Leese

Huns - Love it!!! Concept bag for your students...do you have courses or sell your patterns? I am always looking to try new things. Thank you. Leese

All- Good evening Just spoke to my customer and he was okay! Whew! He said the color, size and quality of the bag were spot on/exactly what he asked for and he "took the blame" for the pocket choice. I informed he he did really well, in that not too many guys I know would make the time to have something so special made their wives. (No offense here guys). He said he fully expected to pay for any alterations too. I explained to alter the bag was labor intensive and I would not be able to guarantee the integrity of the materials after removing and then re-stitching. We'd basically have to start from scratch and I let him know I was open to crating something else (a companion bag as suggested) perhaps later on in the year for a special event. So it appears we are okay and have left the door open for possible future work. My thanks again to you guys! Leese

All- Happy Friday! My thanks to each of you for your feedback, I appreciate it. Yes, I do guarantee structural work but not normal wear and tear. So I am on the right track there. The bag was to his specs and he did pay for it. Yay, no loss or haggling. Some of the Leatherworker members let me know that with custom work, it is best to get full payment up front. I will let my customer know about potential issues if I try to alter the bag, and let him know he may order another one to the new specs, what the cost will be and go from there. He did not specifically write in his message that he expected the work for free, so perhaps I jumped the gun(?) This is the first time I ran into this type of situation, so it freaked me out a bit. Ah, a learning experience with your guidance. Sincere thanks to each of you again. Leese

All- Good evening! Would appreciate your feedback/experience here, please. I was asked to make a diaper bag that didn't look like a diaper bag for a man (a family member's colleague) who wanted something special for his wife since this would be their last child. The man reviewed pictures of my work and decided on a variation of one of my vinyl tote bags (easy to clean & sturdy). He was pretty adamant about wanting 4 clear functional pockets to display pictures of his kids. Although I cautioned him that it may not be a good idea to carry around in the open photos of his kids, he still wanted the clear pockets. I agreed and made the bag with four pockets. When the bag was complete, I sent him pictures of it with the pockets empty and full of pictures and stuff. He was pleased and then asked me to make him a changing pad to go with it. I did and shipped the items out together back around January 20, 2015. A few days ago, the man contacted me, said the bag is the right size, the wife loves the color and style, but would prefer four expandable pockets with snap closure tops - he wrote he really wanted to "make it right for his wife" and asked if it was possible to re-work the bag. Because he was involved throughout the process, i sent him photos of the finished bag, and it's been nearly 2 months since I sent him the bag, what would you do? Here are some of my thoughts: Re-working will take longer than creating from scratch I don't know if I have enough materials to re-make with four flapped pockets Not familiar with that style of pocket (read I have to design one) Cannot re-work what he has, the integrity of the vinyl would be compromised if I remove and re-sew If I agree to try, do I charge him or take a loss and just make him a new one I mean, it's not like I sent him a bad bag or there was a structural issue How do I talk to this man, handle tactfully and properly? What can I do to avoid this type of problem in the future and potential bad Internet press? Thank you for your time and assistance. Leese

Nice work - my goodness hand stitched?! simple yet elegant

Monica, Hobbihorse & WildBill- Thank you for your comments, I appreciate it!

Happy Thursday all! This is a little ditty I designed for a 17 year old - hope she likes it! Used black garment grade leather (up cycled), bonded it to Poron for shape, flannel backed lining for the interior, the outside angled zippers are functional pockets, the patch pocket has zipper trim (repetition), strap is leather bonded to Texon, multiple thin sanded layers of Tandy edge paint and Tan kote over that, finished with Chicago screws. My head is spinning with sooo many other things I want to try! Thanks for looking! Leese

All- Good evening! After LW assistance with my tension issues, I finished my orange tote and then got a request to make it in black. Both are constructed of a knit-backed vinyl shell" and a lighter flannel backed vinyl for the lining. To give the bag some shape, I used foam headliner from the local fabric shop. The orange bag has up-cycled suede for the outside pocket and bottom. The zipper tab ends were a little weak, but I think I figured a better way on the black bag. The straps are two layers of vinyl with a Texon "core", Tandy Leather brand edge paint (multiple thin layers sanded down to remove nubs) and topped with Fiebings Tan-Kote. Once I photograph my latest prototype of a cross body bag, I will post the photos. Your thoughts, comments, etc. are welcome. Thank you for looking! Leese

Looks good. Keep up the good work! Yup, with practice each one gets better (and a little easier)

Yes, fixed thank you again! Please advise if there is an option I am to choose to close the topic (couldn't find instruction how to do it when I searched in help topics...)

Thanks Wiz - my bad! I neglected to mention I had previously adjusted the needle bar before all this because the little hole on the front where you can see the needle shank was sitting at an angle and the front divot of the needle bar not sitting flat. (None of my stitches were working on any type or thickness of leather and vinyl.) When I did that, I think I dropped the needle bar down and so I raised it as noted in my post. To be sure my current needle bar position is right, I went back, removed the needle, marked the 1/8" position on the needle itself, (above the eye) and confirmed the hook position comes around to the marked point 1/8" above the eye (thank goodness for bright light and magnifiers!) I also verified the top thread path around the disks and to the spring up to the take-up lever. I ran a few lines of stitching to confirm the hook won't stab and split/shred my top thread and it appears to be okay. Thank you again for the tips, I appreciate it! Leese

All- Good evening. Thank you for your time and suggestions. I moved the needle bar about a mm up thinking there was too much slack and then took the tension disks off, made sure there was no waxy residue, re-threaded the machine, and cranked the tension. This helped some, but the bottom knots were still visible (I'm thinking top tension still), I just had a few short rows so went back over them by hand and pulled the excess thread so the knots are smooth and hand stitched for back tacking. I'll sew the lining on my home machine, but will use the Consew for the top edge final stitch - this will again be a learning curve. The bag is a prototype, but the main thing is getting the pattern and order of construction down. I'll post a photo when done. BTW - what do you mean by double nutting the tension disks? I'm thinking maybe I need to buy an extra one? Attached are pics of another bag I made for a colleague. Many thanks to all again! Leese

All- Good afternoon! Love this site and have been searching thru archives to see if this matter has already been addressed, but I didn't find it...(my eyes are fried!) Here's the deal...I am using Consew 228R-11 high lift post machine with roller foot, bought new about a year ago from East Coast dealer (far away) Yes, huge learning curve - more time spent taking apart, adjusting timing, etc than sewing! I too am fortunate but have sooo wanted to toss the machine (it's too big and heavy) and can relate to other members' posts regarding machine frustrations. I make mixed media bags with garment grade leather bonded to bag stiffener and vinyl in layers. Before sewing my actual bag, I check my stitch settings and sew samples constructed of the same materials, but this time it is just not cooperating. I have a flat strap of vinyl bonded (with tanners bond) to bag stiffener and another layer of vinyl that I want to top stitch to vinyl with a layer of foam headliner and a piece of garment grade (scrap) leather on the foam liner to help support the stitches. I use a small piece of double sided tape to hold the strap in place. My samples stitch perfect, but when I try the actual purse, (I am holding the ends of my threads the first few stitches) I get about 6 stitches into the seam and then the bobbin gets all tangled with needle thread. I know it is the top thread as I can pull the bobbin thread right out of the seam and the top thread's knots are all willy nilly on the bottom and even overlap. I have: removed the bobbin and cleared out debris changed my bobbin and thread used another new needle rethreaded my machine left it for days to see if it just needed a time out (oh, that was me!) oiled my machine Why would the stitching work on the samples but not the actual bag? I am trying to find a reputable area machine guru who makes house calls (got some names from custom shoe guy, upholstery shop and the studios, gotta make some calls) and found one shop about 40 miles away, but I can't get the beast off the table to take in for a look-see, and in the mean time thought I'd try the Forum... Anyone have similar experience and what did you do? Thank you in advance for your time and assistance. Leese

Yeah, I know straps can be difficult - depending on the size and style of your bag and how you are going to attach the straps you may want to consider "up-cycling" (recycling) reasonably priced belts from a local charity shop or yard sale - you can find some nice chain too. Don't forget to take into consideration the feel of the strap in the wearer's hand, question if it will dig into or be uncomfortable over their shoulder, and the overall weight of the finished bag. You can also try getting some coordinating vinyl or canvas from the remnant bin at a local fabric store. Then you can sew strips right sides together turn and attach or, take a wide strip (to account for the top and bottom plus two seam allowances), fold the raw edges over and topstitch so there is no turning required and attach - and remember there are tons of videos out there on how to sew basic straps. I made this bag in a class in Europe (lots of pieces and labor intensive) we cut four strips of not too heavy a leather (same length and slightly wider width of desired finished strap), attach two strips end to end (skive joining points) use a filler strip like texton/bontex and bond your end to end strips on either side (like a sandwich leather is the bread, filler is meat), top stitch and edge paint. We used loops with little d-rings and spring hooks under the flap to attach the strap. You can finish the "raw" ends of your straps and attach in any number of ways (tabbed d-rings, reinforced rivets, wedged between the outer and lining pieces of your back and top stiched, etc). Have fun with it!

Benlilly1 - Thank you for the suggestion - loved the video and am happy to know I am doing my piping properly on my home machine Used it to make this bag - it is of vinyl though (the piping is garment grade leather)...still fiddling with ideas on how to make leather bag on the roller machine - I must call the dealer to see if there is a foot I can change out! and of course, try making a larger seam allowance so the roller foot will grab the layers and I can position the needle close to the cording. Okay, back to thread tension research! Leese