Sofa repairs with leather stitching
If properly looked after, leather sofas can last for a decade or more. We love not just making them last but stay fantastic and looking great for years. When it’s supported you for long enough a good piece of furniture becomes a part of the family and there’s no doubt that making your furniture last is the environmentally friendly way to own furniture.
Although they can last a long time, there are plenty of ways leather furniture can be damaged. We deal with all of them as part of our sofa repair service and have years of experience with different leather damage issues.
Leather is very tough, it’s strong, hardwearing and resistant to dirt and grime. We love it as a material and are thoroughly impressed with the strength of real leather when used for furnishings. Nevertheless on a sofa it’s only as strong as the weakest seam and of course under enough stress you can tear holes in it.
If you’ve got loose seams or even a hole in your leather furniture, professional leather stitching might be able to fully repair the damage and get your sofa back to as good as new or even better. The key word here is ‘might’, not all holes or types of seam damage can be fully repaired no matter the skill of the upholsterer. As a customer with a damaged sofa, it can really help to understand the basics of leather damage and what can and can’t be repaired.
What can be repaired with leather stitching
Loose seams where the thread is broken or loose but the leather material at the seam is strong, clean and unbroken.
Most damaged seams where the leather is just a little damaged and torn at the edges where the damage is in a non load-bearing area.
Some holes in leather where it is in a non-obvious, suitably loose or very near to a seam area. Most holes cannot be stitched to return the area to 100% condition. Some can.
Zips or fastenings coming loose can nearly always be properly repaired, not only are these areas nearly always out of sight but it’s usually possible to suitably realign them even if the edge of the leather is damaged.
Only a qualified leather upholsterer trained in leather hand stitching can really judge if a damaged seam on a load-bearing or obvious area is going to hold fast and hide the damage.
What cannot be repaired with leather stitching
Where the leather condition has degraded and holes are appearing in the material through wear.
Most large slices through a load bearing area or obvious central area of the material.
Nearly always where a large piece of the material is gone.
Often where the material is shredded or roughed up as well as torn. However sometimes it’s possible to fix part of the damage with leather stitching and cover other damage with a leather tear repair. This is only suitable under certain conditions.
Can I repair my own sofa with DIY leather stitching?
It’s possible that anyone can learn to properly judge the type of repair that’s needed and then tutor themselves in the correct way to perform it. There are actually a range of stitching techniques used by expert upholsterers, knowing which is right for any given repair is as challenging as learning to perform it properly.
Anyone can get hold of a needle & thread and do their best, there are online guides on how to do it yourself. We’ve watched a range of YouTube videos on how to fix sofas and we find there’s more incorrect and sometimes tragically disastrous advice on YouTube than there is expert tuition. Some jobs have less chance of failure than others and sometimes a DIY job can do okay.
We who’ve attended furniture college, served our time as apprentices in traditional upholstery and gained qualifications in skills like joinery and sewing machine operation all agree that DIY leather stitching repairs are a risky business. It’s not just whether it looks okay when you’re finished, it’s whether it’s going to split again and this time damage the leather much further.
How to get your leather furniture damage sorted
So, if you really want to look after your sofa and be sure to avoid a disaster, putting your trust in a professional is the way to do it. If the damage is quite severe, it’s entirely possible the professional will have to give you bad news and explain that the damage cannot be repaired properly. In these cases it can be disappointing but it’s far better than having tried to fix it yourself and finding it impossible.
The good news is that because Wefixanysofa is a mobile service that comes to you & we are all experts in stitching repairs, we’re able to pop over at a convenient time and tackle your repair right there and then. If you’re based in our service area, it’s really not as expensive as you might think and with our guarantee on stitching repairs, you can have total peace of mind. We assess the damage and will be straight and honest with you about the options. If we can’t make it right reliably, we won’t take your money for the job. That’s why we maintain an outstanding level of customer satisfaction.
Other useful info
Want to talk to us about leather repair?
Read our article on leather tear repair
Did you know we also clean and condition leather furniture?
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