I've waited so long to make and show you this bag - the classic shoulder bag, with a removable/adjustable strap, which allows to wear the bag in 3 ways: like a regular shoulder bag; like a purse or as a clutch.
If you read my previous post you know, that I was trying a lot of new things this time. And, well, I won't lie to you guys - I made some mistakes. On the other hand - I learned from my mistakes and I won't repeat them in the future, so yey! :D
Anyway, I glued way more than I planned, therefore I glued too many fingers (tipp: super glue are easily removable from fingers with nail polish remover that has acetone in it). Planned on sewing some seams by hand - it turned out to be mission impossible because of the leather (faux crocodile leather, by the way). But the glue came in handy and saved the day.
Oh, and in case you are thinking of making a handbag yourself instead of buying it, but still don't know if it's worth trying, let me give you one more plus to the "I'll make a handbag myself" section: it's very economical. I counted, that this bag is the most expensive handbag I've made - the materials costed less than 4 Euros (around 5$). All other handbags I made are much cheaper, some of them (re-constructed ones) costed basically nothing to make. Which allows me to say, that all the bags I made so far combined (I think I made 8 bags) costed way less than one bag from store! Isn't this a plus?
So, to sum up, the bag turned out to be better then I expected, though it has some minor mistakes. I'll probably make something like this again in the future, because, well, I really like it! ;D (of course, the next time I'm making it I'll make a tutorial, too!)
Looks professional! Great job. The mock croc looks difficult to sew though, even on a machine.
ReplyDeleteCan you give some tips on choosing faux leather for bags and sewing on domestic sewing machine? Eg would faux leather you find in dress fabric department be sturdy enough or do you have to find thicker versions? Thanks.
Dear overflowingstash, thank you very much for the compliment :)
ReplyDeleteThis croc was quite easy to sew with a machine - I was actually very surprised, because it was hard to sew by hand.I have to say though - I didn't put many layers together.
When it comes choosing leather for domestic machines, I'd say the thinner the better. At the very beginning of bag making I made a bag from thick (very thick) leather and put many layers together and that nearly broke my machine, so I don't risk like that anymore. Don't worry about the sturdiness of the leather - you can always put or glue something (some kind of material: there aren't rules about what you can put inside, so you just have to find the best material for you) to make it sturdy. The bag in this post is all glued to be sturdy (I used Moment Classic glue - they can glue leather and are very elastic when dried). If you ever tear a bought bag apart you would see that they also glue something inside to make it sturdy :) So yes - the leather from a fabric store is just fine!
And about sewing the leather - use leather needles and if it's hard to sew - put a piece of newspaper on top of the leather, sew and later carefully rip-off the newspaper.
Oh and I forgot to mention, that at beginning you shouldn't sew more than 3 layers at once (4, if the leather is very thin) and don't sew at the full speed - you know, test your machines abilities first ;)
ReplyDeleteHi, is there a pattern you gollow, if so can you share the measurements.
ReplyDeleteThanks
I meant followed, sorry
ReplyDeleteHi, is there a pattern you gollow, if so can you share the measurements.
ReplyDeleteThanks
Hi, is there a pattern you gollow, if so can you share the measurements.
ReplyDeleteThanks