Post by stinky on Dec 12, 2014 17:35:47 GMT -6
I realize you guys are probably getting annoyed with all of the little projects I've been posting up here, but I wanted to share with you guys a few pix of the tote I made for my wife's birthday on Sunday.
Anyhow, she's a teacher, and actually has a need for a sturdy, functional tote bag. This thing is built like a tank. I made it from 8/9 oz. veg tan tooling leather and waxed linen thread. Every single stitch is hand punched and double needle saddle stitched. Nothing was done on a machine. The stitching isn't absolutely perfectly straight every where (as you can probably tell), but my stitching skills are getting better with every item I make. It just takes a ton of practice to get it right.
Inside it has a divider with pockets for cell phone and all of the other crap women feel the need to carry around with them. There's also hangers for keys, ID, etc. It was important for me to design this with functionality on the inside, but minimal or no traces of that functionality on the outside. With a leather bag, it's easy to put a pocket on the inside, but the problem is, you see the pocket on the outside. The thing I really dig about leatherwork is the engineering and design aspect of it . . . you have to visualize what you want and kind of work backward from that. It's like doing a puzzle in reverse.
Anyhow, here's some pictures. The handles look uneven in the first picture, but that's just a perspective thing with the way the back is folded in at the top.
Anyhow, she's a teacher, and actually has a need for a sturdy, functional tote bag. This thing is built like a tank. I made it from 8/9 oz. veg tan tooling leather and waxed linen thread. Every single stitch is hand punched and double needle saddle stitched. Nothing was done on a machine. The stitching isn't absolutely perfectly straight every where (as you can probably tell), but my stitching skills are getting better with every item I make. It just takes a ton of practice to get it right.
Inside it has a divider with pockets for cell phone and all of the other crap women feel the need to carry around with them. There's also hangers for keys, ID, etc. It was important for me to design this with functionality on the inside, but minimal or no traces of that functionality on the outside. With a leather bag, it's easy to put a pocket on the inside, but the problem is, you see the pocket on the outside. The thing I really dig about leatherwork is the engineering and design aspect of it . . . you have to visualize what you want and kind of work backward from that. It's like doing a puzzle in reverse.
Anyhow, here's some pictures. The handles look uneven in the first picture, but that's just a perspective thing with the way the back is folded in at the top.
