Leather back shirt tutorial...with some revisions for next time.

I have been dying to make a leather shirt or skirt forever now, and this is the closest I've been. I still have an all leather pencil skirt on my to do list. But for now, this turned out pretty much how I wanted. For next time, I would use a little less heavy front fabric like a plain cotton and I wouldn't hem the leather. I would just cut the bottom perfect with a rotary cutter and mat because the hem get really thick and its really annoying to sew. But for the most part I really liked how it turned out! 

And yet again, I used my trusty square top tutorial for this. That comes handy in so many situations.

Supplies:

leather real or fake (mine was fake) that is at least a wide as half your hip or chest size plus 5 inches and as long as you want

thread

sewing machine

contrasting fabric for front piece

square top tutorial for extra help

scissors or rotary mat/cutter

Instructions:

1. Follow this square top tutorial for help with cutting out. Sew up the sides and the shoulder seams, but leave the bottom 5 or so inches on the bottom of the shirt and where the armholes will be open.

2. Hem the neckline a quarter to half inch.

3. Hem the sleeves a quarter to a half inch.

4. fold the bottom front piece in half on the outside (right sides together) of the shirt and sew an inch inside, then trim the extra.

5. Turn it right side out, which means the fold will be hidden on the inside. Sew across the front a few inches up to hem the front.

6. Repest with the leather if it is fake or very thin.....but I would suggest because I wish I had....just make sure that the bottom is cut perfectly like you like it and don't hem it. Make sure it is longer than the front by a few inches.

7. Sew across the edge of the front fabric just under the hem over to the other side to hide the hem when the flap opens. You don't need to stitch on the leather (that is something else I learned!)