Leather shoulder bag. February 21, 2008

For this shoulder bag I used 2  brick-red leather hides, both were about 7 ½ foot large. This bag is a rectangle shape, zippered pocket on the front partly hidden under the flap and one zippered pocket at the backside for easy access.

Plus an inside pocket at the backside of the lining bag and a key lash stitched at the side seam of the lining bag.
I drafted a rectangle shape on paper with a fold over flap and measured my leather to see if I had enough leather, copied the rectangle paper pattern and add the several pieces for the pockets front and back and added a small piece to attach the shoulder straps, added seam allowances (3/8 inch (1 cm)  for the side seams and 5/8 inch (1,5 cm)  for all the other seams).
After  cutting out the pattern parts from the interfacing I taped the paper pattern still with the interfacing pinned ontoo the leather with some medical paper tape.

 The small pictures are all ThumbNail , just click and you see a larger image.

I made a long shoulder strap so I could wear this bag also crossed over. The strap is sewn with 3 pieces to get that extra long length.

The size of this bag is 17 inch (43 cm) wide, 12 inch (30 cm) high.
The total height is 17.7 inch (45 cm). Bottom depth is 2.4 inch (6 cm).
Shoulder strap is 59 inch (150 cm) long and 1 ¼ inch (3 cm) wide, so I also can choose to wear it crossed over. Outside pockets are 13 inch (33 cm) long and 6 1/8 inch (16 cm) deep.

I started with fusing leather interfacing to all the parts except the shoulder straps.

This non-woven interfacing is special made for leather because it can be fused with a low heat iron.
The bottom part and the part where the shoulder straps are sewn between are fused with a heavy hair canvas interfacing for some added strength.

All the seams are stitched and glued and flattened down before any stitching from the right side.

The zippers are sewn at the pocket openings, between the already closed seams.

    

I marked the seam allowance wide with a pencil (by folding the allowance back to the inside with the zipper teeth just inside the fold line) and glued the fold line of the zipper/pocket opening. The marked pencil is a guidance line only.
 
Then I used craft double-sided adhesive tape cut in half (because I only needed a narrow piece) to attach the pocket lining over the zipper-tape. Raw sides of the pocket lining and seam allowance match.

From the right side I sewed the zipper and the lining pocket (sandwiched stitched)

 

 

Now the other side of the pocket lining and zipper are stitched. The next step is sewing the pocket lining pieces together to form a pocket.

The lining for the bag is interfaced with a woven interfacing for adding some strength.

The leather is sewn with my new purchased “used” Singer 20U machine, Güterman strong polyester thread size 100 and sewing machine needle size 14/90.

 

I used several sewing machine feet for sewing this bag.

The Teflon and roller feet are great for sewing leather. I also used the Right Hinged Narrow Cording foot and glued some Teflon tape under the foot for top-stitching the shoulder strap at the center.
The Right Compensating Top-stitch Foot was great to edge stitch the shoulder strap.
Lining leather for reinforcing the magnetic snaps and to cover them so the metal parts will not weaken the lining.

  

The inside lining pocket 7 x 7 inch (18 x 18 cm)  is from a double layer of lining with the opening at the fold line which I glued down with a strip of double side fusible hem tape. The pocket is stitched around right sides together but I left a small part open at the bottom to turn the pocket inside out. Pressed and edge stitched at the lining bag.

There was some leather left but it was damaged, but I could use this part and cut around the damaged spot and add some color to the inside pocket. I made a template 3/8 inch (1 cm) wide and 3/8 inch ( 1 cm) wider than the length and wide of the pocket so the edges of the pocket is covered by nearly 1/4 inch (1/2 cm) and stitched the leather around the pocket edges.
I used a Pritt glue stick for temporarily securing the leather around the pocket edges and used the zipper foot to stitch it close to the edges.

For the bag opening I used a different zipper a non-separate one which can be used for garment sewing like in a a dress. This zipper has a smaller and narrower zipper coil, which does not add weight and is more flexible for the purpose of this bag.

The zippers I used for the pockets are separate ones which are sturdier.

     

The only hand sewing I did was finishing the last inch ( 2,5 cm) from the pocket lining seams towards the top side,

 prick stitched the lining bag at the zipper tape at the bag opening so it will stay put,

secured the lining side seams about halfway down with a couple of stitches towards the leather side seams and sewed a few stitches at the bottom of the bag to attach the leather and lining bottom together.

I closed the opening in the lining bag side seam, (which was needed to turn the bag inside out) with a ladder stitch.

Since the inside of the shoulder strap was not as nice butted together as it should be, although I tried to do it right by marking a line at the center where the edges would meet eachother.

I noticed that after stitching  a hairline away from the center edges with the zipper foot and topstitch from the right side along the outer edges there was a small gap which showed the natural leather color.

 I bought some leather colored polish to fill in the gap. I was lucky that the color brick red is the same as the bag. Used a narrow tiny brush to “paint” the gap between the folded and stitched edges to cover the natural brown suede leather which on some spots was visible.

Also a bag stop was glued at the center of the inside shoulder strap. This bag stop prevents the strap from gliding of my shoulder.

            

 This last thumbnail picture reflects the true color of my new bag the best.   

Leather bag. January 13, 2008

My store bought black leather bag was worn out so I made a copy because I still liked the design and the size. This was one of my first leather bags I made.

Sewing is done with a commercial sewing machine and regular sewing machine needles.

 The size of this bag is wide 13,5 inch ( 34,5 cm) height 12,5 inch ( 32 cm) bottom depth is 4 inch ( 10 cm) and the shoulder-strap is 45 inch long ( 112 cm)

I used a printed sturdy leather , several interfacings , lining leather to reinforce the bottom, leather glue , leather tape to reinforce the zipper opening, medical paper tape to secure the patterns on the leather while I did cut the leather with a Kai cutter. A hammer for flatten the seams.

Hansel leather interfacing which can be fused on a low temperature.

Front side zippered pocket.

The inside pockets, one welt pocket with a snap, one zippered pocket, pen holder, cell phone holder and key ring holder.

The dark green lining is interfaced to give it some more durability, because this lining is not a sturdy bag lining.

The bag closure is done by 2 bag snaps and a piece of Velcro which acts as a pickpockets alarm.

Back view

Bottom view.

 Added a bag stop at the inside center part of the shoulder bag so the strap stays on my shoulder .

Prada key leash September 5, 2007

When I bought this red Prada hobo last year, I received a great key leash. I only recently started using it and have found it so handy for those of us who like to carry (and fill!) a large bag.

This particular leash is longer than most - about 13″ without the hardware. I really like the length because I can lock up without unhooking the leash. It also allows me to loop it around handles of totes (with the keys dangling inside) or loop it around my wrist if I’m just dashing into the dry cleaners or grocery store. Happily, many bags today already come with an interior ring designed for a key leash (who knows why the Prada ring is on the outside - I would never do it that way!) or you can add one to your home sewn bags.

For this project you will need:

*mid-weight leather scrap the desired length of your leash plus a few scraps
*key ring
*swivel hook
*leather glue or cement
*EdgeKote
*glover’s needle
*heavy thread (I used 69 bonded nylon)
*awl

Making your own leash is easy as I will demonstrate here. First, I selected a scrap of leather in the desired length, cut two strips and glued them together with my favorite Tandy leather cement. This cement is available at Tandy stores or at Michael’s. You can also use contact cement or other glues designed for leather (like Sobo). You’ll also need to reserve a couple of smaller pieces - about 2″ long - for finishing the ends.

Once the cement dries, simply use your rotary cutter to cut a 1/2″ wide strap. This is infinitely easier than trying to evenly glue two 1/2″ wide pieces together. Cut two 2″ long and 1/2″ wide strips from your single layer of leather.

I topstitched my long strap but didn’t bother doing so on the short pieces.

Next comes edge finishing: I really love Fiebing’s Edge Kote to give the edges a more finished look. You can purchase Edge Kote at Tandy or online, it is available in black and brown (I sure wish they’d add more colors). Someone suggested to me that acrylic craft paint would also work but I haven’t tried it yet so I don’t know how durable it is. Simply take a small paint brush and carefully coat the edges. Allow to dry.

Then, I simply added the ring and hook to the ends and secured them with machine stitching. This stitching is really important - you don’t want to lose your keys!

Cover the raw edges with your single layer strips, cutting them to length. Secure with handstitching poking small holes with your awl first. To make sure the finishing strips wouldn’t slide off I added a few drops of leather cement. That shiny stuff you see on the leather is just a little oil from my machine - oops!

That’s it, you’re done! A leash to rival the pricey original.

PS: I used an industrial walking foot machine for this project. If your machine will not handle the thickness of the leather you can omit the decorative edgestitching (although most machines can easily handle those two layers) and then securely handstitch the ends with heavy thread (don’t forget to use an awl to make handsewing easier) or secure with a rivet.

Leather drawstring bag April 17, 2007

Vogue pattern 7703  view D was used to make this drawstring bag in butter soft blue leather.

I used 2 pieces of soft leather, one hide was 5 foot and the other was 7 foot .

Three different fusible interfacings to add some strength and add some body to the bag because the leather was too soft to become a bag on its own.

On top the extra heavy woven, middle the non woven, at the bottom hansel. These interfacings are special made to use with leather, because you can fuse the interfacing with the iron on a warm setting.

The non-woven interfacing was fused on all the pattern parts except the drawstring as an underlay for the woven leather interfacing Hansel which is a bit rough and I did not want to change the hand of the leather.

The extra heavy interfacing is added to the bottom part on top of the previous two interfacings, the leather facing parts and the shoulder strap.

Dupioni silk fabric was used for the lining, front pocket lining and the interior pocket.

I made some pattern and design changes. The backside of the bag is sewn with a center seam because I had not enough leather to cut that pattern without a seam. It was an easy alteration, just double half of the center backside pattern and add seam allowances. I topstitched the s.a. on both sides of the center back seam.

The front pocket was too wide to my taste so I stitched a line at the center of the pocket, now there are 2 separate pockets.

The pattern instructions suggest to use cardboard for the bottom part. I was not satisfied with the result it was too stiff so I used a remnant piece of upholstery leather which I glued to the bottom part.

Also skipped one of the shoulder straps because I find it annoying that wearing a shoulder bag which has 2 long shoulder straps , one of the shoulder straps is always falling down .

I used only one shoulder strap (the length of the pattern strap is  21,5 inch /55 cm while I used a 38,5 inch/ 98 cm length) which I sewed diagonal at the front and at the back side of the bag.

The instructions for sewing the lining bag was different than what I did. I sewed the side seams of the lining but left one piece open for turning after I attached the lining at the leather facing and sewed the bottom part. The last step for sewing the lining part was to sew the left open part by hand.

I noticed too late that the placement of the interior pocket was too high placed, so if you want to make this bag be aware of this. It will be more convenient if the posket is placed lower on the pattern an adding a snap would be handy too.

Hot Patterns Mega-Shopper January 15, 2007

I didn’t intend to make a piece of luggage when I started the HotPatterns Mega-Shopper, but in the end, that’s pretty much what I got! This is a Very Large Bag - the finished size is 16 x 7 x 12 inches.

Thank goodness for Diva Ann - I had to finish this up on her industrial machine, because my Bernina 180 just didn’t have the horsepower to sew through all the layers. And we still broke a leather needle!  The end result is not even close to perfect, but I like it anyway.

 There are 4 layers to this bag: The red wool twill, a canvas fused to the twill, heavy nonwoven double sided interfacing (thankfully there a use for this stuff 0utside of *gag* fabric bowls) and lightweight cotton fused to the second side of the double fusible. All of this structure the enables the bag to stand upright. The bottom of the bag is upholstery grade leather. Inside, between the leather bottom and the lining, is a piece of 1/8 inch thick Masonite with another piece of the heavy fusible glued on top to soften the surface a bit. The Masonite keeps the bag from falling over.

The inside photo shows you just how large this bag really is - I could easily carry a small dog. The original pattern had some interior pockets, and I added a few more. There is a large zipper pocket all across one interior side, two smaller pockets opposite, a gusset for a wine bottle or other tall item, and a swivel hook for my keys. In a bag this large, without the swivel, my keys would drop to the bottom like an anchor.

Aside from the challenge of such heavy materials, this bag really isn’t hard to put together, and using a lighter weight fashion fabric would make sewing much easier.  One thing I will do, if I ever make something like this again, will be to sew the sides wrong sides together and just bind the edges. I noticed before I turned the bag out (which was quite a wrestling match) that the corners were nice and square. Now I know why big totes are often finished with binding.  That idea, however, will require some nice leather and an industrial grade binding foot to really make it look good - a project for another time.

 Ann and I will be in New York next week (stay tuned for some live blogging from the Garment District!), and I wanted a big tote for shopping. That was definitely achieved with the Mega-Shopper!
Phyllis

Reuse That Old Handbag Hardware December 13, 2006

By Diva Els

Since I made my last leather bag I felt the urge to sew another one for everyday use. I save my bags although they are be worn out or out of date but I cannot throw a bag away. One of my favourite bags ((bought 10 years ago) was worn out but I still like the design and the hardware was good enough to reuse again.
 

So I made a copy of this bag.
A piece of dark green butter soft leather was in my stash and waiting for a use.
I measured the bag width, length, height, and depth and made a paper pattern.
The original bag has a center seam at the side where the zipper pocket is placed but I had enough leather to skip that seam. I interfaced the leather parts with a fusible non-woven special leather interfacing which can be ironed with a warm iron.
The non-woven interfacing is cut with seam allowances. The bottom and side part could use a bit more strength so I added an extra layer of a sturdier interfacing between the first and second layer (this one without seam allowances).
The shoulder straps also could use a bit more strength so I did some testing and used a piece of petersham ribbon as an extra layer.
The opening of the bag where the zipper will be attached is stabilized with fusible seam tape as well as the lining opening.

I used leather glue to hold the leather seam allowances, and a hammer to flatten the seams. The bag has two pockets on both sides, one is an open pocket, 

and on the other side a zippered one.


The lining is interfaced with a fusible cotton red interfacing. The inside pocket is made of a double layer of the lining fabric.
The inside pocket

has a double function, the outside is a zippered pocket while the under layer is an open pocket,

This pocket is sewn at the lining by topstitching around the edges. I also added a key ring at the side depth of the bag.
When I was sewing the short end of the zipper at the bag with the hardware ring attached, I noticed I made a mistake. The hardware has a silver colour and I used a matching green with brass colour zipper teeth.

I removed the green brass zipper from the opening but left the pocket zipper because that side is not shown to the public while I wear that bag. I wear my shoulder bag on my left shoulder so the zipper pocket is towards my body. I bought a new green zipper with silver teeth which had a nice zipper pull,

but the colour was not spot on and the zipper was not working properly. It was stiff. I tried to smooth it by rubbing beewax on the teeth but it did not help. So I decided to use another zipper from my stash. This time a grey one that worked okay but needed to be covered to hide the grey tape.
I used 2 strips of leather to cover the tape.
I stretched the leather a bit while sewing the leather at the zipper tape so the zipper has the same shallow shape, to match the bag’s shape.

So the zipper is sewn in on a different way. The original bag zipper opening is topstitched and the zipper tape was partly visible.
It was easy to sew this bag on my Pfaff sewing machine because the leather was soft, the hardest part was sewing in the zipper. I needed to do some tests for the zipper to see which order to sew it. I found out that the short side of the zipper, where the ring is attached, needed to be sewn in first. Secondly, the zipper long ends on both sides, and lastly the other short end where the shoulder straps is attached.
The lining is sewn in by hand at the zipper tape,

because I had already glued the leather seam allowance to the inside.
The final step was to add the bag stop,

which helps to prevent the shoulder strap gliding of my shoulder.

Finished bag.

Done and ready to use.

Bobby Breslau bag November 21, 2006

 By Diva ElsI wanted to make a copy of this unusual shaped bag after reading about this bag at
Kathleen Fasanella’s website And reading more about the bag that Gigi is making
I had hopes to find the pattern but no luck . Gigi was kind enough for tracing the pattern pieces and sent it to me in The Netherlands.

Items I used for this bag:
The leather bag is sewn with a home machine Pfaff 1467, I used a regular sewing foot on which I glued a piece of Teflon under the foot. Stitch length 3.5, needle size 90 and regular Gütermann thread. Leather glue, small piece of lining leather and a hammer to pound the seams flat. I had a large piece of leather about 32 square foot in my stash and it was enough for making this huge bag, although I had to cut the front pocket with a center seam. Fusible hair canvas for leather in two different weights and a soft non woven fusible special for leather.


I also used fusible woven tape for leather at the front opening and the inside pockets for stabilising, as well as 2 pieces of rigilene boning (6 and 12 mm)

Detail rigilene boning,

The wider one 12 mm which I stitched at the inside of the flap at the spot where the back parts ends and the flap starts.

The other piece of rigilene boning (6 mm ) I glued between the facing and the upper part of the front and topstitched from the right side of the bag.

The most heavy haircanvas is fused at the back, side parts and the shoulder straps ( without seam allowances), the other pattern parts are interfaced with the lighter weight canvas while the nonwoven interfacing is fused at the flap facing, the inside pocket, and the shoulder strap facing part.
The pockets are lined except the cell phone pocket. To further strenghten the straps I decided to use a bit more interfacing so I fused a second layer of the heavy hair canvas to these.
The magnetic closure at the front is stabilized with a piece of leather lining at the inside and I also glued a piece of the leather lining on top of it so the metal part is covered and can not damage the leather.


I added a cell phone pocket and a key ring at the side part.
The straps were cut longer and were not tied in a knot (in contrast to the Pattern example), but they were sewed together as one. I like the longer shoulder strap so I can wear the bag crossed over the shoulder.
I added a Vogue American Designer Original label inside the back pocket,

The unusual shape of the bag bottom,

The sizes of the bag I made are:
width 16 inch ( 41 cm)
depth side 9,5 inch ( 24 cm)
height 12 inch ( 30 cm
Shoulder strap length 53 inch ( 134 cm)

Els