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.

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...

Triangular bag :: a tutorial

You can't look past the Martin Margiela triangle bags on the net lately. I had seen this type of bags before, pre-Margiela, I mean, and a lot cheaper too. I liked the minimalism - they reminded me of Japanese bag folding, furoshiki. The ingenuity is striking - a good example of how to optimize under constraints (this is the economist in me speaking) or translated in sewing terms: how to make the largest bag possible given only a small piece of fabric.

Anyway, as I was trying to figure out how to make one of these, I found out you can do so in a couple of different ways (I figured out at least 3 different methods). It all boils down to basic geometry, combining shapes in one way or another. I made several and I find the method described below to be the easiest one. All it takes is a rectangular piece of fabric, some folding and basic sewing skills. And if you prepare your fabric by hemming it all the way around, you can make this bag in under 15 minutes. As fast, almost, as furoshiki folding, except that this one's permanent.

What you need:

Note: this bag can be finished in many different ways. I won't go into detail here, but you could add lining, pockets, add a longer strap, finish it off with boxed corners, etc. Just know that when you add something you'll need more fabric.

- a rectangular piece of fabric, where the length of the fabric equals three times the width. To give you an idea of the dimensions: a 50 cm x 150 cm piece of fabric results in a 65-70 cm wide bag (which is really big!) depending on how you finish the seams.
- sewing machine, thread, pins
- Iron




Instructions:

1. Hem the fabric all the way around.
2. Place the fabric in front of you, right side facing up, and start folding as shown in the pictures.
3. Pin the fabric together where it says 'sew' on the picture. Flip over and repeat on the other side.
4. Sew together both seams on the machine. Turn inside out. Press.
5. Handle: Join the tips by overlapping them and sew into place.
A nice detail: before joining the tips I slipped on a piece of leather - a detail I was really proud of. It's only while looking at the Margiela pictures, right now, as I was writing, that I noticed they did the exact same thing...


That's all there is to it! I hope you like this bag as much as I do...


Cheers,


Pascale


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.

Color me red

I have been having fun lately, making new bags.
This one I particularly like because of its dramatic shape.
Linen, leather, the usual...

Available here.

A new favorite

A new shopping tote made right before the holidays.
The fabric is a nice organic hemp cotton blend which I bought at a crafts fair.
The straps are natural leather.
Inside, the bag has a pocket, finished with leather trim and a snap.

It's a new favorite of mine. The perfect size for daily errands.
Simple and efficient - just the way I like it!

Fluo linen bag DIY

Looking for a simple but rewarding project or a DIY gift idea?
Then keep on reading as I may have something for you!

On my last trip to the craft store I finally found the fluorescent orange fabric paint I had been looking for! I desperately needed some after seeing some really nice printed home textiles in a boutique here in Paris.



With a simple pencil eraser I printed a random pattern of dots on some almost sheer natural cotton muslin. It took me about half an hour to finish the job. Once dry, and ironed to set the dye, I took the piece of fabric to my sewing machine and made a simple drawstring bag. From beginning to end, another 15 minutes, I guess. The result is a cute linen bag, or anything bag if you like.
Make them smaller and you have the cutest gift bags. The same printing technique would work well to decorate pillow cases, kitchen towels, napkins. Anything really. If you're running out of time you can have your kids do the printing part. Or, why not, the entire project!




What you'll need:

- a piece of fabric, pre-washed
- fabric paint, like Pébéo Setacolor, transparent fluorescent orange, #32
- pencil with eraser at the top
- plastic sheeting to protect your working surface
- painters tape to tape fabric to plastic
- rope for drawstring
- optional: fluorescent sewing thread
- sewing machine



Instructions:

1. Tape your fabric to the plastic sheet protecting your working surface, to prevent the fabric from shifting around creating unwanted smudges.
2. Dip eraser in paint, next onto fabric (do a few test prints on a piece of scrap) and do so in a random pattern.
3. Let dry. After, iron to set the paint (or follow your paint's instructions).
4. Make a drawstring bag as explained here. I used some contrasting fluorescent thread for sewing the drawstring tunnel. And that's all there is to it!


The things you can do with a simple pencil eraser... Have fun!