There are times when people want a custom leather gift or for themselves, and there are times that you have no idea how to go about creating it for them. Me and my best friend came upon this specific scenario just the other day. An old friend of hers called her up and asked if we could make him a leather medium sized purse with cowhide, a long strap, and lacing. We thought sure sounds simple enough, but we were not quite prepared for the project we had ahead of us.
Sewing the Base
We started out by sewing the outside casing of the bag with the cowhide and decided the interior was just a little too rough for a purse. We then measured and cut out a suede interior and sewed it to fit nicely inside the bag. We added a small pocket, a flap for closing it, loops to attach the strap and put then base together. From there things got a little more creative.
Lacing the Edges
For the lacing we punched holes along the edges of the purse through the many layers and found a dark lace that complemented the interior suede we had selected. As my friend laced up the edges of the purse covering up the sewing job and I started on the strap.
Problematic Purse Strap
I stamped, stained and cut the strap so it would loop nicely through the rings we had. In the meantime, my friend finished up lacing the sides of the purse. We were ready to put the finishing touches together to make it a workable purse, but the strap was way to long. We didn’t test it out before we riveted the strap together and had to take out the rivets, which was a pain in the butt.
Finishing Touches
I took the strap once we got it off the purse and cut it shorter on both sides so the pattern we had made in the middle would stay in the middle. This time we measured before we riveted it and decided that it could be made just a little bit shorter. Once again, I cut the sides and made sure that everything was good. This time the length worked perfect and we attached the strap along with a concho and a magnet clasp.
Leatherwork is an Adventure
There were several times that me and my friend were not quite sure how this purse was going to turn out or if all the pieces were going to fit together like they should. In the end, everything came together and we were happy with the outcome. Making this purse with my friend made the experience even better and reminded me why I love leatherwork.
