Wet formed bag tutorial

[MagiKelly]

Scissors would be hard work. I use either tin snips or more usually a craft knife or scalpel

[bluesman1951]

Thanks for your effort ,job well done very useful . Only one question : When you use the brads to hold the wet leather does this create a problem with the stitching holes (Spacing issues) .I really like the finished bag very appealing . bluesman1951

I now mark out the stitching on the tab for the buckle and round the edge of the bag. I have used a pricking iron. If you don’t have one a fork will do. You can use a marking wheel but they do not always leave very clear marks unless you are doing this while the leather is wet. I have also stamped a small makers mark in the centre of the tab stitching.

Time to dye all the pieces. Gather them all together along with your dye and a wool dabber. I use a spirit based dye and buy it in the 1 litre bottles as it is much cheaper that way. I still tend to decant it into the smaller bottles for use though as it is easier to handle and has a larger neck.

I dye the inside of the leather as well. A light inside looks strange and I can never finish with a clean edge anyway. Give the leather a good coating with the dye then set aside to dry

Once the dye is dry it is time to stitch on the buckle and “D” rings. First mark out your stitching with your pricking iron (or fork). I like the triangular pattern and my pricking iron is just the right size for marking this out.

Put the buckle onto its tab. Thread the tab through the slot. Open the tab out and sew in place.

Same thing with the “D” rings. Here we see one sewn and one about to be sewn.

And once done you can trim the tabs in the inside as seen here.

Some people glue the bag to the back to keep it in place but I have never got on with this method. I tend to tack the front to the back with stitched spaced an inch and a half apart. I only make the holes for these stitches with the awl at this time. I punch through the rest of the holes with the awl as I go along.

I punch the holes between the first two tacks, stitch this section, remove the tacks at this bit, form the holes in the next section, sew that bit and so on

Once finished sewing I trim the back piece round the bottom corners and also trim the edges along the sewn section to ensure they are even or as even as I can get them. Then I dye the freshly cut and trimmed bits.

Before I stitch the tongue on I finish the edges of the bag and the tongue with gum tragacanth and rub down with a piece of canvas.

Then clamp the tongue in position ready for stitching

Tongue stitched on.

Pull the end of the strap through the buckle and mark the position for the one hole needed.

Punch the hole. Dye the edges of the hole (cotton buds are great for this) and we are nearly there.

Now I cover the bag with carnauba wax. Inside and out and work it well in. (I managed to spill the wax which is why there is a puddle of it in the background)

Let the wax dry for a little while then polish with a soft brush.

Now the droppers are just two strips of leather, about ¾ of an inch wide with two press studs to close them over. You can easily work out how to make them from this picture. Cut, dye, finish edges, punch for studs, wax polish and attach studs.

A handy hint for attaching the press studs. Use a punch a bit bigger than the part of the press stud that goes through the leather to push the leather down. A light tap with the mallet makes sure you have enough of this bit exposed to ensure the two parts of the stud lock together well.

So that’s us all finished. You should now have a bag that looks like this

I hope you found this interesting and or useful. Any questions just ask.

[MagiKelly]

I've not found them to be a problem with the spacing. They either fall between stitches and you can go over them or they are on a stitch hole and you use them.

[Username]

Very handy and illustrative. Thank you.

[humperdingle]

This is great - And will probably be my next project, so thanks.

Do you think the little noticeboard pushpins be OK for holding the leather to the mould?

[MagiKelly]

If you can get the pins to go in then I am sure they will hold it. The leather does take the shape fairly quickly so does not need a lot of force to hold it n position.

[humperdingle]

If you can get the pins to go in then I am sure they will hold it. The leather does take the shape fairly quickly so does not need a lot of force to hold it n position.

I tried the push pins, and they were next to useless going into the pine board I was using. Maybe if a cork block was used as a base?

I did make a moulded bag, but I think the wooden mould I made was a little sharp cornered, and had way too much leather at the corners to make a neat job, so had to change things slightly (Had a slight hissy-fit when the 1st attempt saw me ripping the overly-severely trimmed leather off the board and chuck it in the bin

Worked out reasonably in the end, though, and will make a more rounded mould for the next attempt.

[Rattlerman]

Brilliant tutorial. Many thanks

[Alvetjarn]

Thank you magKelly for this wonderful tutorial!

I copied it all to a document to be able to print it properly when trying it out myself so though you would like it as well.

If you want me to change anything or remove it, please just tell me !!!!

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BxZTN_InJhJMcFBQcnRrVE15dmM/edit?usp=sharing

[Monkiller]

This really is an excellent tutorial. Ty

Edited March 23, 2013 by Monkiller