Roll Top Bag

[Hi Im Joe]

Hello Everyone,

I'm a huge fan of Teranishi Brand and decided to try my hand at an interpretation of his "Daytripper" bag. I love the roll top design and simplicity of the bag.

The bag is made out of Horween Crimson Vintage along with Hermann Oak London Tan straps and accents.

A couple things I learned:

1. I should have cut a notch between the invisible seam and where the roll top starts so everything lays flat.

2. I should have skived the corners to help with sewing over the turns.

3. I need a hand press for rivets and snaps.

The D rings are for attaching a shoulder strap that is not shown in the photos. I put the Ds on all four strap ends so the bag could be worn over the left or right shoulder. There is also a D on the inside behind the buckle to clip your keys too.

Let me know what you guys think and tell me what I could do differently or better!

Thanks for looking,

Joe

[billybopp]

Hey Joe!

It looks great looking bag!

Some thing to consider:

The light edges look great. You may want to try an edge paint on the darker leather, assuming it's not burnishable (if that's a word).

I'm certainly no expert on machine sewing leather, but it looks to me like the thread might be a little thin for the hole the needle is making. Smaller needle or bigger thread?? (maybe a sew pro can comment on that)

It looks like the stitch line is wandering a little bit / uneven from the edges. If you don't have an edge guide, it would be a great thing to have! I sew fabric now and then and wouldn't try a lot of things without one.

Brass hardware might be a better match for the colors you're using if you were to make another .. That's more a matter for personal taste, tho.

You might look around on here for the thread about an ebay rivet setter. They are considerably cheaper than the Tandy ones, and folks have good things to say about them. I bought a Tandy and LOVE it for snaps, rivets, grommets, and everything else. I almost never set by hand now.

Keep up the good work!!

Bill

[Hi Im Joe]

Hey Joe!

It looks great looking bag!

Some thing to consider:

The light edges look great. You may want to try an edge paint on the darker leather, assuming it's not burnishable (if that's a word).

I'm certainly no expert on machine sewing leather, but it looks to me like the thread might be a little thin for the hole the needle is making. Smaller needle or bigger thread?? (maybe a sew pro can comment on that)

It looks like the stitch line is wandering a little bit / uneven from the edges. If you don't have an edge guide, it would be a great thing to have! I sew fabric now and then and wouldn't try a lot of things without one.

Brass hardware might be a better match for the colors you're using if you were to make another .. That's more a matter for personal taste, tho.

You might look around on here for the thread about an ebay rivet setter. They are considerably cheaper than the Tandy ones, and folks have good things to say about them. I bought a Tandy and LOVE it for snaps, rivets, grommets, and everything else. I almost never set by hand now.

Keep up the good work!!

Bill

Thanks Bill. Your insights are awesome as usual!

The thread is 69 sized bonded nylon with a size 18 needle which I believe is correct. I think part of it is the illusion of a black hole with black thread?

Yeah the stitch line did wander a bit on the closure strap especially. I do not have an edge guide. I just need more hours on the machine. I am still a relative newbie.

Yeah I think brass would definitely look very nice. I however had nickel stuff on hand so that's what I went with...I'm cheap...lol.

I absolutely plan to get a hand press. I'll probably buy the one from gold star tools as it seems to be by far the most reasonable.

Thanks again for taking the time to write up such a detailed response!

Joe

[Jimbob]

Love the color, love the oil tan ? leather and love the style....

interresting design and welll executed....

some detail I have seen, cheap rivets make a cheap bag....use higher quality rivets or all sewn....your stitches look, and I couldbe dead wrong, to big for the thread u used....to big of a needle?....also wonder if you had to much top tension....I would have used tan or earth color for thread, where the bag is rolled and connected there needs to be re-enforcement so it wont tear on the seams. All in all a wonderful bag and very nicely made....again, I love thestyleand color!!!

Well done!!!!

jimboob

[Jimbob]

just read now....69 thread is way to small......use 138 a classic and rustic bag can go with big thread !!!

[Hi Im Joe]

Love the color, love the oil tan ? leather and love the style....

interresting design and welll executed....

some detail I have seen, cheap rivets make a cheap bag....use higher quality rivets or all sewn....your stitches look, and I couldbe dead wrong, to big for the thread u used....to big of a needle?....also wonder if you had to much top tension....I would have used tan or earth color for thread, where the bag is rolled and connected there needs to be re-enforcement so it wont tear on the seams. All in all a wonderful bag and very nicely made....again, I love thestyleand color!!!

Well done!!!!

jimboob

Those are awesome points! I would like to move to copper rivets if I am going to have to hand set rivets. I plan on buying a hand press for sure.

I will try to lessen the top tension and see how it comes out. I am a total novice with sewing machines and am trying to learn as I go. It's trial and error for me.

I tried using 138 with a 23 needle on an Adler 67 but the machine did not like it. I got a lot of fraying and a ton of skipped stitches.

There are rivets on the inside at the top of each side seam to help to keep the top of the bag together.

Thank you for the awesome advice. Btw where can I buy quality rivets?

[Constabulary]

I like this bag too! My idea would be that you probably could make the flap out of heavy canvas instead of leather. I think that would give the bag a "lighter look" if you know what I mean. If you´re going to make more of these bags you could give the flap different colours just to give your customer a choice. And I´d probably add a bottom parts in the same color.

Just my view as a customer (not a leather worker)

Nice bag - really!

[Frederiek]

I like that a lot, beautiful model and great choice of leather! I think the veg tan will nicely colour with age so it looks even better.

Something I would consider is handstitching the visible seams (in a heavier weight thread, in a better matching colour (I see that was mentioned already, tan would be nice)).

Maybe I'm saying something really stupid, but is the D-ring connection with the rivets strong enough?

What might also be nice is to make the front flap fold over, so that the top stitches are on the inside (does that make sense?).

[tatehunt]

Nice bag. I still hand sew leather, as the industrial machines are out of my price range. Positive thing about that, is I know my stitch size, thread, and lines will all work, no fussing with a machine settings between each project, and it's a great workout.

I have made lots of outdoor gear with my Juki,including a roll top for my back pack, so I am digging this roll top idea.

[MonicaJacobson]

Hey Joe,

LOL, you're getting so much actual criticism, Joe, because your bag is so good that all of it has to be said. What Frederiek said about the d rings. And I wonder if you should flair outward as the bag goes up, but still stitch the whole rolled part all the way up to the top.

Super cool bag, great looking leather, and a lot of cool details.