Realm13

Your right on both ends, hand stitched (thanks for saying they look good) and not glued. I thought leaving it free to stretch forward would reduce the wave which worked but not as much as I'd like. Dont know why I thought that would be better but sometimes the mind is puzzling.

Been working with making small bags with zippers and have been completing the bags just fine but I'm not happy with the zippers. They come off wavy. I don't know if that makes much sense but hopefully the pic explains what I'm talking about better. I just want it to lay down smooth. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks for responding. I figured as much but the shape threw me off. Thanks for clearing it up for me though. Can't wait to see some finished work.

This might be a strange question but what are the Dee Shields for? Oh and thanks for the pattern!

Looks great! Been meaning to try something like this.

No problem. All of Ian's videos are great to learn from IMO. I think I've watched that video 50 times myself, I still have a tough time with some of these techniques.

The pink one seems like it has three layers because it has piping done on the front section. You can see an brief tutorial on it from Ian Atkinson here (it's the last thing covered in the video IIRC): http://youtu.be/jOiuBcl2fek?list=UULkCG-505-1t0rYlgBTSnpQ. Just a visual difference, it's not too hard to do if you like the look. I haven't see the pattern before but it sounds like your on the right track, might just be a way to open up some options. I have talked to this shop owner before and they were fairly helpful. Might want to email them like rosiart mentioned.

The videos are exceptional. High quality just like the items being made. Great job.

I was looking around for a tri-fold wallet pattern and can't seem to find one. I just want it for reference really as I'm having a little trouble with my personal designs coming out feeling thick or not folding right. On paper these designs should work so not sure where I'm going wrong. Any help would be appreciated.

Finally made one of these with some large scraps I had. Was interested in seeing the ending size and how it would work out in my pocket. I must say that I surprisingly love the size and will be making another. Going to use a better leather and higher stitch count next time. Hasn't been a post in a while but I had to say thank you for posting this pattern / instructions. Even though this was a "rough" version I thought I would post a picture anyways. I'll be using better leather and a higher stitch count next time. One question on finishing edges. The part between where the stitches end around the edge I had a hard time with. Did you you finish them before you stitched it together?

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think I'll find something that works for these last two bags (try a couple of things from this post) and from there I'll just buy more leather less often. In the long run that will work better and I can get things done properly at the same time. Love how helpful everyone is on this site. Been lurking around reading for a bit now and finally ran into a situation I thought I'd post about. It's surprising how much is already around on the site, most things have already been asked or a post is made with a tutorial, it's wonderful.

I'm in California (San Francisco area). I am starting to do more projects as I'm learning more about leather working, so buying a hide might be a better solution. I just run low on funds at times and was hoping there was something I could do with a smaller amount. Might just want to wait longer between projects so I can just get what is needed to do it properly.

Don't know why but never thought about doing that. Thanks for the idea!

So I started to get into leather working for book binding and want to start moving into making some bigger projects. I have a few bag designs that I made that seem to work just fine. The only thing I’m having issues with is the strap. I currently only buy a small portion of leather at a time, either a small section or remnants, so I don’t have a way to cut out a 4 foot long piece to use as a strap for a bag. I was wondering if there was a way to make a strap from smaller pieces that looks decent. I’ve tried just cutting strips and connecting them but they don’t have nice look to them, functional but not pretty. Any help or suggestions would be amazing. Thanks in advance.