A Terrible Way To Sew Up A Gusset

[MonicaJacobson]

I tried a new way of attaching the gusset on my latest bag. I guess I was bored?

Terrible idea. My wrists are killing me. So yes, the people who use this method can have it all to themselves.

Edited August 26, 2014 by MonicaJacobson

[Colt W Knight]

Certainly doesn't look terrible.

[MonicaJacobson]

Thanks, Colt - I like how it looks, too. But it's not worth the frustration and self inflicted arthritis or carpel tunnel syndrome or whatever to get the look, I decided.

[billybopp]

It looks really nice, but yeah .. I can see how it might be a pain to sew like that.

Bill

[Andrew Chee]

Nice. What kind of leather did you use for this?

Andrew

[MonicaJacobson]

Thanks Bill!

Andrew, it's Austin leather from Tandy. 8-9 oz. It's fun to work with and very popular, but kind of expensive for what it is. And when it scratches, the scratch stays. It's about $135 (I got it on sale for 110) per, and they're not very big. I'm planning to see what springfield has in a similar color when I finish off my last hide.

[humperdingle]

I made my wife a bag of very similar gusset design and it wasn't a pleasure to make :D

[blue duck]

Well for what it's worth, it looks great. So how many new words did the dog learn while you did this?

[MonicaJacobson]

@humperdingle - oooh, now I want to see a picture.

@blue duck - Thank you! The neighbors have a parrot - I could have improved its vocabulary massively.

[thefanninator]

Looks nice. It's tough stitching down inside something... is that what it was?

[MonicaJacobson]

Yes. It's not difficult, just painful. I originally saw it here and thought it was cool, but I see it's no longer available. I'm not terribly surprised.

[DavidL]

That looks killer!

I have two questions.

1. The edges. Are the pieces of the strap cut out and another larger piece is glued and you trim the excess or do you cut both pieces the same size glue and then sand?

2. How much extra leather did you leave inside the bag for the gusset turned in?

P.S - the people from the purse blogs , hermes blogs or fashion blogs and magazine would be all over a bag like this made in "swift" leather, Box calf or any other high end leather, provided it was sold from an online webpage rather than etsy. Would need some good marketing and online coverage though to get it off the ground.

The price per square foot would be $13-18 and a clutch or a small bag could go easily in the 400 range. Crocodile leather clutch or whatever those small bags are called would fetch close to 1k or even more. Would be worth a shot to launch a site with 2-3 different designs per style of bag, some you already have created. Square space is a good place for template ready website building if your interested.

Edited August 27, 2014 by DavidL

[Hi Im Joe]

Really nice bag! But I bet the bottom of the gusset was a straight bitch. One quick question...why not stitch the closure strap to the front of the bag to avoid those two lines of stitching showing up? You could still loop the strap through the mandolin style cutout to secure the flap.

That looks killer!

I have two questions.

1. The edges. Are the pieces of the strap cut out and another larger piece is glued and you trim the excess or do you cut both pieces the same size glue and then sand?

2. How much extra leather did you leave inside the bag for the gusset turned in?

P.S - the people from the purse blogs , hermes blogs or fashion blogs and magazine would be all over a bag like this made in "swift" leather, Box calf or any other high end leather, provided it was sold from an online webpage rather than etsy. Would need some good marketing and online coverage though to get it off the ground.

The price per square foot would be $13-18 and a clutch or a small bag could go easily in the 400 range. Crocodile leather clutch or whatever those small bags are called would fetch close to 1k or even more. Would be worth a shot to launch a site with 2-3 different designs per style of bag, some you already have created. Square space is a good place for template ready website building if your interested.

Pretty sure the straps are one thickness (not two glued together). I think she stitches it for a look.

Edited August 27, 2014 by Hi Im Joe

[Dan28]

It looks good. I'm sure if I tried that, the inside would have to be dyed a shade of red to cover up all the blood I'm sure I would trail from poking myself.

[Feraud]

Sorry to read it was such a painful experience. The result is very nice!

[DavidL]

Really nice bag! But I bet the bottom of the gusset was a straight bitch. One quick question...why not stitch the closure strap to the front of the bag to avoid those two lines of stitching showing up? You could still loop the strap through the mandolin style cutout to secure the flap.

Pretty sure the straps are one thickness (not two glued together). I think she stitches it for a look.

your right Joe. I have trouble with keeping both edges flush when its doubled up. Either one side matches, I trim the excess and my clicker blade doesnt stay straight on the backside and its hard to sand by hand on something so long. Or I try to but both pieces to size and have so sand an entire edge flush. I need an automated sanded I suppose and find out which way works best or invest in a head knife for that job.

[MonicaJacobson]

@DavidL - Thanks for the kind words, David - It means a lot coming from someone with your taste in bags. Yes, Joe is right, it's just a single piece of leather for the strap.

#2, exactly the same amount you can see on the outside on the body, about 1/8 inch. Is there a certain amount that is supposed to be optimal?

After I use up my last two hides, I intend to start buying better leathers online, rather than depending on cheaper leathers from Tandy. However, I'm afraid I'll never be expensive purse material. My taste tends to run more towards a rougher look, like this bag:

However, who knows! Maybe in a year or two I'll be good enough to venture into thin, expensive leather.

@Joe - it's a good idea to clean up the look, but I'm not sure what you're proposing. Stitch horizontally through the containing piece as it passes the decorative stitching on the front? I could put a loop through the f hole, but I'm not sure that it would look cleaner, and might stress the leather... Ha ha, I didn't even show you a picture of the back with the pocket stitching showing through. But I thought of you when I stitched it on, and thought for sure you'd think it should be a hanging pocket. Now that it's on, I suppose I could put pockets on the front instead of the back, and hang them from stitching across the opening so there are no extra stitch lines.

@Dan - LOL, exactly. I think I saw someone else had done a whole, extremely nice duffle bag in this fashion. I hope he sold it for more than $1000.

@Feraud, thank you!

Edited August 27, 2014 by MonicaJacobson

[WinterBear]

I kind of like the pocket stitching on the backside. It looks like a decorative accent as a bonus of holding the pocket in place inside.

[billybopp]

Monica! Your mandolin/violin design is anything but rough or rustic! It's a really great idea and beautiful design. Very slight changes would take it to a very high level indeed.

Joe may be talking about the loop on the front of the bag that the strap goes through to hold down the flap. Think something like a beltloop that is sewn from inside the loop. There are some videos on youtube to give you an idea of how to sew one in place, although I can't find one at the moment. You could also rivet or chicago screw it in place if it's a full loop.

The back pocket stitching does not look bad as is, but you could also make it full-width and incorporate the sides in with the gusset seam, although that would slightly thicken that edge. The bottom of the pocket could still be stitched across the bottom, where it would be a less noticeable. With a bit of skiving of gusset, back and pocket leather it may not thicken the seam too much. It could be worth a try!

Another interesting idea that just came to me ... To add a touch of whimsy, you might be able to find a tuning nut to use in place of the sam brown stud. i'm not sure if they are available anywhere, and you'd have to adjust the size of the hole in the strap, but it might be cool!

It's a great design as is, however!

Hope that helps!

Bill

PS My niece plays violin .. Would you be offended if I were to make something for her?

Edited August 27, 2014 by billybopp

[MonicaJacobson]

@Winter bear - thanks, I like it to, but if the consensus is that it needs to blend in more, I'll bow to the greater good.

@Bill, thanks for the advice! I'll have to ask my instrument maker husband if he has any tuning nuts laying around. He might, actually. That's a really cool idea. I could theoretically screw it into a thin piece of wood on the back side and sew a piece of leather over it.

As for the loop, do you mean something like this through the f-hole?

Or did you mean a strap all the way around the bag? I'm confused. If you run across that video again, send me the link, because I have no idea what you're talking about.

Yes, Joe mentioned the same idea with the pockets, and honestly, it completely slipped my mind. I'll do that for the next one. And feel free to make one for your niece. I'd love to see what your version would look like.

Thanks for all the help, guys!

[DavidL]

@DavidL - Thanks for the kind words, David - It means a lot coming from someone with your taste in bags. Yes, Joe is right, it's just a single piece of leather for the strap.

#2, exactly the same amount you can see on the outside on the body, about 1/8 inch. Is there a certain amount that is supposed to be optimal?

After I use up my last two hides, I intend to start buying better leathers online, rather than depending on cheaper leathers from Tandy. However, I'm afraid I'll never be expensive purse material. My taste tends to run more towards a rougher look, like this bag:

s7-1136161_standard.jpg

However, who knows! Maybe in a year or two I'll be good enough to venture into thin, expensive leather.

If you do choose to go into expensive leather, saffiano leather($8-9) and premium calf skin or box calf can be had for close to 10 and upwards of 15 depending on the tannery. There are retailers with stock within USA. A bag would look interesting with half and half, like a hybrid of vintage and high end. Either on the trims you could use high end calf skin or on select parts like loops, interior, handles, strap or bias tape style trim on the inside to bind invisible seam grain side stitched to grain side. Sanding, distressing(pulling and stretching) some mid level premium calf skin can give it a vintage look. Horween leather on that style of bag would look great too.

the inside would hold up with 1/8th inch with extreme pressure like laptop bags and whatnot it could be an issue. Its not as important when its done this way but if its done like an invisible seam then more pressure will be on the seams and if its any smaller than 1/8th it could have some problems. Also if its a bit longer like .7mm or larger on the inside (invisible seam both pieces stitched together and the excess glued) you can cover it up with trim. The thicker the leather the more pull( exposing the invisible stitch) it will have with the invisible stitch on tighter curves, not usually seen in bags that are this size.

If you do try out piping on the side of the bag send me a message, I'm still trying to figure out how to do it properly. As a side note going to the dollar store and finding things like toiletry bags, and pencil cases (with piping, zippers,invisible seams and snaps) is a good way to learn new ways of assembly for not a lot of money and is faster because the items are so small, requiring less stitching.

I draw my patterns from disassembling the cases, taping the entire piece, cutting the excess off (the tape) and transferring the pattern to paper and re assembling from the cut out patterns. Each piece I learn a little more and get a feel for what areas need to be thinned, which areas require extra attention, ect. Good practice for all around, sewing different seams, pattern cutting different shapes, understanding the leathers better and assembly (glueing, cutting, placement).

[MonicaJacobson]

Thank you, David, that was a lot of in depth information. I'll probably start with Horween. But I find the calf skin idea very interesting. I'll certainly have to try it.

I'm planning on doing an invisible stitch on the bag after next (after I finish a briefcase style bag for someone) with some thinner leather. I'll let you know if I end up finding some good videos about piping. It really does make it feel more complete.

[Avgvstvs]

Your bag is amazing!

That's a nice design - sophisticated, elegant and truly imaginative.

You work really stands out.

Like DavidL, I think designs like this one and that of the satchel you posted a while back have a high-end luxury leather good type of look. I rarely see original designs that have that refined and classy look. Usually it's just too much to my eye.

And, like many have stated before, I don't think your design is rugged or rough, I find it's quite the opposite!

[Paulsleather]

Monica, love that lap seam! I hear you though, when I finished the duffle I swore it was the last. Keep up the great work!

Paul

[MonicaJacobson]

@Avgvstvs - Thank you for the extremely kind words. I do appreciate the encouragement. Congratulations, you guys have all completely convinced me to spend a lot more money. I'm sure my husband will thank you.

@Paul, were you the one who made the super fancy black duffle bag with all the hand stitching a few months back?