My Favorite Purse

[Johanna]

The zipper on my cheap Wal Mart purse has given out, and I need a new purse. I've been looking around, but none of the stores have what I want. This is my favorite purse ever, and I don't use it for lots of reasons.

It's made from an old Tandy Jeans bag pattern, and the bottom is sturdy biker leather. The top is a carved panel buckstitched onto the bottom. I could not buckstitch it when it was made, even with the pliers. I had to get the old man to do it. It was his idea in the first place, and he's already punched the holes. The top also has the wrong initial now. (Yes, I know it needs cleaned and oiled, but it's been hanging in the closet for years, okay?)

It also needs repaired. Simple stitching, but why bother on a purse you aren't going to use?

The things I like about this purse is that it's deep. I can get all my junk in there, plus a book and a lunch. It also has an extra long round braided strap that will either loop over my neck or my shoulder, and never pulls my hair. I have no idea why the old man did the strap that way, but I liked it from day one. I stood still for him to use a tape measure to get it exactly the right length, too. The magnetic clasp has always snapped shut, but I'd rather have a zipper inside. I like the outside pocket (just think- this was made before anyone had a cell phone!)

Now, it's twenty years later...and I just don't think it's worth trying to fix this purse, even if I could carve, which I can't. I don't particularly want jailhouse acanthus scrolls anyway. What I want is a new purse, similar to this one, but I don't want to make it, either.

I explained all this to Wade and he said, "Ummm, you know quite a few leatherworkers..." How would you guys make a purse like this? Would it require a second mortgage or could we work out a deal? Or do you guys think I should just go spend $15 on a new Wal Mart special and get a couple of years out of it, and hang this purse back up for nostalgia?

I was kinda spoiled when the old man was living. I'd say "I want!" and he'd make it. If I didn't like it, he'd make me another. He enjoyed dressing me up with leather, and one look at my stuff sold more stuff when we were out and about. I have to admit I didn't realize the value of what I had until I started going to shows. But the old man did teach me to appreciate custom leatherwork! So I understand, this ain't gonna be cheap!

Johanna

[hidepounder]

Time for a new and improved one Johanna....

[rawhide1]

Johanna

I agree with hidepounder time for a new one! Only problem is I cant carve or sew yet!!! But I can braid a little bit. So if ya get someone to build ya a new purse I would be more than happy to braid the shoulder strap or any handles to your specs as a small token of my appreciation for this site.

Mike

[broncobuster]

Hey Johanna that almost like mine. heres mine. it was a throw together cause i needed a purse so its really not all the way done. suppose to have a strap with clasp but its not on yet. tooling not the best. hide n clay could do much better. I could too but there way better than me. this is just the way the pattern is made. no alterations or additions.

[Johanna]

BB- I like yours! I didn't realize how much Jon modified the top of the purse! How does yours fasten? Do you have inside pockets? I think yours is terrific, and I like the bottom with the soft leather better than the jeans style, don't you? It seems a little more "formal" (is that the right word?) or maybe "not casual" is better. Don't ever sell yourself short- you do nice work, and you are a lady of many talents.

Soon, you will be able to add websites to that list!

Johanna

[broncobuster]

thanks Johanna. no pockets its just wide open. like i said i just whipped together. it suppose to have a stap over middle with a clasp but i never put it on. it can easily have inside pockets. or outside one like yours. or the zipper on top. Ive had lots of complements on it plus orders to. its one of my favs for my patterns. should see people look when i need to unpack it for some reason lol 3 checkbooks, wallet, business card holder, calculator, pens n on n on lol. they wonder how it all goes in there cause it dont look that big. ill scan the patterns for ya for the top part. there is like 4 of them i think. or design your own.

[broncobuster]

hey Johanna, sorry it took so long but this is the pictures from the original pattern of your purse.

hope that helps a bit.

[Johanna]

In January the zipper on the purse I've been carrying for a few years completely broke.

I went to Penneys and bought a new purse with faux leather trim and it's now June and it's junk.

That's what it looked like new.

It is now a disaster- except the zipper still works. The cheap leather's finish is rubbed off, the inside liner (cloth) is ripped, and I can never find anything in there anyway. This is a pic of the junk that has to fit, plus my book or whatever:

Ed Santoro's thread today of the designer handbags has got me thinking- I WANT A PURSE I LIKE! I want a purse that I can take to the opera or the beach, and I want it to be sturdy and not some imported cobbled-together expensive crap. If I'm going to pay designer handbag prices, I want a purse designed for me! I don't want a purse from a warehouse, and I'd be more impressed with a makers mark than a fancy designer label. Why? I don't want to have to worry about my purse- just grab and go. Because I don't want a purse that is going to dump out all the contents when my son learns how to drive a car. I don't want a purse I have to keep on my lap instead of tucking on the floor in a restaurant. I don't want zipper failure, and I want to be able to find things in it immediately without rooting aaround like a baglady at the checkout. That $1500 purse Ed posted wouldn't last 6 months, and neither did my Penneys special. But I carried my old purse (the one at the top of this thread) for 10 years? or so, and I'd fix it and carry it again if it didn't have a big "A" on it. There has to be a market for women like me who can appreciate the quality of a real purse and are willing to pay for it. Oh yeah, and I want a real leather laptop case too, but that's another rant for another day.

Johanna

[Rawhide]

Johanna,

do you (or anyone else for that matter) still have the pattern for this purse (tandy jean purse) they wouldn't mind sharing? This is a perfect fit for a purse I need to make.

Thanks, (sorry for the hijack)

Edited June 29, 2009 by Rawhide

[Suze]

I'm with you cuz

I need a new something too and can't figure out what I want -- that tinkerbell one I found at goodwill is not what I need

Think Jane might like it?

How do we manage to carry so much junk around anyway? And guys get away with a pocket and a wallet

and no I don't have anybody handing me stuff to put in my purse

dividers that are sewed down would be nice instead of just sewed at the side of the purse leaving a big hole at the bottom for things to go from one side to the other.