Inside out barrel bag edges too thick/long?

[memhave]

Hi,

Pretty new to making leather things (and bags) and this is my first self designed and actually (mostly!) planned design / make.

Its a pretty simple inside out bag, based on the drawings in Bag Design by Fashionary.

My primary question is about the inside edge (seam? not sure what to call it) - I made a 10mm seam allowance and as you can see from the photos, its quite wide.

I have not yet turned it (or attached the ends, as I havent made them yet, as I didnt order enough leather) and I am thinking that they will stick out quite a lot.
Should I shorten them? If so whats the best way?

Other questions: 

• I accidentally made some apprentice marks, is there a good way to clean them up?
• Conditioning? Anything I can put on to make it hold up a bit more (although I realise buttero marks *very* easily though lol)
• I have some doubts about the actual turning operation because the zip isnt full length, any tips on making it as painless as possible?

Info:

• Leather: Buttero https://buyleatheronline.com/en/walpier/435-3689-walpier-buttero-leather.html#/
• Thickness:  1.4~1.5m (total edge is x2 + piping)
• Didnt skive the edges (big mistake I think, I wasnt / am not confident enough in my knive skills because I dont think theyre sharp enough yet, so I didnt do it)
• There will be a liner, attached to the top/zipper piece

(Yes the stitching is not great, I mismatched the side pieces ;_; so the stitching holes are misaligned)

I was quite surprised how good the piping looks at this stage, I was quite worried it would be shit

(Please move to this to the right place if its not mods )

 

[toxo]

5 hours ago, memhave said:

Hi,

Pretty new to making leather things (and bags) and this is my first self designed and actually (mostly!) planned design / make.

Its a pretty simple inside out bag, based on the drawings in Bag Design by Fashionary.

My primary question is about the inside edge (seam? not sure what to call it) - I made a 10mm seam allowance and as you can see from the photos, its quite wide.

I have not yet turned it (or attached the ends, as I havent made them yet, as I didnt order enough leather) and I am thinking that they will stick out quite a lot.
Should I shorten them? If so whats the best way?

Other questions: 

• I accidentally made some apprentice marks, is there a good way to clean them up?
• Conditioning? Anything I can put on to make it hold up a bit more (although I realise buttero marks *very* easily though lol)
• I have some doubts about the actual turning operation because the zip isnt full length, any tips on making it as painless as possible?

Info:

• Leather: Buttero https://buyleatheronline.com/en/walpier/435-3689-walpier-buttero-leather.html#/
• Thickness:  1.4~1.5m (total edge is x2 + piping)
• Didnt skive the edges (big mistake I think, I wasnt / am not confident enough in my knive skills because I dont think theyre sharp enough yet, so I didnt do it)
• There will be a liner, attached to the top/zipper piece

(Yes the stitching is not great, I mismatched the side pieces ;_; so the stitching holes are misaligned)

I was quite surprised how good the piping looks at this stage, I was quite worried it would be shit

(Please move to this to the right place if its not mods )

 

 

I think you're doing well! For a newbie you're taking on a variety of techniques which shows that you're learning and also that you have a degree of confidence. Some things can only be learned by doing, not reading. The mistakes are minor and will get better with practice. You missed an opportunity with your 10mm seam allowance. You could've practiced your skiving on that because it won't be seen. it would also have given you the option of "butterflying" it so it lays down flat on both sides. Subtle marks top and bottom help to line panels up to ensure stitches line up as well as starting from the same position on every panel. As it is you can simply cut down the seam allowance and/or put in a drop in liner just fixed around the top.

[memhave]

Quote

it would also have given you the option of "butterflying" it so it lays down flat on both sides.

Yes, I considered this (if you meant folding the sewed edge over itself, like rolling it) as opposed to a liner but the flesh side was rather rough and I have nothing to smooth it well right now (like buttload of sandpaper or one of those glass bits).

I also thought it would look a bit shit because the inside edge of the piping would show and it would be quite easy to see imo.

Quote

Subtle marks top and bottom help to line panels up to ensure stitches line up as well as starting from the same position on every panel

I had these.... but they were just marking which edge was a side and which was an end .

When cutting it down, as thats what I will likely end up doing - do you recommend any specific tool or just mark and carefully cut with a knife? Or are there some secret techniques :D

 

I think in the next version / bag, I will forgo the liner and butterfly the inside edges if I can figure out what to do with the piping.

[toxo]

2 hours ago, memhave said:

Yes, I considered this (if you meant folding the sewed edge over itself, like rolling it) as opposed to a liner but the flesh side was rather rough and I have nothing to smooth it well right now (like buttload of sandpaper or one of those glass bits).

I also thought it would look a bit shit because the inside edge of the piping would show and it would be quite easy to see imo.

I had these.... but they were just marking which edge was a side and which was an end .

When cutting it down, as thats what I will likely end up doing - do you recommend any specific tool or just mark and carefully cut with a knife? Or are there some secret techniques :D

 

I think in the next version / bag, I will forgo the liner and butterfly the inside edges if I can figure out what to do with the piping.

(if you meant folding the sewed edge over itself, like rolling it)

No! The French seam is when each side lays down on each side and top stitched from the top. All of this type of seam MUST include a backing else the seam won't have any strength. It also stops any pulling apart of the initial stitch line so will never show from the top. This link will take you to a Cechaflo video. This man is a maestro with a sewing machine and although he mainly does auto stuff you will learn shed loads from watching all of his videos and the man never says a word. Getting back to the backing, A liner of some sort could replace the backing provided that you sew through it to give strength to the seam.

A Car Seat Bolster using Piping and French Seams - Car Upholstery

[memhave]

Thank you for the link! It was pretty informative and definitely gave me some ideas. Its definitely a LOT of work without a sewing machine though, so I will probably hold off on something so labour intensive until I can find a sewing machine!

Thanks for the feedback, it came out good (ish) in the end!

 

 

[Deanr]

I do similar bags which I use a combo of leather and canvas. I use a machine. I think alot of your problems will be rectified if you use a machine. 

The lumpy ends could be fixed by adjusting the width of  the sides as the bag lays flat prior to sewing it in a cylinder. Sometimes a small adjustment can make a difference. My ends are 12 inch and prior sewing the cylinder I try for 35 1/2. I use 5 oz chrome tan and have never skived. I do not line mine.

My machine is a flat bed and my biggest problem was sewing the seam when it goes from flat to cylinder. I sew that outside out and the turn it inside out to sew the ends on. Springfield leather has a good instructional video. I also run my straps all the way across the bottom.

[memhave]

30 minutes ago, Deanr said:

I do similar bags which I use a combo of leather and canvas. I use a machine. I think alot of your problems will be rectified if you use a machine. 

The lumpy ends could be fixed by adjusting the width of  the sides as the bag lays flat prior to sewing it in a cylinder. Sometimes a small adjustment can make a difference. My ends are 12 inch and prior sewing the cylinder I try for 35 1/2. I use 5 oz chrome tan and have never skived. I do not line mine.

My machine is a flat bed and my biggest problem was sewing the seam when it goes from flat to cylinder. I sew that outside out and the turn it inside out to sew the ends on. Springfield leather has a good instructional video. I also run my straps all the way across the bottom.

Thanks for the advice! Your bag is basically what my idea was. Are the top / zipper part flat or is that curved too?

Yeah - it seems bags this size are ripe for machine sewing. When you mean 12" ends, do you mean 12" Ø? What do you mean by 35.5? Is that the circumference?

I was considering chrome tan, but I just didnt really think it could hold the shape well enough - but it seems I'm wrong!

Interesting on the sewing part. Do you have a link for the video?

I will also probably run the straps full width next time, it should make replacing them a lot easier if I it up (like I actually did :D)

I think I also prefer your pockets on the side, I will probably do that next time, although I could just add mine to the liner I have as its not closed yet and quite thick but eh.

If you dont mind me asking - what machine do you have? I'm currently looking for models, as a long term project.

[Deanr]

https://youtu.be/iSSkCZGyR64

 

There is the imbedded video which I don't know how to delete so there is also the link.

The video shows sewing the long panels flat. One bottom and two side and the narrower zipper panel. Then turn it into a cylinder and sew the last seam. The last seam is a side panel to the zipper panel. Prior to sewing the last seam all four panels measure 35.5. The circle ends are 12 in diameter. The round ends will pucker if the cylinder isn't just right. I add 1/2 in for seam allowance. Springfield sells the pattern which I purchased but maybe not required.

The zipper panel follows the curve of the end pieces just like the rest of the bag. I use a sailrite ls1 machine which I had before I started leatherwork. Maybe not the best but works good for this application. When I try to sew two pieces of veg tan I have trouble with skipped stitches so I just hand sew those. They make a leatherworker machine that would probably work better.

Hope this isn't too confusing