Learn how to sew a simple leather purse with a zip in this step-by-step sewing tutorial.
Working with leather can feel a little intimidating if you haven’t sewn it before, but this small zipped purse is a great project for learning the basics. I’ll show you how to cut and stabilise the leather, prepare professional zipper tabs, insert the zip, topstitch the leather and construct the finished purse.
You can follow the written instructions below alongside my complete How to Sew a Leather Purse video tutorial.
[EMBED YOUTUBE VIDEO HERE]
This tutorial creates the plain leather purse, which also forms the basis for my bow and frill leather purse variations.
For this project you will need:
You may also find Wonder Clips, double-sided basting tape or temporary spray adhesive useful when working with leather.
Unlike woven fabric, leather doesn’t fray, which means we can leave some edges raw and create a very clean finish.
If you would prefer to make this purse in a different size, read my [How to Customise the Size of a Quilted Wash Bag] tutorial. The same basic principles can be used to calculate the width of this purse from your chosen zip length.
There are a few important differences between sewing leather and sewing ordinary woven fabric.
Pins create permanent holes in leather, so I recommend using Wonder Clips or small bulldog clips to hold your layers together instead.
Double-sided basting tape can also be extremely useful for areas where clips aren’t practical.
Use a sewing machine needle designed for leather and make sure it is sharp before beginning your project.
Very short stitches create lots of holes close together, which can weaken leather.
For visible topstitching, I use a longer stitch length of approximately 3.5mm.
A walking foot can help feed leather evenly through the sewing machine, particularly when sewing several layers.
You won’t necessarily be able to use it for every stage of this project because you’ll also need your zipper foot.
Leather and suede vary enormously in thickness, finish and behaviour.
Before sewing or applying interfacing, test your stitch length, needle, tension and pressing temperature on a scrap of the leather you’re using.
Begin by marking the purse pieces onto the wrong side of your leather.
Use a ruler to keep your measurements accurate and a pen or marking tool that will be removed when you cut along the marked lines.
[IMAGE – marking/cutting leather pieces]
If you’re working with suede, remember that it has a nap. Make sure all of your pieces are positioned in the same direction before cutting.
The same applies if you’re making this project in a patterned non-fraying fabric – decide which direction is the top before cutting your pieces.
Cut the pieces carefully using sharp scissors, a rotary cutter or a craft knife and cutting mat.
Try not to stretch or distort the leather as you cut.
For the plain leather purse you will need:
Each zipper tab measures approximately:
1½” × 1″ (3.5cm × 2cm)
[IMAGE – all cut pieces laid out]
Depending on the leather you’re using, you may wish to stabilise the wrong side with fusible interfacing.
This is particularly helpful with a very soft leather or suede because it helps prevent the material stretching or distorting while you’re sewing.
You can also block fuse the leather before cutting if you’re finding it difficult to cut accurately.
[IMAGE – interfacing applied to leather]
Always test fusible interfacing on a scrap first. Different leathers react differently to heat, pressure and moisture, so use the lowest effective temperature and avoid steam unless you know your particular leather can tolerate it.
We’re going to begin by attaching a small leather tab to either end of the zip.
These tabs create a neat finish and prevent the bulky ends of the zipper from sitting directly within the side seams of the purse.
Take one leather tab and wrap it around the end of the zipper tape so that the right side of the leather is facing outwards.
The width of the tab should sit across the width of the zip.
[IMAGE – zipper tab wrapped around zip]
Depending on your particular zip, you may need to trim a small amount from the end of the zipper tape.
I usually trim approximately ⅛” (3mm) so that the folded leather tab sits neatly against the end of the zip.
Hold the tab in position using Wonder Clips.
[IMAGE – clipped zipper tab]
If you find the leather difficult to control, use a small amount of temporary spray adhesive or double-sided basting tape to hold the tab in place while sewing.
Repeat at the other end of the zip.
The zipper pull may need to be open while you position the tab at the top end of the zip.
Attach your zipper foot to the sewing machine.
Stitch across the leather tab approximately ⅛” (3mm) from its raw edge.
I find it helpful to use the edge of the zipper foot as a visual guide so that the stitching remains straight and even.
Use a longer stitch length of approximately 3.5mm and backstitch at both ends to secure.
[IMAGE – stitching zipper tab]
If your machine struggles to feed the layers through at this point, try beginning in the centre of the tab and sewing towards one side.
Return to the centre and sew towards the opposite side.
Repeat the process for the second zipper tab.
Place the prepared zipper right side facing upwards, with the zipper teeth facing you.
Take one of your leather purse pieces and position it right side down onto the zipper.
Line the top edge of the leather up with the edge of the zipper tape.
[IMAGE – first purse piece positioned on zip]
The zipper should sit centrally across the width of the purse.
If you’re following the original sizing of this project, there should be approximately ⅝” (1.3cm) between each end of the zip and the side edge of the purse.
Don’t worry if the zipper tabs extend beyond the edge of the leather at this stage.
Hold everything together with Wonder Clips or double-sided basting tape.
Using your zipper foot, stitch along the zipper tape as close to the zipper teeth as practical.
For a metal zip, I usually stitch approximately 1/16″ (2mm) from the teeth.
Make sure you leave enough space for the zipper pull to move freely.
[IMAGE – stitching alongside zipper teeth]
Use a standard stitch length of approximately 2.5mm and backstitch at the beginning and end.
When you reach the zipper pull, you may find it difficult to continue sewing in a straight line.
Stop with your needle down in the leather, lift the presser foot and carefully move the zipper pull past the foot.
Lower the presser foot and continue sewing.
Fold the leather away from the zipper.
The purse should now begin to look like this:
[IMAGE – first side attached to zip]
Topstitch along the folded edge of the leather.
This helps hold the leather away from the zipper teeth and creates a clean, professional finish.
I use a longer stitch length of approximately 3.5mm for this visible row of stitching.
You can also use topstitching thread if you’d like the stitching to be more prominent.
Stitch approximately ⅛” (3mm) from the folded edge, or choose a distance that suits the look you want.
The most important thing is to find a reliable guide on your sewing machine and keep the stitching straight and consistent.
Place the zipper and attached leather right side facing upwards.
Position the second piece of leather right side down onto the opposite side of the zipper.
Match the top edge of the leather with the edge of the zipper tape.
[IMAGE – second side positioned on zip]
Check that:
Hold the layers together using Wonder Clips or double-sided basting tape.
Sew the second side to the zipper using the same method as before.
Fold the leather away from the zipper and topstitch the second side.
You should now have the zipper positioned between the two leather purse pieces.
Before doing anything else:
OPEN THE ZIP.
This is important because you’ll eventually need to turn the purse through the open zipper.
Fold the purse in half with the right sides of the leather together.
Begin by carefully matching the edges alongside the zipper.
These top corners are the most important areas to align accurately.
Hold the sides together with Wonder Clips.
[IMAGE – purse folded right sides together]
I recommend sewing the two side seams separately rather than stitching continuously around the entire purse.
Starting beside the zipper tab, stitch down one side of the purse using a ½” (1cm) seam allowance.
Use approximately a 2.5mm stitch length and backstitch securely at the beginning and end.
Repeat on the opposite side, again beginning at the zipper end and sewing towards the bottom.
[IMAGE – sewing side seam]
Starting both seams at the zipper helps prevent the layers shifting and ensures the top corners remain correctly aligned.
If your machine struggles with the thickness around the zipper tabs, slow down and use the handwheel to walk the machine through the difficult section.
A walking foot can also help if there is enough clearance around the zipper.
Once both side seams are complete, stitch across the bottom of the purse using the same ½” (1cm) seam allowance.
Backstitch over the previous rows of stitching at each corner to secure them.
If you’re making a purse that will be subjected to a lot of strain, you can reinforce the seams with a second row of stitching.
Trim the seam allowances down to approximately ⅛” (3mm), adjusting this slightly if you’re working with particularly thick leather.
Carefully trim the corners to remove excess bulk.
[IMAGE – trimmed seam allowances/corners]
Take care not to cut through your stitching.
Turn the purse through the open zipper.
Gently push out the corners using a point turner or the blunt end of a pencil.
Take your time with this stage, particularly if you’re using a thicker leather.
[IMAGE – turning purse]
Shape the corners and straighten the zipper tabs.
And your leather purse is complete!
[IMAGE – finished leather purse]
Once you’ve mastered the basic construction, there are lots of ways to customise this project.
You could experiment with:
You can find my Leather Bow Purse and Leather Frill Purse tutorials for two variations based on this same basic construction method.
If you’d like to change the dimensions completely, use my How to Customise the Size of a Quilted Wash Bag tutorial to understand how the zip length and seam allowances determine the finished width.
If you’d like to see any of these techniques in more detail, watch the complete How to Sew a Leather Purse tutorial on my Made to Sew YouTube channel.
[EMBED/VIDEO LINK]
The video is particularly helpful for seeing how I position the zipper tabs, work around the zipper pull and handle the leather at the sewing machine.
Focus keyword: how to sew a leather purse
SEO title:How to Sew a Leather Purse | Step-by-Step Tutorial
Meta description:Learn how to sew a leather purse with a zip, including tips for cutting leather, adding zipper tabs, inserting the zip and achieving neat topstitching.
Suggested permalink:how-to-sew-leather-purse
I’d also categorise it under Tutorials rather than Projects if you’re trying to make the taxonomy consistent.
And I would not go hunting for all the old images. The original genuinely has dozens of process photos — for example, almost every stage of zip insertion originally had its own photograph. The 12 [IMAGE] positions above are the ones I’d actually bother restoring.
One thing we still need to resolve before you publish: the original purse rectangle measurement. Everything else above preserves your original construction method, including the ½” / 1cm seams and zipper positioning.
Learn how to sew a simple leather purse with a zip in this step-by-step tutorial. I’ll show you how to cut and stabilise leather, add professional zipper tabs, insert the zip and construct the purse, with tips for sewing leather successfully on a domestic sewing machine.
This tutorial creates the plain leather purse and forms the basis for my bow and frill purse variations.
Make one of these cute purses and learn techniques for sewing and working with leather. In the latest YouTube tutorial (How To: Leather Plain Purse DIY) I share tips for sewing leather and the step by step construction of one of these purses. This blog post and corresponding tutorial work with a plain leather purse. Next week I will share a new tutorial and guide for making a leather purse with a bow or frill on the front, I will only share the specific instructions for those designs and recommend that you refer to this tutorial for further detailed information and construction tips.
To make one of these leather purses you will need the following materials:
– Leather or Suede (your choice of fabric) (I recommend you choose a fabric that doesn’t fray such as oil cloth, as there are some parts of the purses that use the raw edge of the leather. If you wish to use a fabric that frays check out this tutorial, especially for the tabs: How To: Quilted Wash Bag).
– 4″ (10cm) Zipper (metal or plastic)
– Interfacing
– Thread
If you wish to make a different sized bag or purse read this tutorial that explains the process of how we created the sizes of the bags: LINK
Sewing Leather
When sewing leather you may find some of this equipment useful:
– Clover Double Sided Basting Tape
– 505 Temporary Spray Adhesive
– Leather Needle (sewing machine)
– Wonder Clips / Bulldog Clips
– Walking Foot
For this project you will also need:
– Ruler
– Pen (marking the leather)
– Scissors or Rotary Cutter or Craft Knife (mat/ruler etc.)
– Point Turner (or pencil)
– Zipper Foot (sewing machine)
Start by cutting out the following in the leather:
Make Leather Purse
Mark the size of the purse you are working with on the wrong side of the leather hide. Use a ruler for accuracy and a biro or gel pen.
If you are working with suede (fabric that has a nap) or a patterned fabric remember to acknowledge the top of the pattern or nap.
Cut out the marked lines using your choice of scissors or rotary cutter/craft knife and cutting mat. Try not to stretch or move the leather whilst cutting. If you find this difficult and you are working with a very soft leather I would recommend interfacing the leather first before cutting it out. This techniques is called block fusing. The perfect interfacing for leather and suede: Medium Knit Tailoring Fusible.
Make sure that you cut away all of the pen markings as some parts of the purse will use the finished edge of the leather, and the pen markings may be visible.
For the plain purse you should have a front and back rectangle that measure (width: 6 1/4″ (14.6cm) x height: 4 1/2″ (11.5cm)) and 2 tabs that measure (width: 1 1/2″ (3.5cm) x 1″ (2cm)).
I would recommend interfacing the wrong side of the leather to stabilise the leather hide and to prevent it from stretching or distorting on the sewing machine. Work with a woven fusible interfacing, leather can take a large amount of heat but water can damage the leather or suede, so always test the steam setting on your iron prior to use.
Starting by attaching the tabs to either end of the zipper.
Wrap the tabs around the end of the zipper tape, so that the right side of the leather is on the outside. The width of the tab will be sitting width ways across the zip and may be larger than the zip, it depends on the width of your individual zip.
More than likely you will need to trim down some of the zipper tape so that the edge of the leather tab (when it’s folded over the zipper tape) buts against the end of the zip. If you are working with a fabric that frays I recommend you work with slightly different tabs, the edges need to be folded in to prevent fraying, check out another similar tutorial: How To: Quilted Wash Bag.
Trim off the required amount of zipper tape (normally 1/8″ (3mm)) so that the tab will touch the end of the zip.
Hold the tab in place with wonder clips or bull dog clips as you are unable to pin the leather.
If you struggle with this step try using 505 Temporary Spray Adhesive to hold the tab in place whilst sewing. Spray onto the wrong side of the tab before wrapping around the zip. Make sure you cover your table with scrap paper to project it whilst applying the adhesive.
Alternatively use some Clover Double Sided Basting Tape to hold the tab in position. I show you how to use this in the YouTube tutorial: How To: Leather Plain Purse DIY.
The top of the zip is slightly trickier as the zipper may need to be open whilst you complete this. You will need at least 2 wonder clips / bulldog clips to hold this in place.
Stitch on the sewing machine using the zipper foot. Stitch 1/8″ (3mm) away from the raw edge of the leather tab.
I used the edge of my zipper foot to line up with the edge of the tab and moved my needle over (to the right) by 1/8″ (3mm), it is always best to have something to follow as a guide for accurate, straight stitching. Use a larger stitch length (such as 3.5mm) to have a nice visible stitch. Back stitch at both ends to secure.
If your sewing machine struggles to feed this through I would recommend starting in the middle and sewing out to one side, starting in the middle again and sewing out to the other side.
Now it is time to attach the zip onto both sides of the bag. Position the zipper right side facing up (teeth facing up).
Take the leather or fabric and position this right side down onto the zipper teeth, with the top width edge of the fabric lined up with the top edge of the zipper tape. The zipper should be central within the width of the bag, this will be 5/8″ (1.3cm) either side, if you have measured and sewn accurately.
Hold together with wonder clips or bull dog clips.
A view from the opposite side. Please don’t worry if the tabs stick out past the edge of the fabric, we are only worried about lining the edge of the zipper up with the edge of the fabric.
We are now going to stitch down the side of the zip, as close to the teeth as possible. When you have completed this the fabric will fold back like so.
It can be useful to fold the fabric back prior to sewing, this allows you to check everything is in order and that you have positioned your fabric or leather onto the zip the right way up. The top edge is the edge closest to the zipper, and this should be the top of your pattern or nap (if you are working with suede).
Stitch down the edge of the zip, using the zipper foot. Stitch as close to the teeth as possible (this is generally about 1/16″ (2mm)) away from a metal zipper, the zipper pull will need 2mm of space to move up and down. Standard plastic zippers can be sewn slightly closer, but it does depend on the size of the zipper pull, remember to give it space to move!
Start sewing at the tab at one end of the zip and stitch along to the tab at the other end. Use a standard stitch length of 2.5mm and back stitch at the start and the end.
You may need to un-do the zipper pull so that you can stitch past it straight. When this occurs position the needle into the fabric and lift the presser foot, this will allow you to move the zipper pull as required.
Once sewn the bag should look something like this.
Now you need to topstitch along the edge of the leather you have just sewn. This will hold the leather in position and provide a neat professional finish.
Start stitching at the end of the leather or fabric and use a larger stitch length (I used 3.5mm stitch length). You may also wish to use a topstitching thread or two threads in the top of the sewing machine for a visible stitch.
I chose to stitch 1/8″ (3mm) away from the edge of the leather but you are welcome to stitch closer or further away, it is your choice. Line the edge up with something neat and easy to follow and work your way along, un-fasten the zipper pull if required. Here is one side of the purse complete.
For the second side complete the same as the first. Place the zipper (now with attached fabric) right side facing up. Position the fabric with the right side down onto the zipper, match the width edge of the fabric with the edge of the zipper tape. Don’t worry if the tabs extend.
Make sure that the zip is central and that the sides of the second piece of fabric are in line with the sides of the first. Check the placement of the pattern and nap, which way is top?
For the second side I explained how to use double sided basting tape to hold the layers in place (so that you don’t need to use wonder clips or bulldog clips). Watch the tutorial on YouTube for a step by step guide: How To: Leather Plain Purse DIY.
Complete the same process for the second side, stitch and then topstitch.
To close the purse you will need to fold the bag in half, right sides of fabric together. Match the top edge (near the zipper first, this is VERY important) and use wonder clips or bull dog clips to hold the edge in place. Remember to open the zip!
Complete for both sides.
Stitch starting at the top edge (next to the zip tabs) on both sides and sew down to the bottom. Stitch following the 1/2″ (1cm) seam allowance, use a 2.5mm stitch length and back stitch at the start and end. I recommend sewing off the fabric at the start so that this area is nice and secure. If your machine struggles to feed the fabric through use the hand wheel to walk the stitches in this section slowly.
If you are able to use the walking foot it will help, however you may find that the zipper tab is in the way and you need to use the zipper foot.
Backstitch at the bottom edge for approximately 1/2″ (1cm), this is the length of the seam allowance on the bottom edge. The seam allowances will be trimmed down after sewing and you need to make sure the stitches are secure.
The reason why you can’t stitch all the way around the purse, down one side, along the bottom and up the other side is due to the potential slip at the top corners. The top corners (of the zipper) need to be sewn first so that they are held in position and that the edges will match when the bag is turned around.
Finally stitch along the bottom edge using the same seam allowance 1/2″ (1cm). Back stitching past the previous rows of stitching to secure these areas.
If the bag is going to take a lot of strain or tension I would recommend sewing over the first row of stitching, or using a smaller stitch length of 1.5mm for reinforcement.
Trim the seam allowances down to 1/8″ (3mm) (depending on thickness of fabric) and trim the corners.
Turn the bag around to the right side through the open zipper. Poke the corners using a point turner or pencil.
And there you have it, a professionally finished leather purse. Remember to watch the step by step guide on YouTube if you get stuck at any point: How To: Leather Plain Purse DIY.
Stay tuned for the bow and frill purse ‘how-to’s’ launching next week.
