Members CJJ Posted January 8 Members Report Posted January 8 Hey everyone, happy new year! I wanted to share a project I recently completed that I'm really proud of. This is my first attempt at a high-end handbag. It's inspired by the Hermes Garden Party bag. I'd love to know what you think! PS. I created an Instagram page a while back to be able to share the things I'm working on. If you would like to check it out you can find me @ secondlineleather one more Quote
Members DieselTech Posted January 8 Members Report Posted January 8 Nice classy work. Looks great. Quote
Members TomE Posted January 8 Members Report Posted January 8 That's a first class bag. Better than Hermes! Your stitching is superb. Quote
Members Deanr Posted January 8 Members Report Posted January 8 I like it alot from the handles to the liner to the zipper. Really good work. What is on the bottom inside? Is that piping on the bottom? Quote
Members CJJ Posted January 9 Author Members Report Posted January 9 Thanks everyone! The bottom plate is reinforced with 2 mm of Salpa bonded leather sandwiched in between the top and bottom layers of veg tan. the inside bottom looks like the "backside" of the outside bottom, so it's flat without the "strips" yes, piping around the perimeter of the bottom. exterior picture of the reinforced bottom plate before it was attached. Quote
Members Deanr Posted January 9 Members Report Posted January 9 I like that construction for the bottom. Is the rest of the purse veg tan? Where did you get it? Quote
Members CJJ Posted January 9 Author Members Report Posted January 9 yes, all veg tan. The leather is Minerva Box, I bought it from Rocky Mountain Leather Supply. Quote
Members Chipster99 Posted January 10 Members Report Posted January 10 Excellent work - very impressive! Quote
Members dirk87 Posted February 12 Members Report Posted February 12 Just found this post, really nice work. Very nice colors, construction and stitching. Inspires me to start making bags. Can i ask about your stitching? Which size irons and awl do you use? And which thread size, looks like linen? Quote
toxo Posted February 12 Report Posted February 12 On 1/8/2025 at 4:36 PM, CJJ said: Hey everyone, happy new year! I wanted to share a project I recently completed that I'm really proud of. This is my first attempt at a high-end handbag. It's inspired by the Hermes Garden Party bag. I'd love to know what you think! Expand Nice job! Did you make it from a pattern? Good job either way but I know how difficult complex bags can be without a pattern and how much forward planning goes into it. Also how difficult it can be to line things up with no straight lines. Lining up that bottom strap with the side straps to allow for the piping for example. These big makers that have a different machine set up for each part of the process have it easy. It's a bit different when you have to set your one machine up differently for different parts of the processes. Well done. Quote
Contributing Member Samalan Posted February 12 Contributing Member Report Posted February 12 It looks like Hermes has got nothing on you. Quote
Members CJJ Posted February 17 Author Members Report Posted February 17 On 2/12/2025 at 10:02 AM, dirk87 said: Can i ask about your stitching? Which size irons and awl do you use? And which thread size, looks like linen? Expand thank you! 3.0 Irons. I didn't use an awl much for stitching because most pieces I pre-punched, which ended up working out well. thread is polyester. Meisi Xiange Twist #25 (0.45mm) Quote
Members CJJ Posted February 17 Author Members Report Posted February 17 On 2/12/2025 at 1:42 PM, toxo said: Nice job! Did you make it from a pattern? Good job either way but I know how difficult complex bags can be without a pattern and how much forward planning goes into it. Also how difficult it can be to line things up with no straight lines. Lining up that bottom strap with the side straps to allow for the piping for example. These big makers that have a different machine set up for each part of the process have it easy. It's a bit different when you have to set your one machine up differently for different parts of the processes. Well done. Expand Thanks so much! I used a pattern from leathercraftpattern.com. I highly recommend their patterns by the way. super detailed and come with hundreds of photos of the various stages of construction. Yes, it was definitely a labor of love. easily 50+ hours over a couple month period. No machines were used in the making of this bag. I guess the time I saved not setting machines up was quickly spent hand sewing, skiving, etc. Quote
toxo Posted February 17 Report Posted February 17 On 2/17/2025 at 7:52 PM, CJJ said: Thanks so much! I used a pattern from leathercraftpattern.com. I highly recommend their patterns by the way. super detailed and come with hundreds of photos of the various stages of construction. Yes, it was definitely a labor of love. easily 50+ hours over a couple month period. No machines were used in the making of this bag. I guess the time I saved not setting machines up was quickly spent hand sewing, skiving, etc. Expand If you haven't already, you might check out Leather Patterns by Dieselpunk.ro or Tony See. All his patterns usually come with a detailed video. He also has a world wide group that's usually lively. Quote
Members dirk87 Posted February 18 Members Report Posted February 18 On 2/17/2025 at 7:47 PM, CJJ said: thank you! 3.0 Irons. I didn't use an awl much for stitching because most pieces I pre-punched, which ended up working out well. thread is polyester. Meisi Xiange Twist #25 (0.45mm) Expand Thank you, it must have been allot of work stitching at 3.0mm but looks absolutely great. I must give that Xiange thread a try, really gives a linen vibe in your pictures. Quote
Members Basically Bob Posted March 4 Members Report Posted March 4 Stunning work! So clean … beautiful stitching. Congratulations and thanks for sharing Quote
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