jimmy eng

I love your skivers, Seveneves, brilliant work. Too bad the first one didn't turn out, that's how I'd imagine I'd make one. What was the issue with it? I think on another post I saw a fella make a bouncer out of doorknobs. NB Just realised your name is a palindrome, sweet!

This is a short clip of Piano maker who made a wall mounted chest to fit 300 tools in it. It's just the most amazing thing, a work of art. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=710_1301768433

I would make something like many touch screen phones have, a cover that doesn't obscure the 'face' of the tablet with a flip cover and have a belt clip in the back. This picture is an example of what I mean but for a Ipad. She's sewn a thin plastic over the screen face so you can still protect it and use it at the same time. http://luxirare.com/ipad-bag/ That's the most logical way I would do it. You could add an extra layer of leather to help cushion it from falls.

I'm a beginner at hand stitching but I've never seen the knot method before but I'll try it out. Sorry can't help you on your question though I'd like to know the answer as well. I imagine you're right about the knot making the other side sit differently since one thread is laying on top of the other. The Al Stohlman way, which I do, always looks the same on both sides if it's done evenly since the threads are beside each other.

Well said! I'm pretty slack so if what I need isn't within arms reach anything will do. I just bought some kids' wooden blocks from the charity store which will be great for blocks, save on buying timber and they're almost cut to size.

On a similar vein of topic, this Salvatore Ferragamo bag is very leather worker and commercial. http://www.bagsnob.com/2011/03/ferrragamo_saddle_bag.html It's a saddle style bag with whipstitching on all edges and gold buckles, which I'm sure 80% of people on this website can make. It looks plain but in fashion terms it's 'understated' and whimsical and costs $1,990.

And here's me using the mini stitching pony on a key case. I sit on a office chair because that way I can swivel and shine the light at any angle of the leather I'm working on. It helps a lot when you're dealing with black thread on black dyed leather at night!

I thought it would be a funny and insightful topic to bring up because there are times when you don't have the 'proper' tool for a project and for someone like me that's starting out and can only afford essential tools I found a couple of 'novel' ways to put things I have to use. I read that a lot of people here use drill presses to make stitch holes and Dremel rotary tools to burnish edges. I've seen the Dremel being used before in a documentary for the brand Hermes and got one the other day at the pawn store which I can't wait to test out. I've made a tiny stitching pony out of a mini vice grip and scrap wood I had at home which I use for small work like wallets and key fobs. It's not good for anything else but it does the job! And I've used books as a substitute wood block, you can use the pages to work out the appropriate dimensions, cut up the book to size etc.

Do you have to use leather? A none stretch panne velvet or that fabric that's flocked all over and resembles 'peach fuzz' would be good too. You could also try airbrushing in acrylic.

I am a fashion designer (I have my own clothing label and I also do work in costume design) and what a lot of people don't understand is that it's about selling an 'aspiration', the lifestyle/image of what the customer wants to have or relates to. The companies that fit the image of what the customer is looking for will get the profits and having a lot of media exposure helps a great deal. What you're buying is the name a majority of the time. To 'play' in this fashion field you've got to understand that it's all business, a lot is marketing, when it comes to the bigger companies very little is the design itself. The smaller independant business can have an edge in the market by focusing in on design as the selling point, that's a big advantage against the large businesses as it would be hard to sell a name no one knows. So to use Kate Spade and any leather worker as an example, if you're familiar with Kate Spade the brand, what image comes to mind when you hear the name? See it from a business marketing point of view, no personal judgements. Can you see how that they've got products selling on Amazon? Can you see who would buy their products? Now envision yourself or some who works with custom leather craft. There's a big difference in the market between the two. When I think of leather craft, some words I think of are country, old fashioned, craft, tradition, labor, care, forgotten. To a mass market, craft has a slightly 'negative' connotation because you would associate it with what kids do at school or grandmas knitting. And country does get made fun of. And also in the end, the product has to look good and to an average consumer who doesn't know about making anything, they go by visual presentation and information given to them (word by mouth, websites, catalogue). If a bag looks like it came out of a barn, who would want that? Certainly not a Kate Spade kind of person but a local country person probably would, not everyone understands what you have or what it takes. So use what you have and what you know and play by the guidelines of your target market. Use descriptive words like 'handcrafted' instead of 'handmade', it sounds more special. Use 'heirloom quality' to describe somethings longevity, because it's about a product that fits into a customers lifestyle/image. It's seldom ever about selling something based on the product alone (like a forklift for example), it needs a story if it's about fashion. The best example of a leather worker that broaches into a niche market (I just found their website last week) would be barrettalley.com. I think he/they has the perfect business model for this industry if you want to have a broader audience. The site explains why they do things the way they do, what making a leather good takes, what materials they use and how they use it without going into specific details, it justifies their prices. The average person usually won't want to read that/can't understand specific details/terminology and it's enough to keep a person interested and the goods interesting. They know who they're talking to. Whew! Hope that helped somewhat in understanding the other side of the coin.

They're sweet as. I'd add a little gusset piece in the side so it would open up to allow more coins. The cross looks so good. I'd like to see different varieties of coffins (like the ones that have two 'lids').

It looks like you're using an open ended zip (I can't see the zip pull on the first picture) and looks like the right side in pictures 2 and 3 were sewn shorter than the one on the left because they should be of equal length. The solution to that would be unstitch that side and move it down. Is there somewhere down the zip where it's bunched up, particularly the corners? Sometimes you have to stretch the zip to make it fit, I have the same problem when I make hooded jackets. You can make a gusset piece that's the same width as the zip (closed up) to sew at the end of the zip to make up for the 'hole' and sew it to the project as it were the zip. The zip will be even but it will only open up til where the leather piece is. If you used a continuous zip the one that you buy on a roll and cut off to your desired length, you would have zipper teeth in the seam allowance/excess that you just finish off by either sewing a square of material over it or crimp it with a aluminum 'tack'. If you're lining it, the ends would just go into the lining. I'm making a wallet with the same style of zip opening out of kangaroo but I haven't found a zip the right size yet so I might have to use a continuous zip.

Woah Murse, that's a brilliant piece of work. That's something that exceeded what I was aiming for so I can see that it's more than possible to do it. How did you use the vacuum and bag? I'm thinking that you vacuum sealed it before you left it to rest but moisture would be the issue there.

Cheers dirtclod, the only place I could get them was in another state but in a minimum of 30 mts, I did compare measurements but I didn't want to risk buying that much if they didn't work. And I bought a few horse leads because it's the same chain but it was too thick, it's the twist in the chain that makes it sits perfectly flat under your boot. However I did find it at the bead shop I go to, of all places and a place I go to often, the chain is more wider, shorter and stronger but does the job. I just about banged my head on the wall when I discovered it.

Ignoring the crap drawing, this is how you assemble the coin purse from scratch. Note: Never clip/trim a zip unless you're going to seal it with a lighter and you've allowed PLENTY of seam allowance (a beginner mistake is to cut the zip flush to the zip teeth). In this case it's unnecessary to clip anything because you're only straight stitching and it's unlined.

It's exactly the way Luke Hatley says to sew it. I made a whole bunch the other day using nubuck cut offs the way he explained, the difference in mine were that I left a welt in the zip and my seams were 5mm (the same width as half a sewing machine foot). You don't need to glue them in this way but adding more of my two cents, I use leather cement if I need to glue my zips in place because you can readjust the zip position and peel off the excess glue when you're done. If you're sewing them into the already made bag and want to install the zipper in you still don't have to use glue. If you want to get close to the edge, use a zipper foot on your machine. 1/ Align the opened zipper face down onto the outside of the bag, the edge of the zipper should be aligned with the edge of the bag opening, zip teeth facing the bottom of the bag. With the open end (the end that's splits into two sides) at the top with a slight over hang to keep the zip flush to the edge. 2/ Sew 3mm or so close to the zipper teeth until the end of one side then repeat on the other side, avoid sewing the bag shut, keep the other side out of the way underneath. 3/ Bag the zip and top stitch all the way around. The trickiest part is going over the sides seams. That should be it really.

Yes! Those two ideas was what I had in mind but couldn't grasp. Haha the feeling's like discovering fire. I'll try the method out and see what I come up with. I did think about compressing the leather between two casts but thought it wasn't possible or needed a heavy 'compressor' of sorts. Either way, it sounded too complex in my head. Thanks Hilly for that idea, I sort of had an inkling that there was a certain way people would have done that, I'll definitely have a go of that on other projects. Is leather dust just finely ground up leather bits or could I use the scrap bits left over from skiving? Cheers Biggundoctor, I wasn't sure about the elasticity and malleability of the types of leather. Cow, buffalo and kangaroo are the 'standard' hides I can get at the moment but I'll ask the stores I go to about other ones.