Prusty

I’m still confused what you mean by bump? I’m confused as to what bump you mean and what you’re trying to refer to as glued down in that image. Just so I know we’re on the same page this is a French edge binding. The binding is first stitched grain to grain, then turned over itself and the edge of the leather, hiding that first line of stitching. It’s then secured down with the second line of stitching. So it’s two lines of stitching, but one is hidden.

Looks pretty cute with the extended section for the handle. I don’t do much if any decorative stamping, can you explain what difference taping it would’ve made?

I’m not sure what you mean by the bump? Do you mean where the binding goes back over itself? The flared gusset is partly a measuring error, but a number of people I consulted quite liked it and how it gives more room to get in when it’s open. It also stops the straps rubbing the lid so much, so I guess it has its uses. The holes are all pre-punched and lined up before I glue and stitch the lining, after which I fold it around and glue it again before the second stitch line. I’d prefer to just prick, but to get it all to line up for the flap/body connection it’s easier and more reliable to pre-punch with the iron.

Thank you! I did burnish the strap loops but they got roughed up during the process of attaching them. Next time I’m going to be designing them a bit differently so that they’re a bit easier to burnish nicely. I went for a canvas strap partly as it suits my aesthetic, and partly because I made this to sell and didn’t want the extra cost of burnishing/stitching a leather strap. This was already pushing it in terms of final price and I was happier to compromise on the strap than anything else. It’s a bit more mustard than I expected. I think next time I’m going to use a stiffer natural colour canvas instead.

I have some documents from when I did 12th century reenactment that cover dying methods. One I believe is called the Mappae Clavicula which if I remember right is from 820ce. I will look up my old research links later and link then here if that’ll be of help. But fair warning, most of the dyes involved stale urine and a good number involved animal faeces.

This is my second large-ish project after about a year’s absence. I had the idea for this back in 2022 but never felt I had the design quite right. Turns out it only took 3 years of rumination to figure it out! It’s made from 2.5mm lamport shoulder, split down for the gusset and for the binding. I considered a darker or lighter leather for the French binding, but ultimately never felt it looked correct. Any questions or critique is welcome!

The leather is pueblo, for something like this it’s pretty nice to use. Thinning it down can be a pain though for whatever reason. The snap was something I’d wanted to try for a long time, unfortunately I fixed it before I gave the glue time to dry. If you look closely you can see some discolouration from the glue trying to bleed through. Very silly mistake!

After watching Nigel Armitage’s videos on horseshoe gussets I decided to have a go at making a simple purse using that gusset design. I then also decided to over-complicate it with a turned edge, second layer on the lid, and leather-covered button, all firsts for me. The covered button has a couple of still visible slots on the leather, and the gusset is only stitched in place and would benefit from some glue as the layers want to separate a bit. I also cut the gussets a touch shorter than the front panel which is annoying. Still, I’m kind of happy with it, though it does need a few refinements.

No, I don’t have any experience with linings yet, or how to best incorporate them into a design without it looking shabby. 2.2-2.4mm dyed-through vegtan, I don’t know or understand the weight measurement system!

This is a first attempt at a new-ish bag pattern for me. I made a couple of larger bags similar to this a bit over a year ago, and wanted to try making something a bit smaller. I don’t tend to carry much when I go out, so I don’t want a larger bag. Theres a bunch of details to change. The seam down the side was meant to be central but I kicked up a measurement around 3 different times. The tabs and strap loops need thicker thread and wider stitching, it looks way to small right now. I need to find a better way of marking and stitching the bottom tabs, they have no glue and will hold, but I don’t like relying just on the stitching. But the design is something I like, so back to the pattern I go for the next one. Got plenty of time to spare right now!

If anything this is MORE our priority today than it was for most of history, in Europe at any rate. People did take pride in their work, but most crafters got paid very little for their work, to the point where we know of at least one cordwainer who lived in a dog kennel. We only have the good leatherwork left, most of it was made fast for cash and was cut up and reused until it was finally binned. There’s a load of knife sheaths found in the river Thames from 12th-15th century that show what the moneyed middle classes were carrying, and a lot of them were cheap and quickly made.

Lots medieval European manuscripts have what’s called marginalia, weird and often obscene doodles in the margins. It’s fun to look up some for a laugh. This is spot on, even the accessories of kings and queens throughout history were not perfect as we would expect today. The details were not important back then, what mattered was the overall impression. When you look at this book you really don’t notice the mistakes unless you go looking for them, the overall impression is a thing of beauty.

I became obsessed with this book a few years back trying to learn about historic tooling on leather. It’s a fabulous thing to look at and examine, and reveals so much about the methods used in that time period. Also, it’s encouraging to see that they made mistakes back in the 8th century and just ran with it, look at the lower left corner in the border and you’ll see the pattern goes wrong. And the upper section of knotwork they didn’t do evenly at all!

Really nice looking, and chance of more photos of the sides, interior, etc?

About 10 minutes after cutting the end and marking up the stitches I realised my mistake, but at that point I was committed. Just need to keep active during this quarantine and it won’t be a problem!