Moment of madness

[Ellabella]

DH asked me recently what I wanted for my upcoming birthday and in a moment of madness I asked for some leather to make a bag

I’ve just had a look at the very useful list from @Lizzielogs and am going to have a good peruse later.

I’ve made a few bags in the past but never in leather and am now wondering if I’m going to bite off more than I can chew, but heigh ho, no harm in trying.

I know I could just have asked for a new bag but if I leave DH to choose it, it will be boring and sensible.

[sewingj]

About 15 years ago I did an upholstery course so I could re-cover our dining chairs. The tutor asked if I was going to replace the original leather as she knew where to buy a complete hide. The thought of spending so much money and then cutting it up was too much for me and they've been in fabric ever since!

[snoozi soozi]

I was given some leather from friends who were slinging an old sofa. I had a practice make, I attempted a wee zippered coin purse. It didn't go well. Not sure if you need particular type of machine, or needle, but my old Janome didn't cope well with it. Just sayin 

Good luck with it 

[Iminei]

I have a very nice pair of handles if you'd like them @Ellabella  .. I rescued them from a tat bag that fell apart.

[Ellabella]

Oh Imi what colour are they?

[Iminei]

Dark Brown with chrome fixings ... and theres a magnetic clasp too ..



linky

[Ellabella]

Yes please, but not for my bag but for something else. How much do you want?

[Morgan]

a few things to bear in mind -
Interface thin leather (it stretches)
Soft and slightly thicker leather is great for bags but think about seam types and construction, how to reduce bulk and edge finishing.
For Edge finishing investigate 2 methods - edge paint and skive & turn.  Lots of info around and on you tube about those.
Skiving helps to reduce bulk.  There are some other useful methods for reducing bulk (and spending on hardware) for example this method of making hidden strap connectors
and when making straps with leather, try leather on one side and fabric on the other.  Also make friends with glue - not everything needs to be stitched.
A Tip - if it's going to be a one off, skiving (shaving to thin down) takes a bit of practice and you probably don't want to buy a skiving knife unless you expect to do several more leather projects.  For a first project, try working with a thin leather and edge paint for finishing, plus you can use patterns designed for thicker fabrics.
Sofa leather can be great for bags but it is usually in the medium to thick leather.

choose with care the style of bag  number of seams etc
For hardware, if you're not a prolific bagmaker, go with chicago screws rather than investing in a double cap rivet set.  If you're going to include zips, get some bag making zips, they tend to have bigger and nicely shaped pullers - the most common use sizes are 3#, 5# and 7#

the thicker hard leather uses different techniques ie. more in the zone of leather work techniques, so maybe leave that until another time should the bag or leather working bug bite.

Finally, there is an excellent, friendly and helpful bag making group on facebook with information re suppliers and recommendations - https://www.facebook.com/groups/britishbagmakers/?ref=bookmarks .  It's also the parent group to several regional groups and some of those meet up from time to time.