Leather repair

A brown leather swing coat is my jacket of choice from late October through the end of April. While not expensive, I love that coat; naturally, I was dismayed to realize when I pulled it out earlier this week that the hem was falling down on the back of the coat. Drat - cleaning and repair? As it turns out, the hem, as is typical with some leather garments, is glued, not sewn. Maybe...

Step one: Gently open the seam holding the lining to the hemline.


Step two: Google "leather glue", call Michael's to see if they have it in stock, thank clerk profusely for not only locating it, but telling you exactly where in the store to find it.


Step three: Tape waxed paper to work surface for protection from glue. Optional: Cut inside of left index finger in the crease of the second joint on the very sharp cutting edge of the waxed paper container. Do NOT get blood on the coat.

Step three (b): Test glue on suede strip wisely purchased at same time as leather glue. Wait for it to dry.


Step four: Wonder why the inside of surface of the leather is stained, while the outer surface is unmarked. Decide you really don't want to know the answer. Fondle soft suede for a bit, then return to the matter at hand.


Step five: Open hem, spread glue. Close hem, weight with books. Wait ten minutes. Remove books, move to next section of hem, repeat until done.


Step six: After the glue has dried (it dries within an hour; I waited overnight), sew lining to edge of hem, using the holes left in both the lining fabric and the leather edge as guidelines.


Total cost of repair: $10.32, for glue and leather test piece. While the hem will eventually come down again (the length of the coat means I sit on that edge every time I get in the car), I now have both the supplies and know-how to fix it myself.

Still, it is a really big bottle of glue - anyone have any leather pants they need hemmed?