MonicaJacobson

Yeah, I'm too lazy for careful measuring. Or, let's be honest - I measure and count, and then have to re-do because I miscounted and mis-measured. Sweet! It looks great, and I'm glad you liked it enough to make your own. In fact, yours looks better because you rounded the corners of the flap. If I can find it, I'd even send you the original artwork. It's not like I can claim credit for it anyway - my designer husband drew it for me. I've had to learn the same lesson in patience. I tend to be slapdash and careless, so leatherworking helped me a lot. Mostly, this forum has helped me a lot. It's been awesome to see what everyone else makes, and benefit from the generous time and help people are willing to give. Good luck on your future projects, and I look forward to seeing them!

Tomstas, interesting, you started from the back and came forward? That takes some nerve. Generally speaking, I like to start with two even ends. With my luck, if I tried what you did, I'd end up with an inch leftover at the front. Your bag looks great! As long as one compensates for the trouble by charging more.... the look might even be worth it. I'd love to see pictures of your other messenger bag, if you get a chance.

Thank you, Tip. One of those things you do once, swear you're never do again, and then actually do it again, and wonder what possessed you. I haven't gotten to the second time yet, but I'm sure I'll get there. @Mike - I had no idea such a machine existed. It sounds like a sweet sewing machine!

Really cool!

So, in my (very futile) quest to try to do leatherworking without being a drain upon our finances, I have learned a lot slower than necessary, and cut a lot of important corners. NO MORE. I've been saddle stitching, using pricking irons and then stitching, but the last two bags have convinced me that if I didn't buy an awl to open up each stitch (as Nigel Armitage recommended), I would give myself a serious case of carpel tunnel syndrome. So, I finally turned a handle for the awl blade I bought months and months ago. Tonight I'm going to make some burnishing wheels to put on a drill. To be fair, without my husband's wood turning expertise, this would never have happened. And yes, I didn't bother with a collet. With all the exotic wood ends hanging around in his shop, I can make a new handle for a new kind of blade easier than chasing down a collet. The handle is ziricote, one of my favorite woods.

I use 8-9 oz chrome tanned for bags, and I really like it. But it's not bridle leather, so it's soft enough to give the idea of a thinner leather, but thick enough to hold its shape. However, it is unlined - if I line a bag, I'd probably use 4-5 and pig skin to line. I'm interested to see what you come up with.

That looks great! Very clean.

Welcome to the forum and good luck, leatherwork is very rewarding.

@Odin, thank you! Yeah, there's something convenient about being female at times. @Craftsman - Thanks! I would bet that you could. Or anyway, you could make the gusset a little wider. But I've never used a leather sewing machine, nor have I even seen one up close, so I'm not sure. I think the difficulty might be keeping it on there, since you can't exactly pin it.

That is a huge bag. Nice job! I like how you turned the top edge.

That looks great!

That looks very, very nice. I like all the decorative stitching. If you burnish the edges with some gum trag (or something), it'll look even better!

Very clean and nice looking!

Okay, I get it now. Duh. That's a cool idea - I'll try it on the next one.

The picture is small and it's hard to see details, but from what I can see, it looks great!

It looks great! I like it because it looks like the black holsters and mag pouches you see. Very cool.

I have a whole new appreciation for that carry-on. Sheesh. Not that I didn't appreciate it before - one of the nicest things I've seen - but now I really feel your pain. Or about 1/4 of it.

@Avgvstvs - Thank you for the extremely kind words. I do appreciate the encouragement. Congratulations, you guys have all completely convinced me to spend a lot more money. I'm sure my husband will thank you. @Paul, were you the one who made the super fancy black duffle bag with all the hand stitching a few months back?

Welcome! I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, but there are a lot of Texans on this forum. (I'm originally from Texas, for what that's worth..)

Very cool purse! Your daughter will love it. I really like how it feels western, but the construction isn't typical western, so it stands in a class of its own.

That's great for a first project! If you're going to keep working with soft leather, you might want to look into something like edge paint, or something else that works for chrome tanned. You'd probably find it much more rewarding to use thin veg tanned.

LOL Bill

Looking good, Rohn! You'll enjoy having that around.