Singer HD: Can It Sew Leather?

[@DustinMcMullen-h3r]

What I saw when you sewed the thick piece of leather is the ability to sew multiple layers of thinner leather. I made a jacket, hand sewn, out of tooling leather, which is similar to the leather you used to make the scissors sheath. To sew the front cargo pockets onto the body of the jacket I was having to push the needle through three layers, which approached or maybe even exceeded the thickness of that thick leather you had. By hand, I have to punch the holes in each piece separately first, then run the needle through all of them to make it one thing. With the machine I could have sewn all three pieces together without the extra step of punching the holes first.

[@ivividly]

I’ve had this machine a few months. I sewed a rather thick seamed bulky vinyl bag with corduroy straps and pockets. It copes. The Teflon foot was marvellous for the vinyl and this whole project. I really pushed it to the limits but was pretty impressed - for the small price tag it does so well in my opinion.

[@dang.erzone2688]

What kind of thread did you use?

[@Lapeerphoto]

"Not That".... heavy duty! LOL Good one Jason!

[@bubba7531]

Informative video. I just rec'd my 4452. I am very pleased with the control of speed and sensitivity of the foot pedal. I purchased the machine as a replacement. My daughter makes costumes. But I tool leather. I will use the machine to make apple watch bands and others. Once I save up the purchase price I will be getting a Sailrite Leatherwork sewing machine. But until then I shall enjoy the 4452. Thank you for taking the time to produce this video and share your skills with us all.

[@DFELT22]

Thanks for sharing. It seems like it will be perfect for light leather shoe uppers. Those are all flat lines and thin leather or soft fluffy foam and thin leather

[@andrewb9590]

I just got a machine from this “heavy duty” line. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences. I agree that this Singer is not up to the tasks that my Juki walking foot will do, but it is better than the lightweight “consumer-level” machines that now have a lot of plastic parts in the driveline, unlike older machines that are all metal.

[@thejasonofalltrades]

Thanks Andrew! I agree that the HD has been more capable that I was expecting. It is, however, FULL of plastic gears. Honestly, I'm not 100% sure but I strongly suspect that it is identical to many of Singer's non-HD machines with a slightly more powerful motor. As this series progresses, I intend to try to confirm that with a direct comparison. But, my opinion on this machine has definitely shifted already, and if it doesn't break unexpectedly, I might even keep using it from time-to-time! Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@andrewb9590]

@@thejasonofalltrades huh. Guess I was misinformed… I took it from the thrift shop where I got it, to be serviced but didn’t look under the hood. I just kinda assumed. Shame on me. Lol

[@dongraham7881]

The Singer HD series is a great machine. Thin garment leather it's fine with. A home machine is equipped with the wrong presser feet for leather in general anyway. You can easily leave the print of the feed dog feet in your project. A walking foot machine with leather presser feet and leather feed dogs is the best and easiest to work with. BTW I love my HD4423 Singer.

[@Madshadowgolem]

The teflon foot is just to keep from damaging the leather. I have used the "walking foot" on this singer. It definitly helps but it will never be close to as good as a real walking foot machine.

[@robinbebbington7063]

Adding the walking foot may be worthwhile to see what effect it has on feeding material or leather in this case.

[@thejasonofalltrades]

Hi! I was prepared to put it on if needed, but for the limited applications I tested in this video, the machine fed the material fine with the standard foot and the teflon foot. The exception of course being the folded sample, and based on my previous experience with the Singer "walking foot attachment," I would not expect it to make a difference. I may have to re-do that test and if it makes a substantial difference mention it in a later video. Thanks for the suggestion and thanks for watching!

[@oakridgereview1359]

You’re truly a man of the people… Thank You 🙏

[@jharbo1]

Have you tried to use the HD Singer to hem heavy denim jeans? At the welted side seam, there would be 12 (4 layers at the seam folded under twice) layers of denim and thicker thread used in sewing jeans. The machine is reasonably priced enough to buy just to make denim clothing. Denim is worsted and has a pretty high thread count. I would love to make my jeans, and I have vintage Calvin Klein jean patterns.

[@thejasonofalltrades]

I haven't, but I have a bunch of scrap jeans pieces, so maybe I can work that into a video soon. Thanks for asking!

[@chucklenz9011]

I have a Sailrite Fabricator and I’ve sewn material to 1/4 inch plywood. It’s important to understand you must use the appropriate needle to be successful. And it didn’t cry or do any thing inappropriate while doing this.

[@joshuasasfire2759]

Plywood?!

[@gregspurrier]

I’ve been enjoying this series. I’m relatively new to this and have a Janome HD5000 which I assume is roughly equivalent to the Singer HD In capability. These videos have been good for expectation setting and also confidence boosting/inspiring in terms of “I should go ahead and give that a try”. I’m also glad your Sailrite LS made an appearance. It’s my current aspirational “someday”machine and it’s nice to see the comparison. I hope you’ll do more side by side demos with it in the future!

[@Nore-pp2vz]

❤ great video

[@ShaneB666]

Just out of curiosity l would of liked to see the tension pattern on each side of that thick piece leather. I’m impressed it even went through it.

[@thejasonofalltrades]

Hi Shane! Good point, I should have shown that. It was actually fine, though. I was very surprised that it sewed that piece as well as it did, although I was pretty nervous about how it was sounding; if I break the machine, I want to do it fairly, and that was a pretty unfair test to be honest! Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@rachel0130]

Very helpful video, thank you

[@ElecDashTronDotOrg]

Have you tried using the walking foot attachment? Mine came with one and great for thick materials

[@thejasonofalltrades]

Hi! I did a whole video on the walking-foot attachment, and I came away quite unimpressed. The machine performed quite well without it in this case, so I didn't have a reason to put it on in this video. For the record, the "walking-foot" attachment (I think Singer calls it an "even feed" foot) is really more for keeping layers of fabrics "in synch" as they are being sewn, as in quilting. With a drop-feed machine, sometimes the feed dogs on the bottom push the bottom layer(s) of fabric while the presser foot holds the top layer(s), preventing the top layer(s) from moving as much, and they aren't kept in alignment. A true walking-foot sewing machine generally does the same thing, but in a different way that also makes it excel at overcoming larger changes in thickness and other feeding challenges. They're pretty different from one another in practice. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@BabetteFarland]

JW...what HD model are you using? Are all the Singer HD machine models the same? Looking at the HD 4452 to buy for an upholstery job. 🤔

[@thejasonofalltrades]

There are two versions of this machine, a 23-stitch and a 32-stitch (I'm pretty sure those are the right stitch counts, going from memory). So, a 4423 is a 23-stitch, 4432 is a 32-stitch, I think. In all other ways, the Heavy Duty models are identical, and the model numbers basically only describe what accessories come with them. Mine is a 6360, and I chose it because it came with the extension table, teflon foot and "walking foot attachment." Otherwise it could be any other Heavy Duty machine, they're really all essentially the same (or the same two, I guess). I also don't know that I would recommend this machine for upholstery, depending upon what you mean by "upholstery." If you're recovering some dining room chair cushions, sure; if you're reupholstering a sofa, I don't think so. I have grown to love my HD machine, but it is still a household machine, not an industrial. I hope that helps, thanks for watching!

[@AfricanLitany]

Thanks for the video. I came to see what stich length to use. What tension and stitch length

[@thejasonofalltrades]

Hi! Both tension and stitch length are variables that will change depending on several factors. Generally, thicker fabrics (or leathers) will require a longer stitch length, and to some extent stitch length is also a cosmetic thing. Tension needs to be adjusted to have the knot where the two threads intersect be buried inside the material being sewn. This will be impacted by the thread thickness, needle size, and material being sewn. So far in my limited experience with the Singer HD, I've had the tension adjustment cranked all the way up the entire time, and other than failing to achieve proper tension with certain webbing, it's been great in all the materials I've sewn. I hope that helps, thanks for watching!

[@anubi13]

First of all thank you for the video. I bought that machine but have only messed with it once and was having trouble with the thread more than the piercing of leather. Could you please tell me what thread and needle were you using for the one you sew 2mm to the other thinner leather and made the scissor's cover? Using same thread for top and bottom? If you could link needle and thread I'd be great full. Thank you again.

[@thejasonofalltrades]

Hi! In this video, I used a size 90 leather sewing needle, and size V69 bonded nylon thread on top and in the bobbin. I don't have links, but the needle is commonly available anywhere home sewing machine needles are sold, and I usually order my thread from The Thread Exchange. Regarding needle and thread size, if you don't already know; the method is to select your thread based on the fabric/material being sewn, then choose the needle that best matches that thread. There is some overlap in all of these choices, but that is the best order of priority. I hope that helps, thanks for watching!

[@deltacx1059]

Most electric motors start best when you stomp it, thats why priducts like fans always have the highest position between the off and the other positions.

[@thejasonofalltrades]

Good point, unfortunately that can also be a great way to break needles lol!

[@deltacx1059]

@@thejasonofalltrades definitely need a beefy needle, if anything it just tells you the machine isn't as much of a bottleneck as the needle is. Do you have any good videos on needles?

[@CharlesRedding-k1y]

As always great content!

[@charlesworton4020]

A few years ago, I purchased a Singer Heavy Duty machine with the intention of sewing sails. I have the impression that the machine would be capable enough to accomplish that task, but it would be interesting to see you pick up some actual sailcloth and sew it. People usually recommend the sailright machine, but the Singer is 10% of the cost. Will it sew sails?

[@thejasonofalltrades]

Hi Charles! I actually have some sailcloth (Dacron) lying around my shop, I think. I'll try to work that in to a video. My hunch is the HD might be fine for sewing in a patch or something that isn't too many layers, I'm not sure how far beyond that it might go. I made a tote bag out of that Dacron a few years ago, and there were some spots my industrial walking-foot machine struggled with, but that was quite a few layers. Thanks for the question, and thanks for watching!

[@James-hw2zg]

It's weird that your shovel doesn't dig as well as a backhoe

[@matthewfarrell317]

To be fair on the singer, it is more a prosumer model, a step up from the entry level models, and a step down from the more professional models. I dont know very many people who confuse these with commerical or professional models. Unless they are lied to by sales people. Also that sailrite is what 4 or 5 times the cost of the singer. Id expect it to outperform. That said, i was looking at sewing alcantara, and this answered my question. From the spec sheet, its 0.8mm thick (i think 1/32). Was wondering if the singer would manage, does vinyl well. I think i woukd have a max 3 layers at some points, which is thinner than the 1/8 you just sewed. I think it would handle that for small amounts. Going to be interesting....as i cannot afford a juki or sailrite. Also curious, you were talking about walking foot models.... why didnt you use the singer walking foot? I have found it works ok.

[@cleanimagecarpets]

new to the sewing world... how to you get the thread to look like its spaced out on the leather every time I sew leather it looks like it is continuous.

[@ahmetbinbir894]

Hello. I am considering buying this machine. When sewing the side pockets of the fillet zippered tracksuits, is it a problem that I have difficulty in sewing or not being able to sew due to the layer thicknesses?

[@MaybloomMay]

Thanks for the great review And I've a question What kind of thread should be used for sewing leather I know that waxed thread is used for handmade sewing But will it work with machines??

[@thejasonofalltrades]

I have typically used bonded nylon, usually size V69 (my go-to thread), sometimes I use size V92. I've never used waxed thread, my hunch is that it is not compatible with machine sewing but I can't say for sure. My leather sewing experience is limited to making bags, so if you're doing something like horse tack or gun leather I don't have much info to offer, I'm afraid. But if you're sewing softer, thinner leather to make wallets, bags, etc., bonded nylon works fine. I hope that helps!

[@LoveLee-jz1tj]

Thank you

[@gregpruitt1647]

What kind of thread are you using in this video? I could not quite make out what you said.

[@thejasonofalltrades]

Hi! Bonded nylon thread in size V69 (aka T70). I use that thread for 99% of my sewing. Thanks for watching!

[@get2craft]

I'm looking for a machine that is durable, will last long, NO screen/lcd or any other unnecessary electronics (they break, i don't need them, just want simple), has automatic needle-threader, has top-loading bobbin and uses plastic class-15 bobbins. Has all the basic stitches and stretch-stitch for elastics. I'm considering Singer Heavy Duty 4452, as I will need to sew through leather and jeans occasionally. But I heard Singers break a lot (local sewing repair shop told me). Any suggestions pretty please?

[@thejasonofalltrades]

Hi! The idea that the Singer Heavy Duty machines, in particular, are prone to breakage is what kept me away from them for many years. I can't speak for all of them, but this one has stood up to a year of reasonably hard use, and has performed FAR better than I expected. I have no idea what the long-term future holds for this machine, but based on my experience, I would definitely recommend it, it sounds like it hits all of your needs. In case you haven't seen other videos in this series where I talk about this, the Singer Heavy Duty machines essentially come in two flavors, a 23-stitch and a 32-stitch. In all other ways, they are identical (I'm leaving the computerized ones aside, here). The different model numbers appear to only identify the accessories that the machine comes with. So, I wouldn't get hung up on model numbers, just pick a package that has the accessories that best work for you. I hope that helps, thanks for watching!

[@get2craft]

​@@thejasonofalltrades thank you so much for your reply! i like the amount of different stitches on 4452 model, however, I'm also very intrigued by the amount of stitches on the 6800c model, but it's a computerized machine, and i've heard warnings against those. would love to hear your opinion on computerized vs mechanical HD machines (Singer) as well as Janome HD1000

[@RonnyOlufsen]

Very interesting! 😀👍

[@kada945]

Hello! What size of sewing needles didi you use? 100/16 for leather?

[@thejasonofalltrades]

Hi! I used whatever needle was already in the machine, I think it was a size 90 or 100, but not a leather needle.

[@jrgmty7685]

Thanks for showing this. I think it's not worth the risk of damaging the machines sewing something so thick. Do you think the antique 1900s style Singer can sew leather that's not too thick. Maybe a wallet or purse.

[@thejasonofalltrades]

Antique machines will definitely sew thinner, softer leathers (as will virtually ANY sewing machine). You can definitely get away with trying thicker stuff with something like, say, a 15-91 (all metal, pinned shaft so can't go out of time). You'll break needles before anything else. (I suppose there could be a risk of stripping the gear in the direct-drive system on that machine, too.) Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@jrgmty7685]

@@thejasonofalltrades thank you 👍

[@brocwavra8813]

How many layers of leather does it sew?

[@thejasonofalltrades]

There is not a simple answer to your question, because it greatly depends on how thick the leather is, how tough the leather is, etc. My general advice is; if you want to add a simple leather accent to a fabric construction, make a simple wallet out of a softer, thinner leather, and that kind of thing, a machine like this is fine. If you are wanting to do actual leatherwork, you should probably be looking at a leather-specific machine, which is considerably more expensive than most sewing machines. Lightweight leathers in reasonable layer counts and thicknesses is not a big deal for standard machines to sew. I hope that helps!

[@petadang]

Is this the 4411 model?

[@thejasonofalltrades]

Mine is the 6360M, but they are all essentially the same machine. There are two variants, one with 23 stitches and the other with 32, otherwise the only difference between the different model numbers is which accessories they come with. I hope that helps, thanks for watching!

[@TammyLeeW]

😮😮😮 leather needle helps but it’s not a leather sewing machine. Nice job 👍🏼

[@qqqcoal2678]

which model is this

[@thejasonofalltrades]

Hi! This one is the best 6360M. To a large extent, the model is irrelevant; there appear to be 2 basic platforms, a 23-stitch and a 32-stitch, otherwise they appear to be exactly the same. The model numbers seem to mostly describe what accessories are included. I chose this model because of the price, and it included the extension table and a couple of feet I wanted to experiment with (teflon and even-feed). I have a whole playlist devoted to the evaluation of this machine, and more to come. I hope that helps, thanks for watching!

[@tommygamba170]

Which model number?

[@thejasonofalltrades]

Mine is a 6360M. You might want to check out my first couple of videos in this series; in terms of performance, there is absolutely zero difference between the many different model numbers of Singer's Heavy Duty line. The model numbers primarily describe what accessories come with the machines.

[@debraclogston9379]

Customized the Singer already. Your walking foot machine has one snappy case! Know anybody who needs a Union Special serger? I can't figure out how to thread the thing. The guy I bought it from turned into a turtle.[ He disappears whenever I call.]

[@edwardlucas8333]

I'm shocked I'm a positive way

[@WV591]

if only 44s had speed control and needle up/down.

[@MetalMatt2510]

lm looking for a sewing machine for my girlfriend that can do leather and vinyl.

[@seanhorton3811]

I am surprised and a little impressed by the machine so far. One thing I just don't like is the sound it makes. It sounds janky.

[@thejasonofalltrades]

I agree! I need to emphasize that , to my ear at least, it sounds a lot worse on video than in person. Definitely "jankier" than a vintage metal machine, but not offensive, to me, at least! Thanks for being part of the channel!

[@lynnhufstetler3825]

Actually, they are pretty quiet

[@TheLeafRaider]

It took me far longer than it should have done to understand your channel name

[@aaronaffan5132]

Sorry...thinner leather

[@Maximus-sm4ue]

Not all leather is that thick, I'm sure it would work for skived 3oz leather very easily.

[@FrancisoDoncona]

Is it made largely of plastic? Well there is your answer. Are there plastic gears? There is more evidence of the obvious answer. Does it have a dc motor or capacitor or is it universal. There is the final answer. Just but old metal, better, stronger, probably never used so new in most circumstances.

[@thejasonofalltrades]

Hi! I generally agree with you; however, as this video shows, this machine worked just fine for the LIMITED applications I tested it on. In case you don't know, I entered into this series with a strong bias AGAINST the Singer HD, and it has continued to surprise me. I still strongly prefer vintage machines, and I still think the "Heavy Duty" name is problematic, as it can mislead new seamsters into buying this machine when it might not be what they need. But, so far it has worked at least as well as my vintage machines, if not better in some circumstances. Time will tell how long it will hold up, that's my biggest concern about it at this point. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@laurelsimon9263]

Sorry but the “not that” Heavy Duty machine looks and sounds like a toy compared to industrials

[@dawn5227]

No more than any other domestic machine. Industrial and domestic are not comparable, and not designed to be. They both have there places, just for different purposes.

[@stephengent9974]

The HD designation is accurate, but it is still a consumer machine. It has an uprated motor, and will stitch heavier materias than standard machines. Only an idiot would buy something without a t least a cursory bit of research. There are tons of videos on this machine. Actually there are several versions of this machine as well. I have just bought one of these and would never try to sew leather on it. So if you want to sew leather get the proper machine

[@thejasonofalltrades]

Hi! I have three minor areas of disagreement with your comment: One, when I first became interested in sewing, I focused on this machine, and as you suggest, did some "research" online. That research led me to stay away from this machine. Now ten years later I finally get one and it turns out to be a pretty good machine! Maybe it's good I didn't encounter it until now, but reading some stuff online doesn't necessarily yield the right information, and I hear from many people who clearly think "Heavy Duty" means more than it really does in this case (still my biggest criticism of the machine). As you point out, there are many videos about this machine that one might check out to learn about it, and this series of mine adds to that number, so someone doing their "KZbin research" will hopefully get something from it! Two, you can totally sew leather on this machine, to the same extent you can sew leather on any household, non-walking-foot machine. Most people interested in sewing a little leather aren't prepared to drop thousands of dollars on a machine to see if they like working with leather. You are absolutely correct that to do real leatherwork with thicker leather, you should absolutely buy a proper leather machine, but leather comes in a lot of forms, many of which can be sewn quite easily by household machines. Three, there appear to be two variations of this machine that differ only in the number of available stitch patterns. Every other "version" of the machine is just a different model number to describe what accessories it comes with; the machines themselves are identical. Thanks for watching and commenting!