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Hello! I'm new to making bags as I started only a couple of months ago, having been working only wallets for the past 4 years. My dad had a reel to reel player and while on a visit, the idea for a bag resembling one popped into my mind. So here it is

Acadia Ruby Premium pull up leather 5/6 oz. Buckleguy cast antique brass oval and triglide. Leodis Leather plans. I still need to get the 1.5" webbing for the strap, not sure if I'm going to get nylon or cotton. If anyone has any questions or sees room for improvement please let me know. Without further ado:

Finished up this bag used heavy Waxed Canvas 18 oz with 8 to 10 oz English Bridle. The leather on the bag is 5 to 6 oz.

Second attempt at Messenger Bag for the boss. A lot of experiments with the first one, just a couple on this one. I tried some folded edges, and an interior piece with pockets for cel-phone, pen and keys. This one is a bit wider and deeper. Also went with a different closure than the first. The first one had a magnetic closure, and I hated it. The flap was fairly flexible, and lining up the two parts was difficult. I also stitched the 2-ply strap and flap on this one.

Hi all! I posted an album of a simple purse that I made as a first project, and mentioned I was working on a briefcase. This is my second project, and it took a lot more work than I anticipated. I couldn't afford a Saddleback Leather Front Pocket Briefcase, so I made one! The dimensions are all nearly exact. Other than some added pockets inside, it's nearly identical in every way, even the hardware size. Planning, drawing, making templates, buying stuff, and everything else probably took me 5 months. I researched every aspect for days, because I was so paranoid I'd buy the wrong thing or do something wrong. This forum has been instrumental in helping me, both in technique tips and places to buy things. The briefcase is made from 4.5 oz Sunrise Wigwam Full grain chrome-veg retan, and lined in 1.5 oz full grain pig skin. The thread is Ritza 25 1.0 mm Tiger thread, all hand saddle-stitche. The hardware is 316 Stainless steel and the rivets are either solid brass or copper, so nothing will corrode. Al hard-points and straps are lined internally with polyester webbing, and everything is glued together with Weldwood contact cement. Here are some preview pictures but the full progress album is at http://imgur.com/a/38veR

I work with used footballs. I am a HS football coach and stumbled my way into making leather wallets out of used footballs for gifts for our graduating seniors. Fell in love with the craft have started expanding what I do. I was recently asked by a fellow coach to make a messenger style bag out of a bunch of old footballs. So my first obstacle that I am encountering in the planning phase is how to make larger panels out of a bunch of small football panels. My initial thought is to take each panel of the football and cut it down to a square or rectangle and then attach it to another panel. Then I would end up with a larger panel that I could cut to my measurements. Anybody have any experience doing something like this. Attaching pieces of leather together to get a larger working surface. Any suggestions, tips, help, etc.

This is my first attempt at a messenger bag. Its a simple fold over design with no liner. I would like to add a pocket to the outside of the front panel that will be concealed by the flap (circled in red). Maybe something for a cell phone or something small. My question is, how do I make the measurements for the pocket panel? I feel that if I make a simple rectangle and stitch it on 3 side it will be so flush to the bag that it won't have any inner depth. Should I cut the pocket panel in a trapezoid and stitch at right angles? This sounds like it would make sense to allow for room in the pocket. Maybe angles at just a 1/4" or something?

The latest bag I have made.

My first ever bag! Horween Essex leather (4-5oz) in Parisian Blue (thanks @nstarleather!), with hardware from the buckleguy, hand stitched with 0.8mm Tiger thread in dark grey. Unlined, but has an internal pocket and a key lanyard braided from 4mm kangaroo lace. And several callouses on my fingers now

So i just had to make one more, and this time it just came together so easy.. starting to trust my skills a bit more, all critique is welcome

Here is the 2nd attempt at making a bag. I am a little embarrassed by how long it took.

Hi, everyone! I finally had the chance to wrap up th eproject I showed in here a few days ago. This project was a bit challenging because I had no previous experience sewing things on the inside nor with piping (which I almost skipped altogether). Considering there were almost no do-overs for individual pieces, I can brag about it as a success... I did however messed up two major pieces, which in turn led me to consume all of the leather I bought for this and this kept me from making a couple of straps for attaching stuff to the bottom of the bag... anyway, there is more time than life and I'm sure it won't take me that much of time to get a couple of straps when I embark on my next project, whatever that might be. As I said, I had never made a bag before which was sewn on the inside, so, before I started I roamed about the Internet looking for ideas. I wanted something rugged, light and functional for something that could double as an everyday camera bag and the eventual carry-on luggage. So, I picked up the ideas, began drawing, decided on a color, bought the hardware and thread accordingly and I put my heart, my hands and my future arthritis into it. I'll describe some of the less obvious features in the pictures below. All your questions and feedback are welcome. Here's the whole bag, side pockets, shoulder strap and all. The side pockets are removable, as you will see in the following pictures. Main flap and handle (the "brand" was laser printed, but I'm considering to have a stamp made for future projects). Here I show the two sets of dees for the shoulder strap. This is an idea I got when viewing one of the reviews of James Crane's Youtube channel. The pair of dees on the back of the bag is used when you're carrying the bag cross-body style. The other pair, when carrying on the same side where the bag rests. Here are the bottom and the sides of the bag. Here are two sets of dees just hanging from the straps that close the bag. The straps on the sides are used to attach the pockets seen above. And here is a view of said pockets dettached from the bag. The two cross straps on the pocket rest on top of the two straps on the side of the bag. The same straps used to attach the pockets are used to close it down. You may have noticed that I used a double dee closing mechanism as well as a stud button for all the straps. The reason is that I'll be using each system separately at different times. The button studs are there for an "on the fly" closure. The double dee is used for a more secure closure. And here are several pics showing the contents of the bag.

Here is a leather bag i just finished =)

This bag was designed for an exhibition in Taiwan. I wanted to design a bag that I thought reflected something unique about Taiwan and my experiences living here for the past 20 years. One of the 1st things about Taiwan that grabbed my attention the 1st day I arrived was the swarm of motorbikes that covered the streets. Motorbikes or scooters are by far the preferred form of transportation throughout Taiwan and they vastly outnumber all other forms of transportation on the densely-populated Island. These compact modes of transportation are favored for their convenience in parking and inexpensive maintenance. But as convenient as they are, they are also quite dangerous and it's not uncommon to see accidents daily. I myself have been in 2 over the years, resulting in breaking a shoulder in each accident. I have since thrown in the towel and now drive a car with lots of airbags..! Regardless, these bikes have left a deep impression on my life and so I decided to create a luxury bag built around the properties of a scooter tire. Coming up with a design I really liked that would work well with the shape and weight of the tire was challenging at 1st, but eventually the concept came to life. The 1st challenge I had starting out was finding the right tire for the job. So, I went to a large motorbike shop and to my surprise after hearing about my plans to design a bag out of a tire they began to enthusiastically bring out every tire they had in their collection for me to choose from. This made finding the right tire a whole lot easier and they have my sincerest appreciation..! To make this project a piece of art and not just a bag I wanted to incorporate the use of a variety of exotic leathers, such as horse leather, gazelle fur, and fine Italian tanned leathers on different components of the bag to give it a richly exotic look and feel. To lighten the weight of the bag I have removed any unnecessary rubber from the tire and have used extra thick (3mm thick) Leather to provide the bag with strength and support for the tires shape and weight. Every component you see on the bag was cut, dyed, and stitched together by hand using only traditional techniques... The end result was better than I could have expected! After spending about 2 months coming up with a design I spent about another 50 -60 hours to build the bag itself! Since then I have come up with 3 distinct designs for the tire bag for both larger and smaller tires. If you'd like to see more pictures of this bag and some of my other leather artwork and designs, please visit my page at www.fischerworkshops.com Thanks!!!

This bag was designed for an exhibition in Taiwan. I wanted to design a bag that I thought reflected something unique about Taiwan and my experiences living here for the past 20 years. One of the 1st things about Taiwan that grabbed my attention the 1st day I arrived was the swarm of motorbikes that covered the streets. Motorbikes or scooters are by far the preferred form of transportation throughout Taiwan and they vastly outnumber all other forms of transportation on the densely-populated Island. These compact modes of transportation are favored for their convenience in parking and inexpensive maintenance. But as convenient as they are, they are also quite dangerous and it's not uncommon to see accidents daily. I myself have been in 2 over the years, resulting in breaking a shoulder in each accident. I have since thrown in the towel and now drive a car with lots of airbags..! Regardless, these bikes have left a deep impression on my life and so I decided to create a luxury bag built around the properties of a scooter tire. Coming up with a design I really liked that would work well with the shape and weight of the tire was challenging at 1st, but eventually the concept came to life. The 1st challenge I had starting out was finding the right tire for the job. So, I went to a large motorbike shop and to my surprise after hearing about my plans to design a bag out of a tire they began to enthusiastically bring out every tire they had in their collection for me to choose from. This made finding the right tire a whole lot easier and they have my sincerest appreciation..! To make this project a piece of art and not just a bag I wanted to incorporate the use of a variety of exotic leathers, such as horse leather, gazelle fur, and fine Italian tanned leathers on different components of the bag to give it a richly exotic look and feel. To lighten the weight of the bag I have removed any unnecessary rubber from the tire and have used extra thick (3mm thick) Leather to provide the bag with strength and support for the tires shape and weight. Every component you see on the bag was cut, dyed, and stitched together by hand using only traditional techniques... The end result was better than I could have expected! After spending about 2 months coming up with a design I spent about another 50 -60 hours to build the bag itself! Since then I have come up with 3 distinct designs for the tire bag for both larger and smaller tires. If you'd like to see more pictures of this bag and some of my other leather artwork and designs, please visit my page at www.fischerworkshops.com Thanks!!!

New Bag I finished for a customer. Its not for everyone, but he asked for it and it came out nice I think. False buckle with parachute clip behind buckle strap. So buckle is secured but it quick releases which is cool.

Here is a one off messenger bag a coworker requested. It's pink top finished leather (almost a plastic coating) and lined in black suede. The accent and strap is 9oz black Horween Chromexcel with ridgeprint. The edges are finished with glossy black edge paint from Buckleguy. It is all hand saddle stitched with Maine Thread. It's the third messenger bag I've done so please feel free to make suggestions on improvements. Thanks

Hi, everyone. Once again, bothering you in search of some wisdom. I'm about to start designing a camera bag using the basic design of an old USPS mail bag, adding some modifications to adapt that design to my needs and to change the look a little bit. Mainly the changes will involve a change in size (not as tall and a bit deeper from front to end) to acomodate a padded insert, add a couple of pockets under the flap and a couple of straps on the sides to attach/dettach another set of pockets at will, depending on my carrying needs for the day... it's a bit of a Frankenstein monster from several different ideas I've seen around. I plan on using chrome/veg tanned leather, 4-5 or 5-6 oz, the likes of a Dublin or Chromexcel, but with what I have at hand to buy here in Mexico... (BTW, do you have something to sher about Chahin leather? I might get a good deal from them but I'm still working that out). The design I liked the most to begin with is this one from Satchel & Page. Like I said, I'll be changing a lot of things, but the basic form and idea of this one filled my eye. For starters, I'll change the closing from a single buckle to a double strap, double D-ring fastening, since I found it easier and quicker. Also, I'll add a couple of sets of D-rings at the bottom to carry a blanket, or tripod or whatever that doesn't fit inside the bag. I'll keep the magazine pocket in the back because... well, you never know!! Second of all, I'll change the front face of the base bag to acomodate two pockets more or less to the style of the ONA Brixton, since I find those very handy for keeping my cameras accesories, film, lightmeters, pens, notebooks and other stuff. I love the gusset on this one, so I won't change a thing here (rivets and double seam). I'll just add a couple of straps sewn or riveted onto the gusset (towards the sides and top of the bag) as anchor points for a couple of dettachable pockets for storing lenses, cellphone, whatever... Now, on to the questions about designing this thing. I don't care too much if I miss my target size by 1/4 or 1/2 inch because of the joints. But, since there's going to be two layers of leather at the front and at the back, I was wondering if anyone in here would be kind enough to share some light as to how much I should compensate on the size of the outer layer to fit the one on the inside. Say, if the inner front piece is going to be 14 inches wide from one stitch line to the other, how much should the outer piece be? 1/8" - 1/"4 extra to each side? Like I said, I'll be using leather of about 4-5 or 5-6 oz for this project. Another doubt I have is how far should the stitch be from the edge of the leather. I will use waxed poly thread, 0.040 and I normally mark my stitch line at about 1/8" from the edge. But, since the stitches will be on the side, I have my doubts whether the fact that it's a turned bag with several layers would be too much of a load for such a small edge. One other topic I can't decide yet is whether to use piping or not. If I do it it would be by means of a single narrow strap of the same leather I use for the rest of the bag, showing the cross section of the leather (burnished and all) instead of folding it over itself. I understand piping is used to release some tension out of the bent joints of the project. Is this at least somewhat true? Anyway, I hope I made some sense with all this and to get some ideas as to how to skin this particular cat. Cheers, everybody!

Hello All - For any bag/briefcase makers out there I'm in the market for something I can use in the business world. I'd like to buy and/or have something made that can be proudly taken to business meetings but also has a somewhat casual appearance. If anyone is interested can you please message me or respond to this post? Thanks!

Hi, everybody! I'm about to embark in my second large project. I don't know whether that's the right term, but it's how I saw it referred to in a Youtube tutorial (by Leodis Leather). It basically refers to a bag with the stitches on the inside... saddle stitching, that is. I'm planning to make a bag somewhat similar to a Brixton by Ona Bags: esentially, a messenger bag with two pockets on the front side and one pocket on each side of the bag. Although I won't be selling this bag since it's for myself, I plan to make some modifications to the design as to keep it original, such as measures, form, handles, straps, thickness of leather to be used, no lining, fastening with double rings instead of buckles, burnished instead of folded over edges, attachment points in the corners to extra stuff (tripods, blankets, whatnot...), etc. In the end, it would be a bag of about 15"W x 12"H x 5-6"D As I said before, the bag won't be lined, since I intend to use a heavy full grain leather. In the range of heavy leathers, I currently have access only to a 8-10 oz that seems to be chrome tanned (when you cut it it has a white/blueish color in the middle) with some color applied to both sides of the leather. I know it's a thick leather for a bag and I have some questions about it. First of all, the leather used in Ona seems to be about 3-4 oz (only a guess from what I see in the photos and some basic scale math I've been doing). Actually, I intend to make my bag from a leather in the 5-6 oz range, either by searching for a different leather source or by thinning down on what I have at hand. and here is where my first question lies: how do I thin down from 8-10 to 5-6 oz without a splitter? I would need to thin down the entire piece of leather before cutting to achieve a uniform look and feel for the bag. I thought of using a circular sander on the suede-like side, but I've made some tests and it would be an obscene amount of work to do. On the other hand, I've noticed that sanding really ends up softenning the leather up really nice, no matter how thick it ends up being. My second question: If you look at the picture, you'll see that on the corners of the fron side of the bag, there would be as many as four layers of leather to be sewn together. If I manage to reduce the thickness of the leather to my target 5-6 oz, we're still talking of a seam that would around 8-10 mm thick... and that's only on a straight line. Wouldn't this put too much stress on the joints when I try to flip the bag inside out? how about the corners? By the way, I'm using (or planning to use) Tandy's Tejas poly waxed thread... it fades a bit with extensive use, but that's actually something I've come to like in my backpack and a couple wallets I've made so far. If the stress is too much on the joints, what are my choices? skive the places where the seams will be? or change the design altogether to an outside stitch one? One possibility I've been contemplating (although I would really like to make it this way) is to get rid of the side pockets and instead put some attachment straps to do some sort of modular system. This would add the benefit of loosing some wanted weight depending on the situation. I hope I made any sense and I'm really looking for your advice on this one.

Have you ever noticed that every now and then when you’re more observant to the world around you, you see more of what people are doing? You see how they look, the style of their clothes, the amount of cleavage their clothes show, what kind of bag they have and what it’s made of. You see the style of shoes they are wearing and the condition they’re in, the colors of their clothes can tell you about the mood they might be in and so on. These things give us a clearer notion or feeling of their current state of mind, attitude and possibly their deeper character. Some of these things will change and vary from day to day and time to time. Like a t-shirt with a message on it won’t be worn the next day, or a hair style today might change in the next coming weeks, shoes change on a daily basis. But some things won’t change for a very long period of time, like a genuine distressed leather bag. And it’s these things that could be considered an extension of a person’s character. These things are usually of sentimental value, mostly because they have endured throughout the years and have been with you on many adventures. In many ways the style, fashion, material and color of a bag can give others a sense and feel of the kind of person you might be. Many of us have different intentions when we buy a new bag. Many times we want to impress our friends or co-workers, or we simply need a bag that is most suitable for our line of work or lifestyle. Some of us want to feel like we are more than we actually feel we are, so we buy a bag that reflects a romantic or ideal vision of ourselves. Some of us buy a bag because it simply looks good or goes well with the tone of our skin. Some of us are drawn to a bag because it gives us a sense of security or makes us feel more confident. And then there are those of us that are genuinely completely ecstatic about a particular bag. In the end, we buy the bag that we like, not just to look at, but to use, to carry and to show the world who we are. They personify who we are and who we hope to be, almost as if they are a piece of the puzzle to our characters. Just as every genuine leather bag is unique, so is every person who chooses one. They are an extension of our unique characters. By Noah Nichols Grittyrustic

Hi Guys and Girls, This is my first post here, I am making an Expedition / messenger bag for my laptop and other work related stuff. I have not done any leather work since i was teenager - made a simple wallet last week and forgot how much i enjoyed it. Apart from the wallet this is my first saddle stitch attempt . For this project i was not after perfection as i need to get it together as quick as i can to be able to use it, so far it has taken me two days. Note to oneself : Do not attempt to saddle stitch for a whole day without prior conditioning lol, my right hands cramped up and i know i will be sorry for it tomorrow. Any way here are some pics of the progress so far and of a stitching pony i made too which has been a godsend for this project. Hope you enjoy and criticism welcome. Regards, Dan

My latest bag messenger bag. There's definitely something terribly convenient about working with pre-dyed and finished leather! 4 oz. oil tanned leather, all hand stitched. Any criticism welcome; I know I've made some mistakes in the design, etc. Cheers, Monica

You might get tired of the music theme eventually, but for now, here's a mandolin themed messenger bag, made with 9 oz Austin leather, all hand stitched, taken apart, re-sewn, taken apart, and re-sewn. It was the keeper that kept messing me up. First it was too narrow and too long, and now it's still verging on too tight, but it will just work. It's definitely man or tall woman sized. I made it pretty big at 16 x 12, and the strap pretty long, and as I'm rather short, it looks embarrassingly large for me. I'm disappointed that I forgot to curve the corners instead of leaving them square, but I absentmindedly started grooving everything before I remembered I intended to cut the curve. Oh well. Feel free to give any advice that strikes you.