Upholstery Leather

[MsNomer]

I need a source for high quality upholstery leather.  I want to reupholster the seat of an oak rocker that has been in the family for more than 100 years (original leather, I think), and hopefully will be around another 100.

Thanks.

[Cooler]

There are plenty of vendors on line.  Make sure it is upholstery leather.  Garment leather will not stand up. 

How do you plan to sew this stuff.  Your home sewing machine will work with the light gage garment leather, but will stall or slip (an expensive replair) with upholstery leather.

If it is just the corners you can easily saddle stitch those (by hand).  It will take a solid 5 to 10 minutes per corner to hand stitch these if you are working as a novice.  I've done some of this work and you can achieve perfectly professional results this way and it is much, much stronger than machine stitching.

Also on the foam padding,  if you cut the edges at a 45 degree angle and place the narrower side on the chair then as you stretch the leather over the seat it will gently fold over into a perfect radius.  

I would staple muslin over the foam first and then fit the leather.  It will make it easier to get a smooth surface that way.

I have not  used these folks but they only sell upholstery leather so they are worth a look:  http://www.carrollleather.com/

And here is the Google search.  https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=ch...%20leather

[MsNomer]

No sewing, or I wouldn't think about attempting it. The seat leather is tacked to the frame over springs that appear to still be good. The underlying straps need replacing. I assume I will replace the horsehair but I am reluctant. It appears to still be good, also.

Thanks for the link.

[Robert Adams]

Look in the phone book (I'm mean google) for for an automotive  upholstery supplier. They have or can get pretty much anything. The one I go to often has leftovers of material for mercs  beamers etc.

[Cooler]

Saddle stitching short lengths (like the corners of a chair) is exceedingly easy and only requires these items:

• 2 saddle stitching needles
  
• 1 spool of waxed thread
  
• 1 awl to poke the holes in the leather
  
• Rubber cement to hold the seam in place while you are stitching or a clamp or vice like in the video.
  

This video (2 minutes) shows the operation.  The holes were pre-punched for the video.  A leather awl makes fast work of making the holes and the spacing need not be perfect as it is a hidden seam.

It is also a good technique to have when an expensive leather garment or pocket book develops a split seam.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLa3ehDCUi0

[MsNomer]

I had not contemplated an auto upholsterer. We have an excellent local one.  Thanks.

[Steve N]

Carolyn this place is in Waynesville Ohio which is an antiques paradise. They have 2 store locations there a few blocks apart. One is straight fabrics, the other more into trade fabrics for drapes, upholstery, and heavier goods. I know they ship as My SIL in California bought a bunch of fabric for redecorating. The page I am linking has what they term "Faux leather" they can get you whatever you want, but they only stock the "faux". It's more serviceable, much less cost, and often has wear warranties (try to get that with leather). LOML has used it, and I couldn't tell the difference between it and a real cow. When the SIL did it it was over a few months of them sending samples, and her calling back to either buy, or have them send more. She said the local place was 5 x the price, and the Woman who owned it was a witch. She said the people at the fabric shack, were just plain homey Ohio who never got tired of trying to please her.

If only cow will do, the biggest show is probably going to be Tandy leather


I had a thought after I posted. One of the Ladies at the Fabric shack had said if you find it on a bolt, like material, it's going to be "faux". If it's leather it will always be a hump, like Tandy has. Hump = complete cow hide.

[Cooler]

Tandy Leather used to be owned by Radio Shack (or vice versa).  They sell mostly hobby grade materials.  They had their own stores and were convenient sources but you can probably get upholstery-specific leather of higher quality from other on-line sources.

If you want to go really, really first class, Rolls Royce uses Connolly Leather hides and they are available in the USA:

http://connollyusa.com/