Frocktails frenzy hit Sydney recently.

A chance to create a dress one might not ordinarily have a reason to create.

And let's face it. I rarely have a reason to dress up and play elegant.

LEATHERWORKED: Embracing Imperfection

I am often very hard on myself.

I want things to be perfect. I expect to live up to my own very high standards.

If you're going to do something, do it well. And I know when it's going well. There is a certain flow to the process. The pieces fall into place neatly and with decorum. The project grows in one's hands with joy and excitement.

LEATHERWORKED: HELLO BEAUTIFUL

Well hello, beautiful.

That's what I kept saying as this gorgeous bag came alive, piece by piece, in my hands.

It was only fitting that she should keep her name.

LEATHERWORKED: SPRING SLING

I bought the most marvelous leather hide over a year ago.

Burnished to a beautiful hue - neither gold, nor bronze, nor pewter or platinum.

But somehow a magical mix of all, straying to one hue or another in different lights and with various backgrounds.

Magical perfection.

HOOKED, WORKED, SEWN: THE CRAFTING OF A GIFT

This was truly a labour of love.

A crafty undertaking of the gift variety.

A sneaky way to share a new addiction with a friend.

LEATHERWORKED: BRONZED LEATHER

Sometimes a fabric demands to be used even when you know it's not quite right.

I adored the burnished finish of this leather the moment it winked at me from a shelf up high.

Oh yes, this was the one. The perfect fit for my Quirky Diva.

Interestingly the metallic shade in my Diva fabric is silver. But it seems to be warmed by the charcoal accents making this warmer bronze/gold shade a match made in heaven.

This leather's super soft hand made this a clear emotional purchase rather than a considered one... super soft leather is not exactly the best choice for what I originally wanted to be a fairly structured bag. But when a fabric demands to be used, you make it work, dammit!

SEWN: CANVAS AND LEATHER FOR MY SECRET VALENTINE

I've succumbed to the Furoshiki madness again.

But I went all a bit extra special this time.

 

You see this was my Secret Valentine's Gift as part of Sanae Ishida and Ute's 2015 Secret Valentine Exchange (#2015sve).

SEWN: FUROSHIKI MADNESS

Well they're not the traditional Furoshiki folded bag, but a rough approximation! These bags are also known as a Japanese triangle bags or origami bags.

I was originally inspired by the lovely Anna's post on her teacher presents this year. I loved the look of her bags and how well they can be completely individualised for the recipient. I had wanted to delve down the path of handcrafted gifts (at least for some) this Christmas and I knew I'd hit on the perfect project. Who doesn't love another beautiful and lovingly made bag?

I sent out a few emails with some vague, but enlightening questions, about favourite colours, prints or vibrancy and I was off. I used the very gorgeous Cloud9 100% certified organic cotton canvas fabrics for all but the flouro yellow chevron which was a buzoku duck from Spotties.

It really is a super easy and fast make. You just need a rectangle of fabric three times as long as it is wide, and a bit of fancy folding and stitches later, ta-da, there is your bag. I used BurdaStyle's Triangle bag tutorial because the particular way in which the material is folded and then stitched made way better sense to me, and seemed to suit the dimensions of my material. I was constrained by the width of my fabric and ended up cutting rectangles 43.5 inches x 14.5 inches.

Other, alternative methods can be found in this tutorial by //Between the lines// and this one at whipup.net.

I also decided to work that leather magic again with some handle wraps made from scrap pieces left over from one of hubby's many leather projects (see here and here).

I dyed the leather Whiskey brown  and found it hugely annoying perplexing that the final colour of each piece was so different. But in the end I love that each piece is completely unique.

LEATHERWORKED: BESPOKE BELT

Oh yes, yes I am. I am claiming this as a finished sewn project.

I know, I know. Whaaaaaaaat???? I know you guys are sitting there thinking Seriously Jillian? This is all you got? You are so letting down the rest of us out there working our fingers to the bone to present meaty, gorgeously complicated projects. 

But seriously, it is kind of cool. A bespoke belt! I am not an accessory girl and I have had the same one belt for literally 20 odd years. It was looking a little tired. I needed a new one, and I wanted it to fit me. So I got on the leatherwork bandwagon and there you have it.

I purchased the leather already dyed and cut to this width. All I needed to do was attach a fastener/buckle, cut the belt to my desired length and punch a hole to fasten the finished product.

I used a waxed linen thread to hand sew the buckle on. Hand sewing through leather this heavy was HARD. Ouch on the hands - I resorted to using pliers to pull the needles through.

LEATHERWORKED: JUST A LITTLE LEATHERWORK

 

Oh how tempting it is to claim this as my own, quite fabulous work. Wanna know the truth?? My ridiculous husband made it! My ridiculously clever husband, P!

This my friends is a very retro tool saddle bag to go with the fabulous Brooks saddle I gifted to P for Valentine's Day 2013.

Can we be perfectly clear here?

I really think this is quite an amazing feat. P has never attempted leatherwork or sewing before. He conceived of the idea, created the design from scratch (including drafting the pattern), sourced the leather and hardware, dyed and finished the leather himself, and then sewed it completely by hand. The man's talents are limitless.