If your leather couch, coat or bag has a small scuff or minor tear, a simple liquid-leather repair kit from your local tailor will probably fix it. If it's a large, major piece of damage, then you should consider a professional. If it's something too big for a repair kit but too minor for a pro---say, a jagged 1/2-inch hole---take a shot a fixing it yourself with a patch-and-glue method. If it doesn't work, you'll still have the option to use a repair service.
Find a Patch
The hardest part of repairing leather is finding a new, matching piece of leather to form the patch. If the leather is of a standard finish and color, you may be able to match it at your local fabric store. If not, then contact the makers of the leather item (any written tags or branding on the item may provide clues) and see if there are patches of the same material available. As a last resort, snip a piece from a hidden area of the item itself.
Trim the Edges
Use sharp scissors or a razor knife to cut around the damaged area in a circle. Cut only as much as you have to in order to get a clean edge all the way around. If you can find a circular item, such as a coin, that is just a little larger than the damaged area, use that, marking around it on the leather with a pencil and then cutting.
Cut Your Patch
If the item is something that allows you access to the back side of the leather, like clothing, or a bag, then cut the patch to exactly the size of the hole you've cut. Either use a coin as a guide, or lay paper behind the hole and draw around it, then use the paper as a template. If the item is a piece of furniture, and you can't access behind the leather, then make the patch 1/4 inch larger than the hole all the way around. In that case, angle your scissors or razor knife inward toward the center of the circle as you cut, so the underside of the cutout patch thins out at the edges.
Secure the Patch
If you can get to the back of the leather item, cut a piece of linen an inch bigger than the hole. Use fabric glue to stick the leather patch circle to the linen. Then glue the linen piece to the back of the leather, with the circular patch fitted into the circular hole. If you can't access the leather from behind, then take your larger circular patch, spread glue around the edge of it on the back, and press it into place over the hole, with the thinned-out edges of the leather overlapping and gripping the edges of the hole by 1/4 inch. With either method, put a heavy book over the area for a few hours while the glue sets.
Tags: leather, repair, back leather, circular patch, damaged area, item piece, larger than, leather item, leather with, razor knife, scissors razor, scissors razor knife, than hole
