My latest Minerva project – sewing faux leather was challenging but fun to work on. There’s a lot to keep in mind when using this fabric, so that’s some of what I want to touch on in this post. I was gifted the Minerva faux leather as a Minerva brand ambassador.
Here is the post I wrote for the Minerva website.
*This post does contain affiliate links.
The Fabric
The name of this fabric is Minerva Core Range Soft Supple Stretch Faux Leather. You can check it out here. It really is soft and supple and there is enough stretch to make your garments very comfortable.
This is a fabric I didn’t prewash like I do for every other one. Shrinkage of faux leather shouldn’t be an issue. Machine washing in cold water, then hanging to dry should work well to care for the garment.
The Pattern
Above is a picture of the pattern I used for the jacket. It’s a biker jacket from 2019. I find that BurdaStyle magazine patterns are trendy but often timeless. That’s a good thing, because it can be quite an undertaking to trace the patterns from the pattern sheets in order to sew them up! This faux leather jacket is actually the second time I’ve used this pattern. Here is the post I wrote back in 2019.
Sewing Faux Leather
For the actual construction of the garment, I used a #12 jersey needle. Although some say to use a jean needle, I felt that this would be too large a hole in the fabric. The jersey needle worked out great! Sewing this is not like going through denim. The stitch length I used most often is 3.0, then topstitching was done at 3.5-4.0 stitch length.
I used a 1/2″ seam allowance which gave me more room and was what I needed (even though I allowed for 5/8″ seam allowance in my pattern). I added a FBA (full bust adjustment) in the muslin I had made for the previous jacket. I’m glad I saved that, which made making this latest Minerva project sewing faux leather much easier.
Clips are great for holding the fabric pieces together. Not putting too many pin holes in the garment is important.
I made the lining from two remnant pieces I had on hand. Having something fun inside a coat or jacket can really brighten your day.
Overall
Sewing faux leather is easy. You just have to keep a few things in mind. The only downside is that you won’t get a nice, crisp pressed garment. But you certainly get get an awesome garment!
