New project...petite clutch

[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!