Easier Way To Sew Gusset?

[ikewineb]

I'm making my first purse / handbag. It is a christmas gift...actually, I'm going to make ten of them. Yeah, I know it's the 16 and I've got nine days left. I got my first one nearly finished last night, and figured out a lot by making some mistakes. The biggest issue I had was sewing around the corners of the gussets. There has to be an easier way, or a trick or something. I tried it a couple of different ways, and I'm not sure any of them are the best option. First, I cut a notch to allow the leather to fold around. Then I just tried to force it into place and sew around. then, I just sewed a straight line across the corner and made it a seperate stitch. Any advice on the best way to accomplish this?

As you can see in the pictures, I'm sewing the bags inside out then flipping them to leave the seam on the inside of the bag. This one does not have a liner. On other bags, I'm going to roll the front of the bag, like I did the sides...much better look.

[MadMorbius]

Round the corners on the bag panels (if you're not doing so already) and glue them in place prior to stitching. Contact cement is permanent and not for the faint of heart but will hold come hell or high water. Make sure you've given yourself enough seam allowance to get traction from the glue. Binder clips also help.

Depending on the rigidity of the leather, you may need to score the leather to allow it to fold cleanly and not bunch up on itself or crack.

If you don't want rounded corners, you'll need to notch the right angles and lap the triangles around the corner.

The bag in the attached photo was assembled inside out as described, with rounded corners and a 3/8" seam allowance.

Edited December 16, 2013 by MadMorbius

[makitmama]

I did a double sided gusset last night. I used 1/4" double sided tape, clipped the daylights out of it, and let the bag curve up into the air. Trying to do it with the bag flat is harder. If the curve is extreme(like a shoulder), then I clip in the middle first and work my way out with clips to each side. Then I stitch very, very slowly.

[ikewineb]

Thanks for the response. I was hoping there was a trick or something obvious I was missing. This is an oily leather that doesn't glue very well. I can see where tilting the bag up might make it easier to more around the corner. I would think clips would get in the way?

Another question...Do you see any need or benefit in double stitching the inside of the bag? On the bag above, I ran two stitch lines on the inside. I put them close. My inside seam is probably a touch over 1/4".

[MadMorbius]

No reason to double stitch in my opinion, unless it's something load bearing. For an oil-pulled leather, use some sandpaper on the edges to be glued before applying the cement. It'll stick just fine, and even if it's not a strong bond you only need it to hold long enough to stitch it. be careful not toput glue farther inside than your eventual stitch line or it may show when you flip it outside in...in other words, if you run a wing divider along the edge at 3/8 with the intention of stitching along it, don't glue (or sand the leather) beyond the line.

Edited December 17, 2013 by MadMorbius

[Luke Hatley]

Like was said....Rounded corners....I use staples ....in the easement ten just sew...

[MadMorbius]

lol I never thought of staples on the inside

[ikewineb]

Thanks for the input guys. I got all of my purses done. After you do several, it does get easier. Here's what I found worked best for me. I rounded the corners, per your suggestion. I used small binder clips to hold it all in place. I did three different stitch lines, opposed from trying to sew all the way around the bag. I sewed straight down the side as far as I could go without it binding on the fold. Then I moved to the bottom of the bag. I sewed backwards in a straight line until i made it to my previous stitch line. I did not double stitch the rest of the bags, but I did backtrack about 8 stitches at the bag opening and in the corners.

I lined the bag for my mom and added a pocket for a cell phone and a hook for her keys on a 4 strand braided cord. (Mom's has to be different, or she'd be upset). In lining the bag, I used contact cement to glue the med. weight fabric to each piece and then sewed the bag as normal. Here's my question. In lining the bag with fabric in this manner, what do you do to clean up the interior edges? I think it looks good the way I did it, but I'm sure it can look better. The fabric obviously frays at the edges and you see the inside edge of the leather.

[naomieve]

When you make your next purse you can try a "drop in lining"; fold over the top edge of the fabric lining and stitch all around top edge of bag. This will provide you with a clean edge at top and a lining that can be pulled out of the bag for cleaning, etc.