Found some nice old handprinted fabric that I think is from the 60s-70s, but I’m not sure about the specifics. I had some blue leather left for my grandmother’s purse, which fit the fabric well. I’m not sure how long the fabric will last, being exposed to the elements, but I really like the result and how I matched the patterns on the outside.
The first ever leather bag I made could have been better, but I liked the design. I re-did the bag, added fabric liner, and made two new ones, one in purple and one with fabric on the outside.
One of my friends told me he liked old leather messenger bags a while ago, and I decided to try to make him one; proper leather, thick linen thread, goat leather edge liner, and of course, paisley for the inner fabric.
When I started off working with leather, I would look for scraps at my local craft store. Normally they wouldn’t have bigger pieces, but one day I found a decently sized one that I decided to try to make a cylinder bag out of. The leather was a bit warped and had some stains, but my friend liked it so I gave it to her. Now, with more experience, I decided to sew her a new one; with leather, stitching, and fabric of her choosing. It’s aggressively purple, but I still think it has some elegance.
Tried making a wallet out of the light blue leather I had. It is not straight, it is a bit bulky, however, I still think it turned out ok.
My grandmother liked my red backpack, so I decided to sew her a similarly designed handbag. Blue patent leather, black goatskin lining, and this time an old school suit fabric for the lining. I think the end result looks great!
Hand stitching leather is appealing but requires loads of time. Therefore I’d like to limit the stitching for visuals, not for functionality. Modern leather-grade sewing machines are expensive, typically industrial equipment. However old sewing machines with metal constructions can handle this no problem. After looking around a while I finally found one! Scored this cast iron Singer model 99 (1930 model) with the original handbook and complete extras in great condition for pennies (350 SEK, 40 USD). Looks great with the metal etched lace too.
After digging through the discount section of my local fabric store I found some old-school wool fabrics. That inspired me to sew an old-timey duffle bag I could use while traveling. Freehand design, entirely hand-stitched, no glue used, and the only plastic in the project is in the zipper (need to find other zippers for my next project).
My old bike frame broke, so I managed to forage another one. The mechanical parts worked fine, but it had quite a lot of rust and grime on it. Nothing a bit of sanding, painting, and finishing could solve though!
I have always liked backpacks, sleek canvas ones in particular. Inspired by these I sewed my own version using thick red patent leather, white stitching, black goats leather lining, and pompous faux satin lining fabric.
