Hello friends!
Today, I’m sharing something different — a me-made leather purse!
I teamed up with the Leather Hide Store to make this bag. This is made out of leather remnants provided by the Leather Hide Store. I chose the Nevada leather for my project.
This is the first time that I’ve sewed any leather with my sewing machine. I have been working with leather for quite a while — but everything I’ve made before this bag was hand sewn and much simpler. I’ve made wallets, belts, and a pair of moccasins — all cut from un-dyed leather and the wallets and belts were from tooling leather. That kind of leather is thicker and much stiffer than this remnant leather and I’m not even certain that I could have sewn that on my sewing machine. This leather, however, I was able to sew quite easily on most points with my machine.
Yeah, my bag pretty much looks nothing like this…
I used this handbag pattern from L&Z patterns on etsy. They are no longer on etsy and sell from their own website. I don’t recommend this pattern unless you really know what you’re doing (which I don’t….) as this was quite frankly a pain in the butt to make. The pattern seems well drafted, but there are NO INSTRUCTIONS and NO SUPPLY LIST. I have made evening bags and simple tote bags before — all without patterns — but nothing that utilizes the equipment needed for this project. I emailed the pattern company about the supplies and they gave me a list, but without saying how much of each was needed. At least I now knew what supplies were required, but not how much of each nor white sizes. I looked online a little and ended up buying supplies at Beverly’s. I purchased some really nice Clover d-rings and foot nails, but then when I got home I realized that I did not have enough…. My closest Beverly’s is 1 1/2 hrs away, so I went to my closest Joann’s (1/2 hr away) and found some supplies there. Unfortunately they did not have the nice Clover d-rings and I used ones that were a bit larger and not as nice as the other ones.
As there were no instructions and I really didn’t know what I was doing, I just kind of figured out how to put this together. It wasn’t easy to sew as it’s not like sewing fabric bags or clothes and was difficult to sew things like the bottom of the bag, the sides, straps, etc. I pretty much just looked at the photos and tried to copy…. boy it was not easy….. I also initially thought it would be an easier task than it ended up and I know if there were instructions, it would have been a lot easier!
I figured out that there were magnetic snaps on the sides to keep the sides in. That was easy enough to do. I decided to put one to hold the purse closed, too, as I couldn’t find any nice zippers. I didn’t know how to hide that snap on the outside, so I attached a concho that I had to a piece of leather and sewed it over the outside of the magnetic snap on each side to hide it.
I also wasn’t sure how to finish up the inside either…. I used some red tartan from my Christmas dress for lining. I used the same pattern for the purse to cut out the lining — cutting out the front/back and side pieces — and sewed it together.
I put foot nails on the bottom. Those were pretty easy to put in as well.
Overall, not the outcome that I had planned, but fair. If I had instructions and the forethought to purchase more d-rings I think it would have turned out better. It sucks to be in the midst of a project that you need to finish and not have all of your supplies and then have to choose from what was available…
So why did I purchase said pattern? Well, I looked for quite a while for leather purse pattern and I couldn’t find one I wanted until I stumbled upon one on etsy. I wanted a more structured purse that looked less DIY and more RTW. This pattern had what I was looking for and had good reviews. Well…. that must have been all from people that knew what they were doing without instructions. My final purse doesn’t look much like the purse in the image. Perhaps that one is made from thicker leather or has some type of plastic/cardboard inside to make it look stiff. With the magnetic snaps on the sides it does bring in the excess material from the side panels and gives it a little more structure, but not much. The pattern did say on the pattern piece that you could add plastic/cardboard to the bottom piece to make it stiff, but it did not offer this suggestion for the front/back/sides.
PATTERN CONS:
- No instructions
- No supply list
- Does not have a pattern piece for the shoulder strap
- Does not have a pattern piece for the “luggage” tag
- Does not have a pattern piece for the leather piece for the zipper pull
- PDF is difficult to put together as it has no circles, numbers, letters to identify how to piece it together
PATTERN PROS:
- Pattern seems well drafted
I also read on a review that this pattern company (based in Asia — China, I believe) did not draft these patterns. If that’s true, I’m not even sure that purse in the picture was made by a DIY person and may have been in a factory…. I don’t know…. just some possible assumptions after my experience with this.
WHAT I LEARNED FROM SEWING LEATHER:
- You can definitely sew leather with a regular home sewing machine!
- You need to adjust your stitch length
- Use a leather needle
- Have patience!
THESE ARE THE TOOLS I USED:
- Sewing machine
- Schmetz Leather sewing machine needle
- Leather hand sewing needle
- Heavy duty thread
- Leather awl
- Pliers
- Rotary cutter/mat
- Scissors
SUPPLIES NEEDED FOR THIS PURSE PATTERN:
- 4 – D-rings
- 4 – foot nails
- 2 – magnetic snaps (3 if you use one as closure)
- zipper (I did not use)
- cording for the handles
I didn’t know what to use to insert in the handles so that they had some structure. I asked my fellow sewists on IG what to use (with what I would have on hand) and Anne suggested plastic boning or wire while Qui said that cording would be used. I had boning, so I used that and it works fairly well. Will use cording the next time I make something like this.
Overall, I think I did a fair job, especially with not having any instructions nor knowing what I was doing. When/if I make this again, I think I can do better as I’ve learned more about sewing on leather and how a bag like this goes together.
I do have some of this leather remnant left, so I’m looking forward to using it for something else. I’m not sure that another bag is in my future, but I am inspired by using leather in garments like Jenny and Andie have recently done. It would be interesting to use the leather in one of those ways as a cool accent piece.
Also, this leather was nice to sew. It went through my sewing machine just fine for most of the parts on my purse. The only parts that I had trouble was on the seams where the leather is quadrupled and the places on this purse that are really hard to get to with the machine. For these parts I did some hand sewing. Just be careful with that as that leather needle is damn sharp and you have to do some pulling and pushing to get it through. I had to make sure my fingers weren’t in the way!
Also, you can’t pin the leather pieces together when you’re sewing, so you have to use your fingers a lot to keep things together. For things like the leather straps for the d-rings, I glued them in place first and then stitched them on. Also, it’s dang hard to do top stitching on this purse!!!! I really envy those who make fine leather items!
Honestly…. I don’t think leather purse sewing is for me…. I looked at my new Dooney & Bourke satchel which has similar handles and such and compared them and mine just looks like a piece of crap compared to that… Yeah, I know my Dooney purse is a designer good made in a factory by knowledgeable craftsman who know what they’re doing. Not some novice on their sewing machine….. I just tend to think that just like jewelry, it’s not really my forte and I will just stick with other avenues of creativity.
However, it was nice to try something different!
Note: I received this leather remnant as a gift from the Leather Hide Store in order to produce a DIY project and provide a review post
Happy Sewing!
Your bag looks great, especially given the lack of instructions. I bet people can’t believe you made it, great job getting such a professional-looking end result
You know what though you did a great job for your 1st time.. I feel like if you did you this a 2nd time you will be a pro at this… but i though it was ghetto though that they didn’t have instructions they definitely should have notified you! so weird .. Roughly how long did this take you to sew?
WOW! Very cool! Liz, Meg and I are taking a bag making class at the school where we took a sandal making class over the summer and I had hoped to use an L&Z pattern. Now, I’m not so sure… I should probably print and sew in something that isn’t leather prior to the date of the class. That way, I’ll be able to have kinks worked out.
Wow! All things considered this came out nicely. It’s too bad the leather store doesn’t have patterns, that would’ve been ideal. If you have enough left in your remnant, I’ve had good luck sewing the Seamwork Valencia bag out of faux leather. You could make a scrumptious wristlet using your nicer D-rings.
You did super good given you had no instructions or supply list initially and had never made a bag before – I don’t think I would have even attempted and looked at what else I could make.
It looks great, even though it sounds terrible that there were no instructions. You are much braver than I!
Thanks, Carlee! Honestly, it was very difficult to construct and I don’t think I would have finished it if there was not a deadline!
Your bag is awesome! Beautiful job, and the concho is a nice touch. I’ve checked out that pattern company too, and I think they are catering to the professionals, hence the lack of directions. Your experience sounds just like my first couple of bags, experimenting with order of operations and how to make everything work together to get a nice finish. I have much more respect for designer bags now, and I think the price tag is quite deserved!
So much respect for bag designers (including yourself!)! That’s a lot of difficulty in putting a bag together. It would go much smoother with good instruction!
Yikes, that sounds like an awful pattern! The next time you want to tackle purse-making, you might try Dog Under My Desk patterns–really excellent instructions with lots of photos (http://www.dogundermydesk.com/store/patterns/). I’m kind of hooked on their 2-Zip Hipster purse pattern.
I’ll check that out! I think I might prefer something simpler in a canvas or waxed cotton or the like if I decided to delve into bag making again. I’m perfectly happy buying my bags! lol 🙂
Whoa, I’m so impressed!! I am not a bag maker, even fabric bags are a bit infuriating, but I kind of want a simple leather tote style and I keep thinking about it… The tote in the first Seamwork issue is pretty much perfect and I know it should be a simple sew, but agh!
I like that bag, too! It’s probably best to try something with simple lines an little hardware for the first go. I definitely learned my lesson! I should have tried a leather tote first! I did like using the bag hardware though as that was pretty awesome and simple to do!
That looks amazing! I love sewing leather. I have an older Necchi machine that won’t hold tension for sewing cloth, but it is a beast when it comes to sewing leather. Your skills with these purse projects lately is killing me.
I think the older machines work better for things like this. I was looking at an older industrial one for a steal a couple of months ago but decided not to buy it. I had planned on using my old metal Pfaff for this, but did not feel like getting it serviced….
Whattt?! You made that? Insane. It looks so great!! Not a single person who sees it will ever know your trials and tribulations in sewing it, it looks that good.
Awe, thank you, Kathy! You’re super sweet!
Tanya, your bag looks lovely! I’ve been searching for a bag pattern that looks less DIY and more RTW, too. There just don’t seem to be many. I love sewing with real leather. Leather needles are lovely and if you get a really soft hide, it’s like sewing butter…or that’s how it feels on my machine. I find it a lot less frustrating than sewing with vinyl pleather (I used that for my coat). That experience made me feel I need a teflon foot. :S
I love the bag and the details. 🙂
Perhaps we will find some more designer looking bag patterns! If I see any, I will share. I thought that was leather on your coat, but I obviously misread it! I didn’t use any different feet or anything on this project, but I read some info on leather sewing and saw that it makes like a little easier to use different feet.
I have never tried sewing with real leather before. I think your bag turned out really good for your first try. I’m impressed!
Thanks, Shanni! That leather is pretty nice to sew. I wasn’t sure how it was going to be until it came. I thicker one would probably be a bit of a headache!
Great purse. I love making fabric pouches and things for other people, but I’ve never tackled a leather project before.
What a frustrating project. No instructions or supply lists! Who are these people!
I would have given up halfway through. You rock for sticking through with it.
Thanks, Vanessa! Yeah, the lack of instruction made me put this on hold for a little while. Probably should have chosen something easier for the first go!
I am in awe. I have tried to sew leather before and it almost killed my machine. This bag is lovely, the leather is really beautiful and it looks really RTW. Must have been terrible without the instructions though. Xx
Thank God this did not wreck my machine! I had planned all along to use my old metal Pfaff, but was lazy and just went with my computerized Singer. I was surprised how well it worked. Just have to watch the feed dogs and make sure it’s going through smoothly. It did not work so well with the thicker bits though. I’m thinking that an industrial machine would do a better job!
Well, it looks bloody amazing – definitely “”RTW not DIY”.
I can totally imagine your frustration, though. How horrible to not have instructions for something like this!
Thanks, Sophie-Lee! Yeah, that’s my cockiness thinking it would not be that difficult… yeah right!
I am super impressed Tanya! Despite your struggles I think you ended up with a nice little bag… I can’t imagine the work that must have gone into it! Well done you!
Thank you, Laurie! I do like the hardware used for this and that was super easy to do. Must do the same with a fabric bag me thinks!
I really like it! The leather is so beautiful, I just love that caramel/cognac color. And your stitching looks lovely. I have mended leather things, but I’d love more leather accents on things. Lauren’s handmade toggles for her bf coat were lovely.
Thanks, Laura! Oh, leather toggles! That would be awesome! I love leather accents. I have plenty to adorn some future makes!