Designer-Inspired Women's Backpack (A Gift For My Mom)

[DemBrodaz]

"Mother's Day-out" by Imadlak

(logo embroidery done by my lovely wife Janint)

===============

Hello to everyone,

It's a pleasure to finally have something to show you guys after repeatedly returning here for guidance for my first leather projects!

I'm Gergo, 28, from Hungary. I guess insterest in leatherwork came to me as to most of us guys here: to create something we can be proud of, with such a noble material, and to please and perhaps impress the women in our lives (please tell me if I'm wrong ).

The first bag that I made - to my Wife - a beautiful Patent-Croc embossed evening tote, which I will upload shortly after this one, was the result of about a year's worth of "not knowing where to start" and watching 2-3 minute Youtube videos of Designer brands' crafting processes (at least the process they advertise to the public) eagerly trying to catch the techniques and methods from there, along with this forum, where a lot of my unanswered questions found a resolution.

Then came second, the bag that I've been promising for years to my Mom, in order to replace the one bag (below) she's since completely worn out:

(as you can see, it's torn and faded in places... and it has lost most of its elegance and beauty...)

Inspiration: my Mom's original bag (as seen above), Gucci Vintage Backpack, Gucci Backpack with Woven Strap

Materials:

• Body: Soft Torino Lambskin - brown (chrome-tanned @ unitedleather.com)
• Base & Trims: Crazy Horse Cow Skin - brown (veg-tanned @ unitedleather.com)
• Lining: French-style striped canvas burgundy-beige
• Zippers: Antique-brass double RiRi zipper (ouside) and Brass RiRi zipper with silk-tape (inside)
• Hardware: all Antique-brass hardware made from solid brass (@ buckleguy.com)

Features:
H-35cm x W-28cm x L-17cm

• Outside Double-zip pocket
• Drawstring closure with snap
• Inside Zipper pocket
• Snaps on inside to attach division compartment for custom organizing

Design-process:

1. Firstly I downloaded some pics online from various sources of the bags that inspired mine, and used my measurement needs with the help of Google SketchUp to scale the bag down and take measurements
2. I used those measurements to make the cut patterns for the bag and the various pieces it is made of (about 30pcs + fabric lining + hardware)
3. Using a handy tool for Sketchup, I printed out to-scale patterns for the pieces that were too complex to draw with a pencil and ruler

Some thoughts and lessons:

If I had one regret while making the bag is to have started way too late (I gave myself 2 weeks for its finition) and did not have enough time to finish the inside separation compratment and to attach our logo. It was a real gamble that all the pieces fit nicely and the end result looks and holds great as I did not have the time to make a mock-up before the real thing.

Realizing and discovering how to put everything together along the way did make it extremely exciting for me, as even with initial planning of assembly steps, at times I found that I had forgotten about something.

This project taught me a lot about basic skiving, stitching and braiding techniques, and very importantly about knife sharpening, which was a game changer once I got the hang of it.

Some mistakes during construction I was able to fix while others are there to stay. I find I should have made the bag a bit taller and stiffer to give it more body. The stitching was inconsistent on the thicker parts as my machine is not really adapted for that kind of work. Also the studs look awful - I guess they are meant for thicker projects, and cutting the stems shorter didn't help too much.

But my biggest reward was the look on my Mom's face when I gave her the bag

Thank you for viewing and please leave your comments and feedback below!

Gergo

Edited January 8, 2015 by DemBrodaz

[Wishful]

That's perfect, great job.thank you for the detailed explanation.

[DemBrodaz]

Thank you very much Wishful!

[DemBrodaz]

"Mother's Day-out" by Imadlak

(logo embroidery done by my lovely wife Janint)

===============

Hello to everyone,

It's a pleasure to finally have something to show you guys after repeatedly returning here for guidance for my first leather projects!

I'm Gergo, 28, from Hungary. I guess insterest in leatherwork came to me as to most of us guys here: to create something we can be proud of, with such a noble material, and to please and perhaps impress the women in our lives (please tell me if I'm wrong ).

The first bag that I made - to my Wife - a beautiful Patent-Croc embossed evening tote, which I will upload shortly after this one, was the result of about a year's worth of "not knowing where to start" and watching 2-3 minute Youtube videos of Designer brands' crafting processes (at least the process they advertise to the public) eagerly trying to catch the techniques and methods from there, along with this forum, where a lot of my unanswered questions found a resolution.

Then came second, the bag that I've been promising for years to my Mom, in order to replace the one bag (below) she's since completely worn out:

(as you can see, it's torn and faded in places... and it has lost most of its elegance and beauty...)

Inspiration: my Mom's original bag (as seen above), Gucci Vintage Backpack, Gucci Backpack with Woven Strap

Materials:

• Body: Soft Torino Lambskin - brown (chrome-tanned @ unitedleather.com)
• Base & Trims: Crazy Horse Cow Skin - brown (veg-tanned @ unitedleather.com)
• Lining: French-style striped canvas burgundy-beige
• Zippers: Antique-brass double RiRi zipper (ouside) and Brass RiRi zipper with silk-tape (inside)
• Hardware: all Antique-brass hardware made from solid brass (@ buckleguy.com)

Features:
H-35cm x W-28cm x L-17cm

• Outside Double-zip pocket
• Drawstring closure with snap
• Inside Zipper pocket
• Snaps on inside to attach division compartment for custom organizing

Design-process:

1. Firstly I downloaded some pics online from various sources of the bags that inspired mine, and used my measurement needs with the help of Google SketchUp to scale the bag down and take measurements
2. I used those measurements to make the cut patterns for the bag and the various pieces it is made of (about 30pcs + fabric lining + hardware)
3. Using a handy tool for Sketchup, I printed out to-scale patterns for the pieces that were too complex to draw with a pencil and ruler

Some thoughts and lessons:

If I had one regret while making the bag is to have started way too late (I gave myself 2 weeks for its finition) and did not have enough time to finish the inside separation compratment and to attach our logo. It was a real gamble that all the pieces fit nicely and the end result looks and holds great as I did not have the time to make a mock-up before the real thing.

Realizing and discovering how to put everything together along the way did make it extremely exciting for me, as even with initial planning of assembly steps, at times I found that I had forgotten about something.

This project taught me a lot about basic skiving, stitching and braiding techniques, and very importantly about knife sharpening, which was a game changer once I got the hang of it.

Some mistakes during construction I was able to fix while others are there to stay. I find I should have made the bag a bit taller and stiffer to give it more body. The stitching was inconsistent on the thicker parts as my machine is not really adapted for that kind of work. Also the studs look awful - I guess they are meant for thicker projects, and cutting the stems shorter didn't help too much.

But my biggest reward was the look on my Mom's face when I gave her the bag

Thank you for viewing and please leave your comments and feedback below!

Gergo

[mike6642]

That bag is very very nice, you can see the work and love that went into making that bag for your mom.

[DemBrodaz]

That bag is very very nice, you can see the work and love that went into making that bag for your mom.

Thanks Mike! Appreciate the comment!

[leatherwytch]

Gergo,

That is a wonderful bag and so professionally done. It is beyond gorgeous. I hope you have a website, if not set it up and you can make good money selling those.

[TwinOaks]

***Merged the two topics into one so all the comments are in the same place****

[MonicaJacobson]

Nice job, Gergo. I'm not surprised two weeks wasn't long enough, that looks like quite a project.

[DemBrodaz]

Gergo,

That is a wonderful bag and so professionally done. It is beyond gorgeous. I hope you have a website, if not set it up and you can make good money selling those.

Hi LeatherWytch - I really appreciate your comment. In the near future it definitely is in the plans!

Nice job, Gergo. I'm not surprised two weeks wasn't long enough, that looks like quite a project.

Thank you Monica - I've just checked your site as well, amazing creations! Yess - a known issue is either underestimating the time a project will take or simply leaving too little time for the job... but sometimes pressures helps

[DemBrodaz]

Gergo,

That is a wonderful bag and so professionally done. It is beyond gorgeous. I hope you have a website, if not set it up and you can make good money selling those.

Thank you LeatherWytch! I have pondered the thought of opening up a website - but first I'm hoping to be able to attend a french leather working school to gain more experience