First ever bag!

[motocouture]

My first ever bag! Horween Essex leather (4-5oz) in Parisian Blue (thanks @nstarleather!), with hardware from the buckleguy, hand stitched with 0.8mm Tiger thread in dark grey. Unlined, but has an internal pocket and a key lanyard braided from 4mm kangaroo lace. And several callouses on my fingers now 

[Goldshot Ron]

Looks really good.  I don't see a flaw.  Your stitching looks great.  Did you use a pricking iron or diamond awl?  I make quite a few rounds for horse gear, and your rounded handles look excellent.  I've only installed one zipper in the past, and it was a pain.  Your's looks professional.  Did you design the pattern for the bag?  That's a talent in itself.  Kudos.

Ron

 

[thefanninator]

Nice work. I did one very similar to this almost a year ago. I used a Horween double horse front.

[Leahlovesleather]

That's how good I wanna be!  Especially like your lanyard.  Did you keep track of how long it took to make?

Leah

[TSes]

One of the best hand stitched bags I've seen. Really great job.

[motocouture]

3 hours ago, Goldshot Ron said:

Looks really good.  I don't see a flaw.  Your stitching looks great.  Did you use a pricking iron or diamond awl?  I make quite a few rounds for horse gear, and your rounded handles look excellent.  I've only installed one zipper in the past, and it was a pain.  Your's looks professional.  Did you design the pattern for the bag?  That's a talent in itself.  Kudos.

Ron

 

Thanks so much, Ron, much appreciated! I used a stitching iron, and hammered it the full way through, so only had to use the diamond awl in a few spots. I'm indebted to Nigel Armitage's excellent YouTube video on making the rounds; I made the stitching holes exactly the same on both sides, then pulled them together over a paracord inner core, not using any glue. The zipper was a pain, did it flat which helped a bit. Would love to see some photos of the rounds on your horse gear  

I did design the pattern myself. Had to make sure the dimensions fit my husband's Harley Streetglide saddlebag + his laptop  .  More than happy to share the pattern if you like, although it's drawn on card stock, not digital.  

3 hours ago, thefanninator said:

Nice work. I did one very similar to this almost a year ago. I used a Horween double horse front.

Thanks! The Horween is definitely a lovely leather to work with. 

[motocouture]

2 hours ago, Leahlovesleather said:

That's how good I wanna be!  Especially like your lanyard.  Did you keep track of how long it took to make?

Leah

Thanks, Leah! I tried to make the lanyard long enough that you can have your keys clipped on, but still reach a door to unlock (~16 inches). I'd say all in probably around 30-40 hours, including drafting the pattern. My stitching got a little faster as I progressed, and I think the next one might would maybe take less time (I also did some experimenting with my edge treatment along the way, which took up time).

1 hour ago, TSes said:

One of the best hand stitched bags I've seen. Really great job.

Thank you so much for your kind words, TSes, really appreciate it. 

[garypl]

Really nice job on this bag!  I am envious of your stitching skills!

[DJole]

That is some NICE, careful work. It's beautiful, and I would be very proud to make (and own!) a bag like that turned out. That's like a marathon of hand stitching, and you completed the 26 mile run!
 

[motocouture]

10 hours ago, garypl said:

Really nice job on this bag!  I am envious of your stitching skills!

Thank you! The bag gave me plenty of practice, still so much to learn. 

10 hours ago, DJole said:

That is some NICE, careful work. It's beautiful, and I would be very proud to make (and own!) a bag like that turned out. That's like a marathon of hand stitching, and you completed the 26 mile run!
 

Appreciate your comments, DJole! Certainly felt like a marathon!