Why Choose the Leatherwork® Sewing Machine?

Sewing leather can seem like a daunting task, especially when faced with large, complex industrial sewing machines and not enough instructional materials. Here at Sailrite®, we’ve noticed a gap in the leather sewing machine industry. No machine existed that was geared toward beginners and seasoned leather crafters alike and could expertly sew leather in a compact design. On top of this, many machines were too large, too intimidating, and lacked instructional materials and customer support. The experts at Sailrite decided to fill that void. That's why we created the Leatherwork. Based on our world-renowned, portable and powerful Ultrafeed® Sewing Machine, the Leatherwork is perfect for the expert and novice leatherworker.

Designed With You in Mind

With the Leatherwork Sewing Machine, we’ve taken the intimidation out of sewing leather! We didn’t want to go the same route that others have chosen by creating a complex industrial machine. These machines can make you feel like you have to be an expert sewer just to be able to operate them. That’s where the Leatherwork comes in. Our goal when creating the Leatherwork was to design a no-nonsense, quality machine that felt comfortable and approachable for everyone — from beginners to professionals. We wanted to create a machine that was compact, easy to use, and had a plethora of helpful materials and top-of-the-line customer support. That way, anyone and everyone interested in sewing leather could reap its benefits! Allow us to explain why the Leatherwork is the machine for you by discussing its compact, space-saving setup design, ease of use, incredible instructions, great customer support and much more.

What Can I Sew?

With a 3/8-inch presser foot lift, the Leatherwork beautifully handles leather up to 16 ounces and 1/4-inch total thickness. This includes materials like upholstery leather, suede, veg tan leather, garment leather, belt leather, hair on hides, bridle leather and more! But that’s not all. It can also sew other materials like canvas, upholstery fabric, denim, vinyl, waxed canvas and much more with a few small adjustments.

Compact Crafting

The Leatherwork Sewing Machine satisfies a unique need in the leatherworking community — a machine powerful enough to sew leather in a compact, easy-to-use setup. Instead of a large industrial setup, beginner and expert leather crafters can use the compact Leatherwork to sew a wide variety of leather projects including bags, wallets, belts, harnesses and more. Instead of a full-size industrial machine that takes up a lot of room, the Leatherwork’s stationary table setup is conveniently small without losing the power of an industrial machine.

The machine head sits in a custom lacquered wooden tabletop. This tabletop is affixed to sturdy steel legs for the most secure sewing setup. We’ve designed this machine and tabletop assembly to be smaller than traditional industrial machines, allowing you to enjoy a stationary workspace that doesn’t take up too much room in your workshop, garage or home. You can easily move it around your space as needed while still enjoying the benefits of a stable and comfortable workstation.

All the power for leatherwork in a compact, easy-to-maneuver setup.

Slow & Steady

In addition to its compact size, the Leatherwork is also incredibly user-friendly. Ease of use is a critical feature for both novice and seasoned DIYers when sewing. The Leatherwork excels in this area thanks to its superior speed versatility. Sewing leather often requires slow, precise stitching, so we’ve added a built-in speed reducer to create a machine that can go super slow without sacrificing power. This feature makes all the difference when sewing tough assemblies or working on detailed stitches. It’s also part of what makes the Leatherwork the perfect machine for sewers of any skill level. We’ll explain more in the “Experience Full Power & Control” section of this blog. Our comprehensive guidebook, customer service and one-on-one support are even more reasons to choose a Leatherwork Sewing Machine for your leather crafting needs.

Sew With Confidence

Mistakes in leather can be costly. Sewing leather leaves permanent holes in your assemblies, potentially ruining your entire project. That’s why it’s so important to be able to sew with total control and accuracy. Not only that, but many beginner crafters feel more comfortable taking things at a slow pace until they’re ready to sew at faster speeds. To make every stitch count, the Leatherwork has been outfitted with a built-in speed reducer for slow, precise stitch-by-stitch power.

You’ll notice we’ve designed an interchangeable leather/delicate presser foot set and feed dog with knurled teeth that evenly sew leather without marring the surface. Additional smooth-bottom feet and feed dogs are offered at Sailrite to sew the most delicate surfaces. Combine this with the Leatherwork’s walking foot feeding mechanism and you will have no problem sewing difficult assemblies with varying thicknesses. Because a walking foot mechanism will grab and feed all the layers of your assembly evenly, you won’t have to worry about your project shifting or some layers not being properly sewn. The unique movement of a walking foot raises higher than other feeding mechanisms, which allows it to climb up multiple layers of material with ease.

The Leatherwork can expertly sew leather, upholstery, canvas, denim, vinyl, waxed canvas and more. The special knurled presser feet that come standard on the Leatherwork can also be used to sew other materials including canvas and upholstery fabric. However, all Ultrafeed feet and feed dogs are also compatible with the Leatherwork. This means that if you are sewing large canvas assemblies you can switch the feet to achieve better feeding than with the knurled feet.

In fact, the accessories on our site that are compatible with the Ultrafeed® LS Sewing Machine will fit this machine. This includes products like our magnetic sewing guides, binder attachments, specialty feet and more!

Using accessories is easy with the Leatherwork.

A portrait of power and precision, the Leatherwork is a machine built to last. The strong, cast-iron machine head is truly exceptional. Both the casting and the internal components have been carefully designed by Sailrite to create a more robust machine that never skimps on quality. Made with longevity in mind, these molds are used exclusively for our machine production. The external and internal components are manufactured using only the highest quality materials for top-notch performance.

The superior, all-metal internal components of the machine.

Experience Full Power & Control

Slow speed power and control come standard on the Leatherwork, in part thanks to the oversized Sailrite® Power Plus® Balance Wheel. This feature, combined with our Workhorse® Servo Motor, allows you to sew thick assemblies without losing power or precision. The Workhorse is paired with a set of cogged belts to power the machine in conjunction with a pulley drive system. The pulley drive system functions as the built-in speed reducer on the underside of the machine tabletop. Think of it like how a pulley system can help lift a heavy object — the pulley drive system on the Leatherwork enhances low speed torque. All in all, the Workhorse, Power Plus Balance Wheel, two-belt drive system and built-in speed reducer work together to ensure the machine has precise, controlled stitching abilities. These features also provide the machine immense power so the needle can effortlessly pierce leather.

Another great feature of the Leatherwork machine is our patented Posi-Pin® Safety Shear (Patent #7438009). The Posi-Pin is designed to protect your machine's internal components from damage when a crash occurs. When you hit a metal snap or zipper, the sacrificial Posi-Pin will break at its shear point and the machine will stop operating to prevent potential damage and timing issues. Simply replace the pin, install a new needle and get back to sewing with no retiming or tuning required.

The Workhorse Servo Motor is a Sailrite exclusive and gives the Leatherwork a boost of control and stitching power. This 550 watt, 3/4 horsepower servo motor is intended for continuous use on industrial sewing machines. It’s a quiet, energy-saving motor featuring a 12 coil design for smooth motor rotation and a fluid motor to machine power transfer. A brushless motor, the Workhorse provides high torque even from a complete stop! It has adjustable speed settings, meaning that you can stitch at speeds anywhere from 44 up to 412 stitches per minute. When paired with our oversized balance wheel and cogged timing belts, you’ll get a machine that can tackle leather crafting projects with ease.

Simplified Sewing

The Leatherwork is packed with special features that set it apart from other machines on the market. You’ll experience more even stitch lengths and simple length adjustments with the patented EZ Set™ Stitch Length Plate (Patent #6499415, Claim 20). In a nutshell, this handy mechanism allows you to sew up to 6mm stitches in forward and reverse. Its easy stitch length adjustment consists of simply loosening the two thumb screws located to the right of the lever. The spring loaded lever makes controlling your adjustments fast and easy.

Support Comes Standard at Sailrite

When you choose a Leatherwork machine, we’re here to help every step of the way. To ensure machine quality and operational efficiency before it even reaches you, every Leatherwork is assembled, tested and fine-tuned at our Indiana manufacturing facility by trained Sailrite technicians. Our technicians undergo a complex process of steps to build machines from worldwide sourced parts and components. After a thorough build and inspection process, each machine is tested by a technician who sews a sample of leather to check machine quality and operation. A hand-signed tag is added to signify that the machine was inspected, built and tested at our facility.

A seasoned technician assembles every Leatherwork machine before it reaches you.

To help you set up and maintain your sewing machine, each machine includes an in-depth guidebook with detailed photos outlining setup and use of your machine, maintenance and troubleshooting, as well as detailed parts schematics. You can also access Sailrite’s collection of free tutorial videos and instructional content on our website at any time for guidance or project inspiration. We make the assembly and setup process as approachable as possible!

At Sailrite, we are committed to helping you get the most out of your Leatherwork machine. Throughout the lifetime of your machine, you’ll receive personalized support from the experts at Sailrite. Our specialists will help you service your machine by providing one-on-one support, in-depth videos and a two-year limited warranty. And if you ever find yourself in need of replacement parts, we have them in stock and ready to ship out to you. And if all else fails, you can always send your machine back to us for repairs.

What’s Included?

Your Leatherwork Package Includes:

• Sailrite® Leatherwork® Sewing Machine
• Steel legs and frame with foot treadle
• Wooden tabletop
• Power Plus® Balance Wheel
• Sailrite® Workhorse® Servo Motor and speed reducer
• EZ Set™ Stitch Length Plate
• Magnetic LED Light
• White polyester #92 thread
• Size #18 and #20 leather needles
• Comprehensive guidebook
• Two-year limited warranty

In Conclusion

As you can see, the Leatherwork Sewing Machine is specially designed for the novice and avid leatherworker, as well those wanting to sew denim, canvas, waxed canvas and upholstery fabrics with a reasonably priced, compact setup. When you buy a Leatherwork machine, you don’t just get a sewing machine, you become part of the Sailrite family. We stand by our products and offer the best customer support in the industry. The excellence found in the Leatherwork can also be found in all the products and instructional videos on our site.