Right now, and continuing into next year, leather is all over the runways and stores. And why not? It's sensuous; it's edgy, and it's fun. And once you get used to it, it is surprisingly easy and rewarding to work with (see My Post on Working With Leather/HotPatterns Homage Tote for some hints and how-tos).
My travels take me to New York on a pretty regular basis, and I have three favorite sources there for leather. When I need a skin for a project, my first stop is Leather Suede Skins. Lambskin, cowhides, exotics, embossed, printed, and furs of various sorts are arrayed in an almost dizzying manner. The store is small, and the owners are incredibly knowledgeable and helpful. Alla (one of the owners) is particularly great to work with. If you can't get to the store in person, you can order color cards from them, which give you a great idea of their inventory. They also have a small but impressive selection of leather straps, trims and braids. If you only have time for one leather store on a trip to New York, this is the one I would send you to.
Leather Suede Skins
261 West 35th St. 11th Floor
New York, NY 10001
212-967-6616
My other fave-rave in the Garment District is Leather Impact. This ground-level storefront is cavernous in size, with a great assortment of all types of skins, including full hides hanging up on one wall. They have one of the larger selections of metallic skins (so hot right now) that I have seen. They also have the best selection of strapping, both beveled/stitched and plain, that I have seen anywhere. I bought some great leather strapping for handbags in several colors here.
Leather Impact
256 West 38th St. Ground Level
New York, NY 10018
212-302-2332
Another very good leather store is Global Leathers. I have to admit, this is the one I use the least, but not for any bad reasons: I just seem to find what I need at the other two. But they have an enormous assortment of all types of leathers, from garment weight to upholstery weight. The store is large and packed, one might say cramped. The selection is excellent.
Global Leathers
253 West 35th St. 9th Floor
New York, NY 10001
212-244-5190
One thing to note is that these stores are open Monday-Friday 9-5. (Global may be open Saturday).
Several other fabric stores in the Garment District carry leather skins as well. Mood and B&J are just two examples. But these three stores specialize in leather of all types, and can get you what you need to make your leather project perfection!
Happy Sewing!
12 comments:
Thank you for the leather sources. The local leather shop here is no longer (owners retired??). Even so, they had more of the heavy leathers, more suitable for belts, billfolds, saddles, etc. although they would do special orders. I'm pretty sure I never saw pink/turquoise/purple in the place.
Wow. thanks for posting this. I've stayed away from leather because I've been intimidated by how to choose it. With such a large selection, how do you know what's best for your purpose?
Very timely! Thank you. Fabulous shot. Boy, sometimes when I see these interior photos of the East Coast stores it really makes being stuck in this midwest town more onerous.
Thanks for the tips! I WISH I could go to New York City and shop! That would so cool. I'll shop online when I finally get to sew what I want to...
What is the average price of one of these? I haven't a clue
Thank you so much for this info. Would love to sink my needles into a metallic leather.
Timely is an understatement! Thanks for the link with the helpful tips, I'll be saving that one for sure. I'll be placing my amicale order tomorrow, too!
I love Leather, Suede, Skins, too! What they've got that really sets them apart is the leather trims, flowers, and distressed leathers. Also, they examine pieces for damage or imperfections that may affect how you will need to cut the leather, and adjust the prices appropriately to account for it. Being on a high floor with a buzz-in system can be intimidating, though, but the owners are actually very warm people if you engage them in conversation.
I had a great first-time experience in August with Leather & Suede Skins, too. They treated me like family -- guiding me around their store and letting me handle anything I wanted. The selection was wonderful. Another commentor asked about price -- its based on size, but I think I purchased six pieces for about $40 each, and they were slightly smaller than a square yard, less the natural animal curves. I'm sorry I don't know how the leather measuring system works yet.
I had wanted to sew with leather for years but always hesistated, and finally with encouragement from Ann took the plunge. She's right; it's surprisngly easy to sew if you choose a supple leather like lambskin for a first project. Lamskin can be sewn on a home sewing machine and all you need is a leather needle (Schmetz makes them) and a teflon foot, which you can buy readymade for any machine or you can just glue a piece of teflon onto a regular stitch stitch foot.
Ann - this is an incredibly timely post as I plan to go to NYC in the next few weeks to buy leather for gloves. This is *exactly* what I needed, so thank you.
I haven't had any particular urge to sew leather even with it being so important this season but just looking at all that color makes me want to consider it at least. Thanks Ann!
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