GoodBlues

Thank you. I was beginning to feel that I was invisible.

Hi all, I'm returning to leather goods after 40 years !!! I used to make unlined, basic hippy bags. Now I'm trying for more refined, beautifully lined bags. I hope. I sew ALOT with fabric, so this is hugely interesting and fun for me to try to incorporate fabric, stabilizers, and leather. I'm including some of my recent efforts. The parts that are difficult for me to learn are how to do things like stuffed handles with professional (not the "made with loving hands") look. All suggestions are very welcome. I'm very much enjoying and profiting from everybody's posts. Thanks!

Hi all, I've been making ladies totes and shoulder bags, finishing off all the edges with either folds or raw-edged binding. 1. I'm trying also to find a binder/folder attachment that will feed skived, folded, glued binding through it without choking down on it. 2. However, looking at what's in the stores, even the high-end stuff, I realize I need to learn how to replicate that rubbery coating on the raw edges of the supple, thinnish (3 oz?) leather bags. I have tried various coatings, but they're too thin after all is said and done. It doesn't make that soft, built-up rubbery edge that seems to be in vogue. I need to figure out what the stuff is that's used by manufacturers that looks rounded on the edges of actually pretty thin stuff, like 3 oz very supple chromed leathers (maybe using the plastic seam beveler as it begins to tack, not sure, tho). Ok, I'm beginning to repeat myself here. All suggestions welcomed and appreciated! Thanks, Mich

Hi, Hilly! Well, you're right of course. I started out back in the middle 60's in a shop that specialized in hand-sewing virtually anything the customer wanted. And as the short-timer, that was what I mostly did. However, I'm hoping to make these for profit. And I'm now old enough that I want to sew more than 2 of these before I go into a rest home. So short, consistent, fine, (did I mention consistent?) FAST stitching is my current goal. But you do bring up a very good option--maybe the best, really. And with time, I'm sure my hand stitches would again be consistent and fine. Which book would you recommend for good instructions on stitching the tricky bits? (not a horse "bit")

hi, oh boy, where to begin - I want to cover maybe half-inch soft-ish rope/filler with light weight leather for a handbag strap, but I want the cover part to splay out at the D-ring where it connects to the bag. Now to get the machine's feet to stay on the leather, tight up against the rope, you'd leave enough leather to be able to slightly pull the ropey part up against the welt foot or whatever you're using. That I have more or less figured out. However, what about skiving the edges and turning them inside, yet still sewing on the 4 flat edges (forming a 4-layered lip, so to shpeak), so that the edges are clean!!!??? That's a slick, beautiful idea, but if I DO that, I have nothing, basically, to sew on, and no handle to pull the covered rope up against the welt foot, except maybe one of those roller guides... (or my trembling finger), but if the filler's a little soft, it's too squishy to really push the filler up tight against the foot. I'm hoping that I'm wayyy off base because this is mostly not going to work, and that there's a slick way to successfully do this. I just think that thin leather with cut edges exposed isn't the look I want to achieve. By the way, everybody here is so helpful... I feel like I fell into a vat of chocolate. Mich