A Terrible Way To Sew Up A Gusset

[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!