I have had people tell me they sew leather on most any kind of machine but there is a trick to getting the bobbin set to handle the heavier threads. I couldn't get my machine to sew it but I saw the same machines for sale on e-bay with samples of leather having been stitched with it. I have a half finished purse here that I have intended to take to an upholstry shop & see if they will finish it.

What kind of leather will you be using? Lightweight suedes probably would be fine with most better quality machines.

I had good luck with some old machines, a Singer single speed and one of the very early Vikings that had a lower gear setting. I was sewing tanned deerhide and suede, in 2-3 layer thickness, did a nice job on a pair of custom chaps. Both were metal gear driven, no plastic parts to speak of. They could take the strain easily, stitches were even. You only get one chance with leather, every stitch leaves holes. Has to go correctly thru the machine.

My brother still has the Singer, uses it for fixing his winter Carhartt overalls. Still does a great job sewing. The old Viking is in my sewing room now, ready for what I need sewn.

For heavier leather, you might want a commercial machine or an actual leather sewing machine. Not cheap, but can manage the thicker leather.

Thanks for the responses. I'm not using a real heavy leather, it's more like the lightweight suedes, the name of it escapes me at the moment, i'm actually making a wallet so it's a mixture of semi-thin leather and nylon.

My current sewing machine is a Singer. It's very old and durable but it's just a general sewing machine so when it comes to leather the stitching gets messed up and wrecks the leather. Like you said, every stitch leaves a hole. I was looking more towards an industrial more durable leather sewing machine but there are so many brands to choose from.

I've sewn leather on my old Singer machines using leather needles & a 'walking foot' - which cost far less than buying another machine.

& when I worked for a small manufacturer, we sewed leather garments on regular commercial machines using nylon thread.