New project...petite clutch

[Stetson912]

Lol, just needing out is all haha. That round spot on top did look like a hole at first to me too. But I realised it was something else and just didn't know what. Thanks to alpha2, I now know what that is for haha. Learn something new each day. 

 

[YinTx]

On 1/25/2018 at 9:12 PM, motocouture said:

I had one of these, didn't work for a hoot.  Promptly turned into a block of Barge with a brush protruding from it.  Waste of $ for me sadly.  Which is frustrating when I see others using them with glee!

YinTx

[bikermutt07]

And now I know. Doesn't seem that long ago when I was stumped by these little guys.

And look at me now, I know how to use a glue bottle. I'm just improving by leaps and bounds.

[motocouture]

6 hours ago, YinTx said:

I had one of these, didn't work for a hoot.  Promptly turned into a block of Barge with a brush protruding from it.  Waste of $ for me sadly.  Which is frustrating when I see others using them with glee!

YinTx

Sorry to hear that! I must admit, I don’t leave any brushes in them, and now I know about the Barge!

 

6 hours ago, bikermutt07 said:

And now I know. Doesn't seem that long ago when I was stumped by these little guys.

And look at me now, I know how to use a glue bottle. I'm just improving by leaps and bounds.

 cross that Trvial Pursuit question off the list, then!....

[motocouture]

Meanwhile, managed to squeeze some work in today. Attached and stitched the straps to the back of the clutch. Took a photo of the inside to show where I’ve included some extra reinforcement behind the hardware, straps and mouth of the clutch. Kinda winging it, but the outer is fairly stiff, so I don’t think I’ll need a lot. Also installed the hardware on the front flap, ahead of gluing the lining in. 

[motocouture]

[AdamPCain]

16 hours ago, bikermutt07 said:

So, the big round spot on the reservoir isn't an open hole? That's what it looks like in the pictures. And you fill it where you dip your brush?

It's like those dog watering bowls when you take a 2 liter bottle of soda and turn it upside down.  I would think it would run out also but I use Barge and have no brain matter left.

10 minutes ago, motocouture said:

Very nice clean work, are you using a heated edge creaser for the edge border?

[motocouture]

2 minutes ago, AdamPCain said:

It's like those dog watering bowls when you take a 2 liter bottle of soda and turn it upside down.  I would think it would run out also but I use Barge and have no brain matter left.

Very nice clean work, are you using a heated edge creaser for the edge border?

Yep, you just tip the pot on its side, and fill through the front opening.

Thanks! Yes, treated myself to a Regad 3000 for Christmas.  Still getting the hang of it, but I feel like it really helps improve the finished look of my work. Makes a huge difference with the edge paint, too.

[AdamPCain]

8 minutes ago, motocouture said:

Yep, you just tip the pot on its side, and fill through the front opening.

Thanks! Yes, treated myself to a Regad 3000 for Christmas.  Still getting the hang of it, but I feel like it really helps improve the finished look of my work. Makes a huge difference with the edge paint, too.

I am going to buy one someday right now I use a manual one from Wuta that I just heat up, it can be a pain in the butt to heat up during long runs.  But first I am buying a sewing machine hopefully by the end of next week, love hand stitching for the strength and look but with my schedule I shy away from bigger projects, it's just so time consuming.

[motocouture]

Managed to survive the work week and the ridiculously cold temps up north. Below are a couple of pics gluing the lining in. Was my first go at a full lining, and knock on wood, seemed to turn out ok.

[motocouture]

Next step (after impatiently waiting for it to dry), was to trim the edges with my trusty Knip knife. My Knip knives are amazing; I just strop before use each time and they cut beautifully. I always, always cut then put them straight back in the sheath. Barely brushed a knuckle against one when I was trimming, didn’t realize I’d cut myself until I saw the blood -they’re that sharp.  

[motocouture]

Then, of course, I folded up the clutch to see what it would look like with the shiny hardware on the straps  . Took the strap hardware off again after so that I could crease all the edges, and stitch the top flap edge and inner body edge before attaching the gussets, along with stitching around another four of the oval slots....

[RockyAussie]

Fantastic workmanship as always. I'm not sure about the full gluing to the lining as that can show up a lot you don't want it to and sometimes make the product harder in the hand but if it works alright, that is all that matters. Your pictures as always are excellent and I must thank you for your efforts in posting them so well. I pinched a copy of your cutting here for another post you know of and I hope that is alright with you. Regards Brian

[motocouture]

20 hours ago, RockyAussie said:

Fantastic workmanship as always. I'm not sure about the full gluing to the lining as that can show up a lot you don't want it to and sometimes make the product harder in the hand but if it works alright, that is all that matters. Your pictures as always are excellent and I must thank you for your efforts in posting them so well. I pinched a copy of your cutting here for another post you know of and I hope that is alright with you. Regards Brian

Thank you so much! You’re right, there is definitely some show through on the inner lining (as it’s a fairly soft temper), but luckily it gave a good degree of stiffness for the clutch. Although my opinion might change after trying to stitch the gussets  . No worries on the pics - I’m flattered that it found a use outside of this thread! By the way, fencing sucks. Hope it goes as painlessly as possible for you....

Pic of the inside, after stitching, before adding the side gussets. 

[RockyAussie]

14 minutes ago, motocouture said:

Thank you so much! You’re right, there is definitely some show through on the inner lining (as it’s a fairly soft temper), but luckily it gave a good degree of stiffness for the clutch. Although my opinion might change after trying to stitch the gussets  . No worries on the pics - I’m flattered that it found a use outside of this thread! By the way, fencing sucks. Hope it goes as painlessly as possible for you....

Pic of the inside, after stitching, before adding the side gussets. 

Looks good and aren't those little crew punch holes fun to stitch.. It might be worth doing a pre coat with your edging up the sides before attaching the gussets.

As for the fencing yeah it sucks....... but its raining again so here I am.  

[motocouture]

Ok, after some hectic business and personal travel, here are some progress updates and pics of the finished product. The gussets were a little tricky; I pre-punched the stitching holes on the tight bend at the base, glued on flat side of the gusset, punched stitching holes, stitched the flat and the tight bend at the bottom, then glued / punched the remainder. 

[motocouture]

This pic shows the edging process (which I’m still horrid at). I  custom mixed ebony and light brown to get the dark chocolate color I was after, applied two coats, used a heated edging tool to smooth, sanded with 800 wet and dry, then applied a final coat. Probably could’ve done with another coat or two, but hey, prototype  

Edited February 19, 2018 by motocouture

[motocouture]

Last but not least, some pics of the finished clutch. I really like the size and shape, holds a passport, phone and pen perfectly for travel. Going forward, I think, I’ll skive the gusset edges a little more to create a leaner look (the stitching and lining add plenty of stiffness to retain the shape). Plan is to make one next out of croc 

[JMixx]

Did you develop your own pattern?  The next one should be really awesome; I think your "prototype" looks designer-quality (actually better, as it's hand-made). 

[motocouture]

On 2/19/2018 at 6:44 PM, JMixx said:

Did you develop your own pattern?  The next one should be really awesome; I think your "prototype" looks designer-quality (actually better, as it's hand-made). 

Thank you so much! Yes, developed my own pattern, with a lot of inspiration from a certain high end luxury brand   . Couple of minor tweaks for next time (mostly on the gussets and adding a few mms in length to the straps), but hopefully the construction will go faster!

[diibbles134]

WHat do you use for edge coat?

[Rockoboy]

I am finding that I am becoming a bit of an edge-nazi! Every time I see a piece of leatherwork, I check out the edge finish. Your edges look a million bucks, and overall a great job.

[motocouture]

5 hours ago, diibbles134 said:

WHat do you use for edge coat?

I use edge paint from the Buckleguy, along with an edge primer (also from Buckleguy). 

Still learning and experimenting.  The process I used here was:

- first coat, edge primer, then sanded lightly with 800 grit wet and dry

- custom mixed two colors to get the dark brown I wanted, two coats of that, no sanding in between 

- smoothed edge with heated edge tool (Regad 3000), then sanded smooth (no shiny divets) with 800 grit

- another coat of edge paint, 24 hrs drying time

- used a 50/50 home made mix of beeswax and paraffin, rubbed along edges and buffed with a square of cotton canvas (thanks @RockyAussie for that tip, especially when traveling to hot climates!)

[motocouture]

4 hours ago, Rockoboy said:

I am finding that I am becoming a bit of an edge-nazi! Every time I see a piece of leatherwork, I check out the edge finish. Your edges look a million bucks, and overall a great job.

I hear you! And once you start looking lol....

thanks so much, you’re way too kind! I feel like I still have so far to go. The heated edge tool does help hide a lot of sins, though 

[Rockoboy]

26 minutes ago, motocouture said:

The heated edge tool does help hide a lot of sins

Where can I buy a nuclear powered heated edge tool? My sins are stacked up like Mount Everest!