! LOL