My latest cross body bag/purse.

[toxo]

She wanted "Warm". Was a lot of sponge dabbing.

[Frodo]

Bag looks good but that strap needs a little burnishing and the backside slicked

 the top rivet At the D ring. on the left. Is that a shadow?   or is the rivet pulled away from the leather like it ways set crooked.

 

[toxo]

2 hours ago, Frodo said:

Bag looks good but that strap needs a little burnishing and the backside slicked

 the top rivet At the D ring. on the left. Is that a shadow?   or is the rivet pulled away from the leather like it ways set crooked.

 

Frodo I've no doubt you're capable of good work but imo you rarely put in the yards to show us.

For me, it's a balance between who I'm doing it for (maybe mates rates), the practical purpose, (a tool bag or a lady's handbag), the time I've got in it and the cost of materials but whatever the project is there's no reason why I can't make the effort within those parameters to do a good looking job.

I could have done a very different job on this bag. I could have burnished everything to death, put swivel clips on wider, doubled up and stitched straps etc etc but this bag is for a friend of my daughters and so is mates rates and then some. She's paying what some folk charge for the hot foiled initials alone and I guarantee she's gonna love it and cherish it.

I'll also add that bags like this can be tricky because there's no straight line to work with. Just lining up the initials took an hour. Remember you only get one go at it. Get it wrong and the whole thing is ruined.

[Tequila]

@toxo as long as you like it and more importantly the person getting likes it, well then that’s all that counts.  Personally I think it looks good, and I’d love to hear how you did the dye work. 

[AdamDavis]

I dig the color and “marbeled” sort of effect! Very nice.

[Frodo]

In case anyone is interested,  Tony designs some really nice Bags.  a digital down load of the pattern with every thing laid out including the holes

along with a step by step tutorial .  

 

 

 

[toxo]

4 hours ago, Frodo said:

In case anyone is interested,  Tony designs some really nice Bags.  a digital down load of the pattern with every thing laid out including the holes

along with a step by step tutorial . 

And there's Frodo!

[toxo]

Thanks @Tequila and @AdamDavis

The dye job was an experiment. The trick is to use one of those sponges with lots of big odd shaped holes. In my local shop they call em art or craft sponges. Start out leaving lots of gaps, once it's covered you can't uncover it and you can always do more later. Remember that dye usually dries lighter and on each subsequent series of dabs any colour that's gone over twice or three times is gonna be darker than the first coat. I use a hair dryer between each colour and stand back to decide what colour to do next. Two coats of Resolene or similar will protect it and have it shining like a mirror. Good luck and don't forget to show us the results.

[AzShooter]

I love this bag and think you did a fantastic job.  I understand doing a job for the money paid.  Not everyone can afford what good leatherwork costs but you made it possible for the woman to have what she wanted.

Nice job.

[RockyAussie]

5 hours ago, Frodo said:

In case anyone is interested,  Tony designs some really nice Bags.  a digital down load of the pattern with every thing laid out including the holes

along with a step by step tutorial .  

Does the pattern have another keeper in it for that strap hanging out?

@toxo looks pretty darn good to me

[toxo]

18 minutes ago, RockyAussie said:

Does the pattern have another keeper in it for that strap hanging out?

@toxo looks pretty darn good to me

Thanks guys. @RockyAussie She asked for an extra long strap cos she's tall and big chested, (I've never seen her) so she can shorten it to suit. Also the full buckles that I have stick out more underneath so I went with the flat one with a keeper. One of my pet hates also, flappy straps.

[Sam83]

This is gorgeous! I love the marbled effect! Great job!

[PastorBob]

That is a great looking bag.  well done.  what is the overall dimension of the bag?

[toxo]

Thanks again guys.

@PastorBob It's about 7x6x3 inches.

Here's another I finished this week.

And the front can go both ways. Some like this look.

[PastorBob]

Very classy!  Thanks for letting me know the size.

1 hour ago, toxo said:

And the front can go both ways. Some like this look.

what does "both ways" mean?  The only difference I see is the mongram on one.

[toxo]

11 minutes ago, PastorBob said:

Very classy!  Thanks for letting me know the size.

what does "both ways" mean?  The only difference I see is the mongram on one.

On the blue one the front wraps around the gusset.  The brown one marries alongside the gusset.

[Doc Reaper]

I like em, can’t see em needin anything from my view,  I just made a holster with that royal blue and it turned out great, so I then went out and grabbed the green

[Bert03241]

Fantastic Bag wish I could do work like that

[Tequila]

2 hours ago, toxo said:

On the blue one the front wraps around the gusset.  The brown one marries alongside the gusset.

If you didn’t say what the difference was I would have never guessed.  One day I may screw up the nerve to try to make a bag. 

1 minute ago, Bert03241 said:

Fantastic Bag wish I could do work like that

I’m with you Bert!!   

[Samalan]

Nice looking bags you said she wanted warm I think you hit that right on LOL I don't know when I looked at it my thought was warm might sound nut's  but that's what I thought it's a great job!

[toxo]

You guys gotta stop it! I promise you if I can do it, you can do it.

Go here and join up. This is the link to Tony See's (DieselpunkRo) Facebook page. It's a whole army of beginners who are making lots of amazing stuff.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/dieselpunkro

As Frodo has already said, every one of his designs/patterns come with complete instructions including a step by step video.

He's just started giving away one pattern every week for cheap. I think this week is the Owl Bag for less than a dollar. I made this some time ago.

Doesn't have to be bags. Look here for all sorts from Hats to armour.

https://www.leather-patterns.com/

 

[AdamDavis]

@toxo what do we call that closure and where can a guy find one? Again, nice looking kit!!

[toxo]

7 hours ago, AdamDavis said:

@toxo what do we call that closure and where can a guy find one? Again, nice looking kit!!

Here you go Adam.

https://www.artisanleather.co.uk/swing-bag-clasp-small.html

Tony See (Dieselpunkro) does sell the complete hardware kit for a lot of his patterns so you don't have to buy 100 rivets or 10 buckles etc.

I should stress I have no connection with Tony See but I do like his setup. He makes it really easy for even complete beginners to turn out some nice stuff and if you ever have a problem he'll usually reply to a text within the hour. He also has a great sense of humour. My favourite line on one of his videos, - he sighs and shakes his head, sucks his teeth and says "The zipper, we gotta do the zipper".

[Frodo]

Tony's Stuff is great to learn on  .He gives you a pattern with everything laid out and marked Even the Center is marked all you have to do is punch a couple of holes, maybe 15 or 20 

Take his patterns and learn. then start adding your own touch to the project

Here is the same owl pattern as Toxo's  But I chose to paint the leather in lieu of using stain

 

[chuck123wapati]

On 7/22/2022 at 11:51 AM, Frodo said:

Tony's Stuff is great to learn on  .He gives you a pattern with everything laid out and marked Even the Center is marked all you have to do is punch a couple of holes, maybe 15 or 20 

Take his patterns and learn. then start adding your own touch to the project

Here is the same owl pattern as Toxo's  But I chose to paint the leather in lieu of using stain

 

You did some beautiful work and rethinking of design ideas!!! It wouldn't be hard to change those few pieces to about any critter, a nice puppy or kitty, turtle maybe. lengthen it for a back pack, the sky is the limit!

 Designing your own patterns is hard. I'm the last to make cookie cutter projects and would rather take a beating than punch out multiple copies of someone else's patterns. it just isn't inspiring IMO in fact I've never done it lol. That being said for those who don't have the knowledge or skill set of making patterns, redesigning a good workable pattern is the logical step it has many more personal benefits it teaches you first off how to make patterns , think outside the box and use your own grey matter to solve problems, what is even more exciting is when you have learned it you don't have to google it or buy it from someone else. Above all there is nothing wrong with pushing your skill level that's what life is about.