Purses

A few more purses I made over Summer.

Just the right size to hold a phone, keys and some money.

Instructions can be found here.

Note: The dimensions of the purses above correspond to the ones given in the instructions - the bag in the previous post was made slightly bigger.

I built a bag

Inspired by the famous and oh-so-gorgeous Building Block Bags and with the help of this tutorial.
This is the second one I made - I made this one slightly bigger than the first one.

One for every occasion...

Simple leather bag tutorial

I just finished another leather bag this afternoon and I love it.
As a matter of fact, I just put it to the test and I find it perfect - very basic - very simple - just the way I like it.
And you know what?!
The instructions are down below, so you can make one too!
This is an entry level project, so no special skills, nor tools are required.

Here's what you will need:

The dimensions of the finished bag are: 38 cm by 40 cm

- leather - I used a leather hide of approx. 0.55 m² but any large (combined) piece of leather would do
- leather cording for strap (determine how long you want your straps to be, and add an extra 15 cm to each strap for knotting - so, if one strap measures x you will need 2(x + 15 cm) in total.
- thread, linen or nylon, as long as it's strong
- magnetic snap
- 2 needles
- pricking iron or a stitching awl
- mallet, rubber or wooden hammer
- hole punch
- glue, a standard crafts glue is fine
- optional: beeswax to wax sewing thread




Instructions:

1. Cut a rectangle (or two rectangles of equal size if working with smaller pieces of leather) - in my case the rectangle was 39 cm x 80 cm. Next, make stitching holes along the long side for the side seams using a pricking iron, stitch punch or awl, about 0.5 cm from the side.
2. Cut a piece of thread about 5 times the length of the seam you're going to sew. Thread a needle at each end and 'lock the needles' as is very well explained here. Next, sew the side seams using a saddle stitch, explained here. Note: in most stitching videos you'll notice people are using a stitching pony. I don't, for the simple reason I don't own one and I don't find it necessary. However, you could squeeze your leather in between two hardcover books held together with a a rubber band or belt. This should work equally well in my opinion.
3. From the left over leather, cut six 5 cm squares.  Put four aside. Attach male and female part of a magnetic snap to the two remaining squares. If you don't know how to fix a magnetic snap check out this tutorial. Next, generously apply glue to the back of the magnetic snap squares and glue them into place onto the wrong sides of the bag, perfectly in the middle and about 3.5 cm from the top (measuring from the center of the snap). To make sure the glue/ square adheres, lightly hammer the square. Dab away any excess glue. Let dry.
4. Determine where you want the straps to come. Then, position and glue  into place each of the four other squares which will serve to reinforce the leather where the strap holes come. Hammer lightly, dab away excess glue and let dry. 
5. Mark the center of each square. Next, punch a hole with the leather punch. Repeat for the other squares. 
6. Cut the leather cord to size, to make two straps. Tie a  double fisherman's knot at one end, thread through the hole as shown, thread through the other hole and finish off with another double fisherman's knot. Repeat with the second strap. And that's it!

As with all of my tutorials, please note, this tutorial is intended for personal use only. Therefore, do not reproduce, sell or commercialize in any form. Thanks for understanding!

If you made something using a tutorial found on this blog or if you got inspired by something you found here, make sure to post your pictures here.

Chains and leather

My latest creation: a purse with a chain strap.

I made this purse from two pieces of leather scrap I had, in a nice weathered brown. The leather is heavy weight, but turned out to be buttery soft - a dream to work with!
For the shape I chose a simple rectangle as I was limited by the small amount of leather I had.
For the flap I kept the rough selvedges and I didn't mind the tiny whole the leather had.
On the inside, I made a small pocket (the right size to hold my cell phone) and I added a strap with clasp for holding keys as well.





I found the heavy and well made brass chain, at a local jewelry making supply store. It wasn't cheap but well worth it.
The tabs holding the chain are integrated in the side seams.





I'm not sure if I should add any detail on the flap or not, nor if I should add a snap or other closure. I think I will do a test run with the purse as is. I like simplicity and a minimalistic look, especially with nice leather like this.

The purse is entirely hand stitched with linen thread. Since the thread wasn't waxed I used beeswax to wax it myself, which worked really well.

I will do a post on how to hand sew leather some time soon, going deeper into some tricks and skills and addressing the tools needed.

A touch of Fendi :: Fold-over clutch

I finished my 'Fendi' color block fold-over clutch over the weekend - and I really, really l o v e it!
Everything went well on this project, maybe because I took my time for a change.
All the leather parts were hand-sewn.
I particularly like the off-setting 'Rose Jaipur' leather piping - I happen to have peep-toe high heel sandals in the exact same color! Unlike fabric piping often, the leather piping was extremely easy to make and work with.
Inside the clutch there's a fabric lining, with a zippered pocket. This is perhaps the only detail I'm not entirely happy with. It turns out I put it in too low, which makes it a little deep and hard to reach.
The clutch closes with a magnetic snap.
In case you were wondering, all leather used is scrap 'Hermes' leather which I buy in bulk at a local retailer.

I got my inspiration here. For more bag inspiration check out my board on Pinterest.

A touch of Fendi

 

 

A glimpse on a new project I'm currently working on. In Fendi SS13 colors, sort of. All hand sewn.
So far, it's been progressing just the way I wanted, with not too many surprises or difficulties.
Let's hope I can keep it that way.

In the meantime, we're spending the better part of our school break inside thanks to the lovely weather.
It snowed the entire day yesterday which is rather exceptional at this time of the year in this part of the world. The bad weather has even made us come back home earlier from our trip to the seaside.

People are desperate for a little sun and warmer temperatures...
Oh, Spring, please don't make us wait much longer...

xo, P.

Striped

First of all, thanks for your comments, both online and offline, on my previous post! I really appreciated your suggestions. A strap would definitely make more sense if I want to get more use out of my bag. But,
for now, I guess I'll leave it as it is. Until I'm absolutely sure. I really like the way it looks now, so better safe than sorry... for now...




There's been more leather works going on here. I made these yesterday afternoon. The same as the previous set I made - they're all gone so I wanted to stock up on them again. All four are hand sewn.
I really got the hang of it. As a matter of fact I find it less stressful than sewing on the machine, as you only get one chance with leather... 
I added a little bit of 'peps' this time, by painting a neon stripe on the white ones and a silver one on the blue and coffee ones.

They'll be available in my Etsy shop later on this week.
Wishing you a great week!

To clutch or not to clutch?

 







Finished my first fully hand sewn leather bag ever...
Real bag, I mean.

Or not? Should I add a strap?
Or should I leave it as it is?

To clutch or not to clutch - that's the question...

What do you think?

Still in progress...

Playing around with buttons.
I'm not sure yet whether or not to attach a strap.
There's no real plan - I'm shaping it as I go.
I think I like it...

Work in progress :: hand sewing leather

Something I'm currently working on.

I finally found the courage to start cutting in one the many hides I own - I'm literally sitting on a mountain of leather, enough to pave a room.

Too worried to damage my precious sewing machine (and leather), I recently turned to hand sewing my leather projects.
I spent the better part of yesterday afternoon sewing, sitting on the floor in front of the window for better light, the leather in my lap.

Soothing...

To be continued today, I hope...

And more...

Also available here, a leather key chain with strap.

New

These have been added to my shop today!
Simple leather coin purses, hand sewn, with a metallic snap.

Happy 2013 to all of you!

xo, P.

No-sew Leather Pencil Case :: a DIY

I have been feeling slightly under the weather this week. A lack of energy, a cold, sleepy, headachy... and I got slightly frustrated about it. So many things I wanted to do. So many unfinished projects on my table and in my head...



At least, yesterday, I managed to get this one out of the way. Taking pictures, scanning and transferring the template actually took me much longer than finishing the project. [I actually enjoyed taking the pictures. Yesterday was a dark and grey day, a bit of a challenge if you want to take natural light pictures. Especially, when doing so past five o'clock. An opportunity to get my Lastolite screen out, which had been collecting dust ever since I got it, about two years ago. A shame, really, as this thing works!!] But let's get back to the pencil case:



This no-sew leather pencil case makes a perfect last minute gift. As usual, I chose for a minimalistic and sleek design. I used a sample of coffee with cream heavy weight leather and added my favorite fluo elastic thread (Rayher Gummifaden)to spice things up a bit. And it turned out just the way I like it, holding my favorite drawing pens! The elastics have a double function: they hold the pens into place as well as keep the pencil case closed. You can alter the template to fit bigger pens, or only two pens, you can add a slot to hold an eraser... You can just play around with it.

If you want to make one too, here are the - very brief - instructions.



You will need:

- a piece of leather, big enough to fit the template (note: if you can't find leather, you could also use heavy weight felt, a sheet of foam or vinyl)
- a hole punch or awl
- elastic thread
- a rotary cutter or scissors



Instructions:

1. Print and cut out template, which you can find here.
2. Transfer template onto leather and cut out.
3. Using template, transfer the positioning of the holes. Next, make holes with hole punch.
4. Thread elastic through the holes and tie a knot. And done!!

Ok and now let's get moving and catch up!!

Cheers,

P.