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5 Best Sewing Machines For Canvas And Leather, Updated in 2024

TOP PICK
Juki DDL-5550N
9.8
  • Presser foot by hand: 5.5mm
  • Presser foot by knee: 13mm
  • Sewing Speed: 5,500 SPM
  • Needle bar stroke: 30.7mm
  • Max Stitch Length: 4mm
  • Lubrication: Automatic
TOP RATED
Consew CN2053R
9.7
  • Work Space: 8 5/16" (211mm)
  • Stitch Length: 5 s.p.i. (5mm)
  • Stitch Width: 11/32" (9mm)
  • Speed, Max (S.P.M.): 2500
  • Needle Used: 135 x 5
  • Stitch Type: 304
BEST OVERALL
Janome 9850
9.6
  • Built-in Sewing Stitches: 200
  • Embroidery Area: 6.7" x 7.9"
  • Included Presser Feet: 11
  • Embroidery Designs: 175
  • Lettering Fonts:2
  • Included Hoops: 2
Our team of experts has selected certain products & assigned a star rating to each product. Read our detailed review below.
The Best Sewing Machine For Canvas And Leather
Credit: Shanta Roy

Looking for a sewing machine for canvas and leather? You have come to the right place. Our article looks at 5 of the top sewing machine for canvas and leather that you can buy online.

The actual power of a sewing machine inheres in its powerful motor.

And how powerful the motor actually is can be understood when the sewing machine can sew thick layers of fabrics or thick materials with ease and finesse.

Canvas and leather are among the thickest and toughest to handle materials when it comes to sewing those with a sewing machine.

So, if you want to put a sewing machine’s power to the test, sew canvas and leather with it and notice the stitches.

If it shows evenness and perfection and the machine ran smoothly without making you livid while handling both the material and machine, then you can be sure that you have gotten the best sewing machine for canvas and leather, basically a powerful sewing machine.

Such sewing machines will stitch delicate, fragile fabrics with equal ease and panache, but only after lowering the high speed.

So, which are some of the sewing machines that have passed the acid test for us when it comes to sewing canvas and leather with ease and convenience; let’s have a look at them, right below, and after knowing the detailed info about each one of them you can decide to invest your hard-earned money without having any uncertainties and apprehensions.

Top 5 Best Sewing Machine For Canvas & Leather – (Editors’ Top Picks)

TOP PICK
Juki DDL-5550N High-speed

Features At A Glance:

  • Allows high lifting of presser feet, up to 13mm
  • Includes assembled table and a servo motor
  • Beginner-friendly industrial sewing machine
  • A durable, low maintenance machine
  • Stitches at high speed of 5500 SPM
  • Auto lubrication
Why We Love It? It is an industrial sewing machine that automatically lubricates itself and requires low maintenance.

Product information:

Brand Name JUKI
Made in Japan
Sewing Speed 5500 rpm/spm / Max
Dimensions 7″ x 18 25/32″

Product Description:

Juki DDL-5550N is a high-speed sewing machine made to stitch medium-weight materials like satin and velvet but sews heavyweight materials like denim, canvas, and leather with perfection.

It sews at a very high speed of 5500 stitches per minute, and even with that incredible speed, you can manage the machine easily and expect continuous even stitches on your canvas and leather projects.

Yet, it’s a machine that is developed to last for years despite heavy-duty use. It includes both an assembled table and a servo motor.

A servo motor not only ensures smooth stitching of the canvas and leather but is great in controlling the high speed too, which comes in handy while sewing projects that don’t require sewing at high speed. The Servo motor on such a complex industrial machine also proves to be helpful for beginners to handle the sewing machine, its speed, and the sewing projects on it.

Lift the presser feet with the help of your knee up to 13mm. The high lifting of the presser feet simply proves how thick a material you can sew with it. Even an amateur can create superior-quality lock stitches on stiff materials with it.

EDITOR'S CHOICE
Janome Memory Craft 9850

Features At A Glance:

  • 200 integrated stitches and 175 embroidery designs
  • Six 1-step buttonhole styles and 11 presser feet
  • Drop feed mechanism with 7-piece feed dog
  • Top loading full rotary hook bobbin
  • Extra high presser foot lift
  • 1000 SPM speed
Why We Love It? Compared to an industrial sewing machine, this one will not be super speedy, but the sewing machine works at a speed of 1000 SPM. The pace is moderate for sewing layers, canvas, and leather-type materials. 

Product information:

Brand Name Janome
Material
Metal
Weight 23 Pounds
Power Source AC
Dimensions 9 x 19 x 12.5 inches
Is Electric
Yes

Product Description:

After introducing an industrial sewing machine for stitching canvas and leather projects, we have a sewing and embroidery machine for you which does the same. And this one is from the trendy brand, Janome. It’s a sewing machine packed with features and accessories.

Also, it’s a sewing machine that has the advantage of an extra high-presser foot lift. This feature is kind of Janome exclusive where the sewist can manually lift the foot lever and keep it in an elevated position to work on thick materials or layers of fabrics.

You have 200 built-in stitches and 175 built-in embroidery designs to make on your projects, along with a six-one-step auto-sized buttonholing facility. You thread your needle auto and cut the thread auto as well. Even the thread tension works automatically.

The top-loading full rotary hook bobbin takes no time in loading the bobbin in its slot. Just put it in and start sewing your projects. The snap-on presser feet do the time-saving equally well. Moreover, you get 11 presser feet with it.

You can set the machine according to your requirement by pressing on the large LCD full-color touchscreen. What you are trying to attempt with the device on your projects just displays bright and clear on the screen. From stitches to set its length and width up to 5 and 9 mm, respectively, just touch the display, and its set.

Then you have two different sizes of embroidery hoops to create the designs on your projects on the 6.7”x7.9” embroidery area. You can try monogramming and develop designs with lettering fonts too.

The 7-piece feed dog system, along with the drop feed mechanism, is the best for smooth, continuous feeding of the rather rigid canvas and leather. The free arm makes working on challenging and small areas of a project more manageable.

TOP RATED
Brother NQ3600D

Features At A Glance:

  • 10 buttonhole styles, 13 presser feet, and a 4.85” touchscreen
  • 291 stitches and 233 embroidery designs
  • Automatic Height Adjuster
  • Sews at 850 SPM speed
  • Vast workspace
  • Pivot function
Why We Love It? This machine has a large 4.85” color LCD touchscreen display that always ensures easy setting of the machine and selection of the stitches and designs. 

Product information:

Brand Name Brother
Is Electric Yes
Weight 51.9 pounds
Dimensions 27 x 23 x 22 inches

Product Description:

Brother NQ3600D is a sewing and embroidery machine for stitching your canvas and leather projects with ease in its vast working space. It’s designed to work on massive, demanding crafts.

It’s not a super-high-speed machine and works at a speed of 850 SPM. However, it boasts of an Automatic Height Adjuster (AHA), which automatically senses the fabric you are sewing on the machine and ensures smooth stitching on the get-go.

The machine is a riot when it comes to crafting unique projects as you have 291 built-in stitches, 233 built-in embroidery designs, 10 styles of one-step auto-size buttonholes, and 5 sewing lettering fonts to work with. If that was not enough, you can get designs from the web and try them on your projects with the sewing machine through its USB port.

Not just the AHA, it features a pivot function as well. Your projects will have precise corners, smoother circles, and easier chain piecing thanks to this option, where you can lift the presser feet the moment you reach the seams, corners, edges, and all. Connecting and sewing quilted blocks were never this easy and quick.

Then you get the convenience of an auto thread cutter and advanced needle threader, as well as 13 presser feet to work on different types of fabrics and their different parts with perfection.

BEST OVERALL
Reliable 3300SD

Features At A Glance:

  • Ensures quiet and smooth stitching
  • Built-in direct drive servo motor
  • Step stitching, one stitch a time
  • Works at a speed of 4500 SPM
  • Bright sewing area with LEDs
  • Built-in digital control panel
Why We Love It? This machine has a built-in digital control panel to adjust the speed and needle positioning too. 

Product information:

Brand Name Reliable
Weight 1.1 kg
Dimensions 37.5” x 7.5” x 1.5” 95 x 19 x 3.8 cm

Product Description:

Reliable 3300SD is another industrial sewing machine that caught our attention with its high-speed sewing ability and features. It sews your canvas and leather projects with a speed of 4500 SPM.

It’s a sewing machine that works with a very convenient servo motor, not just any servo motor, but a built-in direct drive servo motor that channels the latest technology wholly.

Apart from getting all the benefits we mentioned about a servo motor in our previous discussion of the Juki industrial machine, the servo motor also ensures quiet operation. It is basically a quiet, smooth machine.

Expect stitch accuracy from it like no other, thanks to its step stitch button. This button ensures precise stitch with just a push of a button, one stitch at a time when you need it. 

Both the metal guard and built-in LED lights ensure the secure and comfortable sewing of your projects. Lift the presser feet 15mm high to work on thicker fabrics like canvas and leather.

BEST HEAVY-DUTY
Consew CN2053R-1

Features At A Glance:

  • Ideal for sewing medium to heavyweight materials
  • Combination zig-zag and straight stitcher
  • Horizontal axis transverse rotary hook
  • Come with a table and servo motor
  • 2500 stitches per minute
  • Drop feed mechanism
Why We Love It? It has a horizontal axis transverse rotary hook, which means you are getting to sew even stitches on your projects smoothly at a very high speed without making loud noises and facing frequent thread jamming.

Product information:

Brand Name Consew
Speed, Max (S.P.M.) 2500
Dimensions 178mm x 398.5mm

Product Description:

If the two other industrial sewing machines we discussed above seemed too high-speed to you, then try the tamer version, which is Consew CN2053R-1. This one is also an industrial machine that includes an assembled table and servo motor but stitches at a 2500SPM.

It is still a very high-speed machine, ideal for stitching medium to heavyweight materials like canvas and leather. However, the servo motor further allows you to control the speed while you are not sewing thick, rigid materials.

Not only that, for smooth stitches, you have the drop feed mechanism, which plays a crucial role in maintaining continuous smooth fabric feeding no matter how tough-to-handle the material is.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 

1. What should I prioritize most in a sewing machine to sew canvas and leather?

Prioritizing a powerful motor, especially a servo motor instead of the clutch motors, high speed, sturdy construction, and smooth drop feed mechanism is a must for sewing canvas and leather.

Feed dog points or a walking foot mechanism, a metal needle plate, sturdy needles and threads, and the ability to lift the presser feet way higher than regular are crucial as well while you decide to start sewing canvas and leather on your sewing machine.

2. Do I need to buy an industrial sewing machine for sewing canvas and leather?

No. An industrial sewing machine is not mandatory for you to sew canvas and leather. However, an industrial sewing machine with its sturdy built, large working table, powerful motor, and high speed will ensure a quick and convenient experience while working on heavy-duty projects.

If you are a thorough professional and sew canvas and leather materials every day for long hours, then, if not now, think of investing in one sooner for your own good. 

3. Is a sewing machine for canvas and leather too complicated to use for beginners?

Not at all. The very first option we have for you says it all. It was a high-speed industrial sewing machine yet beginner-friendly. So, a beginner must not assume such sewing machines to be too complicated to use.

There is no complication in sewing canvas, leather, and other heavy-duty materials. The difficulty lies in their thickness and toughness, not in their sewing methods.

With a high-speed, sturdy sewing machine and its necessary features and accessories, yes, even the most basic ones, a beginner can efficiently work on canvas and leather projects.

4. What should be my budget for a sewing machine for canvas and leather?

The price always depends on what features you are getting from the sewing machine. It can go as high as you are willing to spend or can be as low as $500. If you are a beginner, going for a high-end sewing machine might be tough.

But rather than going for any random affordable ones that for sure will prove to be of cheap quality, wait, save and target the ones we discussed above. We have tried to discuss every type targeting different levels of sewists, from beginners to skilled, to high-end persons to the most frugal minds.

5. Can I use a regular sewing machine to sew heavy-duty materials like canvas and leather?

You can use a regular sewing machine to sew the canvas and leather. Any sewing machine with a speed as moderate as 800 SPM can stitch such materials. The only downside is that you will achieve perfection with comparatively more difficulties.

And it will be a time-consuming task. Also, your regular machine might not handle the frequent long-hour stitching of canvas and leather. If it’s a project that you get once in a while, then you can very well use your regular machine to complete it.

The sewing machine will take a hit. However, if it’s an everyday activity, you will need to invest in a powerful sewing machine that can handle the thick material without losing its longevity and durability.

Conclusion

When it comes to the best sewing machine for canvas and leather, we prefer high speed. Without the high speed, the needle wouldn’t be able to penetrate the thick, rigid material like leather and canvas well. To handle that high speed, the machine, of course, has to be super sturdy, and when it’s sturdy, you can automatically expect durability and a long life span from the sewing machine.

So even if these are not among the most affordable sewing machines, at least the long life span will make up for the money you need to spend on one single sewing machine. Considering how great they work on making some of the most challenging projects, super quickly ensuring utmost convenience, even the high price seems too subjugated, according to us.

However, before relying entirely on our words and research, do some of your own and decide which one of the above sewing machine’s power, speed, and features matches your requirements the closest. Only then invest the high amount in that sewing machine. Because once you invest, this is going to be your working ally for a long, long time.

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