Leather Bag, Part II

As promised, today I am sharing some more details about my leather bag.  First I should tell you that I fashioned this bag after a lovely bag at Anthropologie (suprise suprise).  Mine turned out a little more square-shaped, but for my purposes I think that is better.

The first thing I did was rip out the seams of the jacket.  I left the back of the jacket in one piece even though it was made up of 4 pieces of fabric because I knew that I would want to use it as one piece.  There was also a front flap and two cuffs that I removed from the main body of the jacket but did not deconstruct completely because I wanted to use them as they were for the strap.  I took apart everything else.  I discarded the jacket lining because it was not in very good condition and I wanted something with a little more style to use as the lining of the bag.

I had some trouble deciding on what part of the jacket to use for the main back piece of the bag.  I finally ended up taking the two front pieces (they were separate because of the zipper) and sewing them together. This made a large enough piece to cut out the back.  The added bonus of using the front of the jacket for the back of the purse is it had 4 pockets that I was able to include.  These are really useful for storing my phone and wallet because I can access them very easily and they are more secure than storing things in the front pocket.  What the back of the bag lacks in style it certainly makes up for in convenience.

The pockets on the front of the bag were cut from the arms of the jacket.  It was helpful that the jacket was pretty large because I was able to use some of the “smaller” parts, like the arms, for some suprisingly large pieces.

I bought most of the hardware that I used on the bag, with an exception of the zipper.  I reused the zipper that was on the jacket.  That worked out really well because it was the perfect size for my bag.  If I was making a smaller bag I probably would have used the zipper still, but I would have cut it to size and used thread to stop the zipper from coming off.

To line the bag I made another bag out of the striped fabric and sewed it to the inside of the leather bag.  I didn’t add any pockets to the inside because there are so many pockets on the outside, but I may end up adding some if I need them.

Finally, I made the strap from the cuffs and front flap of the jacket, which ended up being just the right length!  I can wear it over one shoulder comfortably, like I usually do with purses, but it is also long enough to put over my head, across the chest so that I can carry it easily while riding my bike.  Yay!  No more messenger bag for me!

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Bag from a Leather Jacket

This is what I was up to over the weekend…refashioning a leather jacket into a shoulder bag!  Mike has been doing lots of studying, so I have had plenty of time on my own to work on my sewing/crafting (though I never seem to have enough time to think that trying to tackle my un-upholstered couch is a good idea…I think I’ll have to work up to that one!).  I have heard about people refashioning leather jackets and then selling them on Etsy, and I decided to give it a try.

This was my first time sewing with leather, and I found out quickly that it is a bit different than working with regular fabric.  One thing that I found I had to be careful about was once you poke a hole in the leather, there is no getting it out.  This meant that I could not use pins to hold the leather in place, which was a little difficult at first, but since leather is so sturdy, I soon got the hang of it.  The leather would pretty much go wherever I told it to, unlike fabric, which can sometimes have a mind of its own.

The permanent hole problem also showed up when making the actual stitches…I had to be extremely careful to line everything up properly, and only sew the seams once to avoid having a whole bunch of extra holes in my bag.

You can see from the pictures that I haven’t quite finished the bag yet, though I am getting really close.  I still want to put a couple of tabs on the pocket flap that will go through the little loops on the bottom of the pocket.  I have made the liner for the bag, but I still have to put it in and attach the zipper.  And of course I have to put a strap on it.  I will post a finished picture of it on Wednesday so you all can see how it turned out.  I will also give you some more details on what parts of the jacket I used for what.  Because a leather jacket has only so much fabric, you have to be a little creative in using it.

How was your weekend?

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Thinkin’ Outside the Box Winner

And the winner is PinkTulipZA with a super cute Belle Bag!  As a challenge, she used mismatching fabrics, and lots of red! 

Photo Courtesy of PinkTulipZA

“I survived working with RED. I survived mixing bright colours that don’t match (according to me). I managed to follow Nikki’s Belle bag pattern without any major problems. Whew! So, here she is! The brightest bag in town!” -PinkTulipZA

I was going to put all the contestants to a vote, but seeing as we only had one entry, the $30 gift card to Super Buzzy goes to her!  Congratulations!

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Reversible Water Bottle Holder

As promised, here is the first camping craft!  We went on a couple hikes while camping, and it was a bit inconvenient to be carrying my water bottle in my hands, especially when I had to do some climbing.  I was wishing that I had something to put the water bottle in, but I didn’t want to have to carry a giant backpack for just one water bottle.  I decided to put together this little holder to keep my hands free.  This holder is meant to fit pretty tightly around the water bottle, so be careful when you sew it to keep the seams at 1/4″.  Also, If you like, you could make the strap adjustable…I think I might end up doing this. 

For the fabric I used a lovely upholstry weight cotton that my sister gave me for Christmas.  This fabric is perfect because it is extremely durable, and the colors won’t show a lot of dirt.  I highly recommend using something that is heavier than a quilting cotton so that it will withstand some banging around.

So without further ado…here are the instructions for the Reversible Water Bottle Holder.

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A New Spring Bag, Five Senses Friday

I mentioned on Wednesday that my next project for Build Your Wardrobe was the Buttercup Bag, Made by Rae.  Well, I made it last night, and I LOVE it!!!  I highly recommend this pattern.  It came together in about 2 hours, the directions were really easy to follow, and it looks so cute!

I have been dying to use that fabric for something ever since I found it at my local fabric shop.  I think that this is the perfect application.  Elfride helped me pick out some fabric to line the bag, and Mike picked out the buttons.  My kind of joint project!

You can see in the picture that I made a couple changes to the pattern.  I extended the length of the strap by about 4 inches because I like my bags to hang a bit lower on my body.  I left out the small piece of fabric behind the bottons because the buttons are kind of large, and you could hardly see the small piece of fabric behind them.  Finally, I did not insert the magnetic snap.  I think this was my one mistake.  I wish I had left it in because it adds some structure and functionality to the bag.

If I was to make it again, I might add some interfacing to the strap and the top strips of fabric to add some more structure.  I think this might make the bag a little more durable.  All in all, this is a great pattern, even for beginners.  If you have a chance, definately give it a try.

And now on to Five Senses Friday…Hosted by Abby.

{See}

– My dark office.  I wish I was outside.

– Clouds coming over the mountains and slowly filling the blue sky above me.

{Smell}

– Spring, finally “springing” back after the last snow storm of the winter.

– Fresh rain on the pavement.

{Taste}

– Breakfast for dinner…yummy!

– Branches Black Button Sage Honey.  On oatmeal or by itself!  Mmmm, so buttery!

{Touch}

– Dropletts of water landing on my nose and tongue.

{Hear}

– The woodpecker, who had made his home on the top of a lightpost instead of a tree.  That guy is so silly!

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Scrap Tote

While I was going through my fabrics this weekend, looking for a project I could do, I realized that I still have a ton of scraps left even after the other various scrap projects I have done (here, here, and here).  I had enough scraps still to make an updated tote.  I block printed the front of the bag (for instructions, check out the Baby blanket post), and used my handmade binding (for instructions, go here).  This is a great all-purpose tote, good for taking home some groceries, or carrying books back to the library.

What you will need

• 1/2 yard natural colored canvas
• 1/2 yard ecru colored linen
• 1/2 yard lining material of your choice (for this I used four different fabrics, and cut a panel out of each one)
• 2 yards 1″ thick strap material
• 39″ binding
• Matching thread

Wash, dry and iron the fabric.  Cut the following panels out of canvas and lining: two 15″x12.5″, two 15″x 4.5″, one 12″x4.5″.  Cut the following panels out of linen: two 13″x12.5″, two 13″x4.5″, one 12.5″x4.5″.  Fray one 12.5″ edge of the two 13″x12.5″ linen panels to 1/4″.  Do the same along one 4.5″ edge of the two 13″x4.5″ linen panels.

Align the fabric by placing each piece of canvas right side up, then placing the linen, right side up, with the frayed edges at the top.  The 15″x12.5″ pieces of canvas with have the 13″x12.5″ pieces of linen on them, with the bottom 12.5″ sides aligned.  The 15″x4.5″ canvas panels will have the 13″x4.5″ linen panels on top of them, with the 4.5″ bottoms aligned.  The canvas and linen 12.5″x4.5″ pieces will be aligned as normal.

Sew the canvas and linen panels together along the inside edge of the fray.

Pin the panels together, inside out to form a bag shape.

Sew along these edges at 1/4″.  Turn right side out.

Pin the corresponding liner panels to each other, inside out to form a bag shape.  Sew along these edges at 1/4″.

Place the liner inside the bag, and align along all the sides.  Sew binding tape around the top of the bag. 

Cut the two yards of strap in half.  Sew the edges with a zigzag stitch to prevent it from unraveling.  Pin each end of each strap to the inside of the bag, 1.5″ away from the edge seams.  Allow 3″ of each end of each strap to hang inside the bag.  Sew the straps on, along the same lines where the binding is sewn, and where the frayed fabric is sewn.

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Bag Pattern

As promised, I have finally put together the pattern for this bag!  I have included the option of having either the bird, or the stripe.  I recommend using an upholstery weight fabric for this project, as it will withstand much more wear and tear. 

What you will need:

• a copy of the bag-pattern
• 1 yard each of a solid colored fabric and a patterned fabric
• 2 large buttons
• 2 yards of strap material, 2″ wide (check your local hardware store…that is where I found mine)
• 1 yard fusible webbing (iron-on, medium-heavy weight)
• embroidery thread
• matching thread
• one 2″ three-bar slide
• one 2″ D-ring

Wash, dry, and iron fabric (especially if it is 100% cotton).  Place the inside pocket on the solid fabric and cut out. 

Place the fusible webbing on the remaining solid colored fabric and iron on wrong side.  Do not remove the paper backing yet.  Align the front and back panels, bottom panel, side panels, and front flap on the solid colored fabric and cut out (don’t forget to do 2 of the ones marked “x2”). 

Align the front and back panels, side panels, bottom panel, front flap and button loop on the patterned fabric and cut out (again, don’t forget to do 2 of the ones marked “x2″).  You will need two of the front flap in the patterned fabric.

Fold the fabric for the inside pocket on the dotted line and press with iron.  Sew along the top of the pocket at 1/8″ and trim ends.  Align the pocket on the back panel of the patterned fabric where the corner notches are.  Make sure that the inside of the pocket (the wrong side) is facing the right side of the patterned fabric.  Sew the pocket onto the fabric along the two sides and bottom at 1/8″.  Trim ends.

Decide what design you would like to do (bird or stripe), and cut out from the solid colored piece of the front flap.  Remove the backing of the fusible webbing.  Using the embroidery thread, sew an outline around the pattern at 1/4″ using a running stitch.  Place one patterned piece of the front flap right side up, and place the solid fabric right side up on top of it.  You should be able to see the patterned fabric where you cut out either the bird or the stripe.  Iron the two pieces together according to the instructions on the fusible webbing package. 

Take all the corresponding pieces of fabric (one solid and one patterned) and pin together so the right sides of the fabrics are facing each other.  Sew along three sides of each piece.  On the front, back and side panels, sew together all but the top edges.  On the bottom panel, sew together all but one of the smaller side edges.  For the front flap, sew together the two sides and along the bottom.  do all this sewing at the 1/4″. 

Turn each piece inside out.  Fold the last side in at 1/4″ and sew to close the hole.

Iron each piece of fabric to fuse them together, making sure both sides of the fabric are aligned. Pin fabric panels together where they will be sewn together.  Pin so that the outside of the bag is facing in.  Sew along all the edges at 1/4”.

Cut 5″ of the strap material.  Loop through the D-ring along the flat edge and sew together.  Place on one of the side panels.  Sew and “X” from corner to corner to secure.  Sew the remaining piece of strap material to the other side panel and repeat the “X” shape.  Feed the strap through the three-bar slide, then loop aroung the D-ring and feed back through the three-bar slide.  Sew the strap together (when you look at it, there will be a loop around the middle bar of the three-bar slide.  If you have trouble with this step, look at another bag that has an adjustable strap and copy it.

Attach the buttons where the “x’s” are on the pattern.  Take the cut-out button loops, fold each long side at 1/4 ” and press, then fold in half length-wise again.  Press and sew a line length-wise through each of the botton loops.  Fold the loop in half, width-wise, and sew onto the front flap at the “X”.  Be sure to sew the loop on the inside side of the flap.

**If you have any questions about either the pattern or the instructions, please leave me a comment and I will get back to you about it.  I am very new to writing patterns, so some of it may be unclear.**

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