Leather Carpetbag!

So about 20 years ago I bought a really cool rawhide carpetbag in Hilton Head on vacation.  I love this bag.  I rarely use it to travel anymore now that they invented suitcases with wheels but I still love it.  I bought a giant leather hide at Tandy some time back and have gotten so much mileage out of it.  It's that beautiful rich deep caramel color.  The entire hide cost $80.  I have made several handbags, bracelets and purse handles from this hide.  So economical!  I have a really gorgeous natural hide that I've been making bracelets out of that I've been dying to make a bag out of but too scared to risk it on a new pattern so I used what's left of the caramel hide as a prototype.

I carefully measured the old original carpetbag and cut out all the pieces.  I had to try to come up with an order of sewing them by myself.  To some this might be easy but I am unable to visualize what happens in a logical order so I had to wing it and undo a couple of things but I didn't do too badly.  The bag is gorgeous!  The only thing I didn't do was put a zipper and a pocket in it.  I may try to add these on the next one.  I will also reduce the size a bit so I can use it everyday.  I took a lot of pictures but of course not of every step.  I'm going to try to fill it in as I make the other bag.

Working with leather is daunting.  If you try to sew too many layers on a regular machine you can really mess it up.  The trick is to use a leather needle and a longer stitch.  The next best tip is to use Dritz Wonder Tape.  This is a double sided tape that is sewable through.  It keeps the leather from slipping and makes it all possible.  Forget trying to sew leather without it on a standard machine.  Although I've made quite a few things out of leather I have yet to get some of the gadgets that true leather crafters use like a skive, v gage, strap end cutter and wing divider.  I'm sure one of these days I'll add these to my repertoire but for now all I have is my rotary cutter and board, rivet and snap setter set, rivets and snaps and mallet.  I've just made sure I don't use a real thick leather so I haven't had too much of a problem going through layers.  Pictures to come!