Purse Straps In Soft Leather 3 Oz - 4 Oz.

[donna]

How do I make these kind of straps? Is there a special foot or anything or just fold and sew...How to get them exact so you barely see the cut in the middle?

This is the back side of the strap with the seam down the middle and this leatherworker did a really nice job of butting those seams together. The front has no seams.

Any tricks to getting this nice?

Donna

(been sewing a long time but leather is new to me)

Edited October 30, 2010 by donna

[Ferg]

How do I make these kind of straps? Is there a special foot or anything or just fold and sew...How to get them exact so you barely see the cut in the middle?

This is the back side of the strap with the seam down the middle and this leatherworker did a really nice job of butting those seams together. The front has no seams.

Any tricks to getting this nice?

Donna

(been sewing a long time but leather is new to me)

With my research into sewing with a machine I would say there are a multitude of feet for your machine that will fold that little ditty just right.

May I say, "There's a Foot For That."

ferg

[TwinOaks]

That was probably done with a binding foot. It has a little attachment to fold the material over and guide it into place. Looks kinda like a half a funnel. For the near invisible seam....either REALLY good measurement, a LOT of experience, or there's a jig to cut it just so.

ETA: Upon further inspection, it looks like a tool was used to trim the pieces of the strap. Towards the bottom right on the pic, you can see the line wave just a little bit.

[Billsotx]

How do I make these kind of straps? Is there a special foot or anything or just fold and sew...How to get them exact so you barely see the cut in the middle?

This is the back side of the strap with the seam down the middle and this leatherworker did a really nice job of butting those seams together. The front has no seams.

Any tricks to getting this nice?

Donna

(been sewing a long time but leather is new to me)

If you're going to do this just once or once in awhile; I think you can do that by first gluing it and then stitching it. Fold it over a hacksaw blade or cut a piece of flashing the correct width to get your folds. Wet it, fold it, clamp it between a couple piece of board, maybe work it lightly with a modeling tool (or similar) for a good crease (not to heavy handed), let dry, then glue it up, let dry and stitch. I'd use white glue as it give you time to work and it flexible enough for a strap. If you're going to do a production run, then try to track down "the foot" 50 years is talking about, I think he's on the right track

Edited October 31, 2010 by Billsotx

[BAD HIDE]

What your probably looking for is a belt loop folder attachment. The bigger expense will probably be the double needle sewing machine used to do both stitches at once. There are other ways to fold and sew a purse handle with a single stitch line, and plenty of folder attachments out there that will do it automatically. I worked in an awning shop for a few years, and we had piles of attachments for folded hems, piping, binding, you name it. They were all for canvas, but I imagine they make most of them for leather machines too.

As for doing it manually, it kinda depends on the leather, but this is most likely done with garment leather anyway, so it'll fold just fine on it's own without any pre-bending. I'd just draw a line down the middle on the flesh side, contact cement it, then carefully fold each edge to the line, use a roller or hammer to flatten, and sew it with an edge guide.

Edited November 2, 2010 by BAD HIDE