Crocodile / calf leather duffel

[kiwican]

I'd like to try working with crocs one day

[motocouture]

17 hours ago, Tugadude said:

Have a safe flight!  You could easily add a piece of leather on that edge.  I don't think it would look "off".  BTW, you did a nice job of transitioning from the piping to a regular seam.  A lot of folks have asked how to do that properly and would say you nailed it.

Thanks! Got out of the northeast at just the right time apparently 

thank you! That was my first time trying a transition like that, still so much to learn when it comes to piping. Agreed on the extra piece of leather, I think I’ll end up trying that plus a strap / clip that I think I can work in without overwhelming the piece

[motocouture]

16 hours ago, RockyAussie said:

I was just thinking that bringing a piece off of the top with a snap fitting could work quite nicely. The snap fitting could do up on the strap D. The one I used in the making of this bag opens up a bit like a clothes peg and works very well single handed as well.

Regards Brian

Excellent idea, and love the ‘peg’ clip concept. Thanks for sharing the detailed photos (I love how the scales look like a paw print on the last one!). I think I’ll combine both concepts - small internal flap, and a fold over strap on top. Really appreciate the input!

16 hours ago, kiwican said:

I'd like to try working with crocs one day

Easier when they’re not alive 

[CastleLeatherWorks]

@motocouture 

your bag is beautiful !! I just got a side of leather and decided I want to make myself a duffle..

I was wondering if you could give more details on the piping and inside edges? did you line it ? if possible maybe you could post some pics of the inside for me.. thanks !

[motocouture]

14 minutes ago, CastleLeatherWorks said:

@motocouture 

your bag is beautiful !! I just got a side of leather and decided I want to make myself a duffle..

I was wondering if you could give more details on the piping and inside edges? did you line it ? if possible maybe you could post some pics of the inside for me.. thanks !

@CastleLeatherWorks thank you, and excited to hear that you plan to make one for yourself as well!

 

Sure, not a problem at all, will post some more pics. The bag is unlined, and the tumbled HAAS calf has a beautiful, almost suede like flesh side that I was fine with showing. I did crease and do a single coat of edge paint to finish the internal edges (will share some pics). 
 

For the piping, I used a strip of the calf leather folded over a 2.5mm cotton cord....will send some pics of that as well, and how I did the transition on the seam...

[motocouture]

Couple of photos of the interior. To finish the internal edges, after stitching, I cut a mm or two off with my trusty Knip knife (they are sooooooo sharp, and I will shamelessly collect as many of them as I can). I then crease both sides of the cut seam edge with my Regad fileteuse, to round and smooth the edge fibers, and apply a single coat of uniters edge paint. Once dry, I smoothed the edge paint using the flat side of my heated creaser, which gave an acceptable finish I felt for the interior of the bag, without being too ‘heavy’. 

[motocouture]

I also post photos of my work on my Instagram account, mo2couture, if anyone’s interested in more pics

[toxo]

Excellent work. Something to aspire to.

[motocouture]

1 hour ago, toxo said:

Excellent work. Something to aspire to.

Thank you, much appreciated!

[Sangrati]

On 1/14/2020 at 1:58 AM, motocouture said:

Thank you, and not a problem at all! Will send you a sketch diagram via message

That's a nice bag. Can I have the sketch too pls?

[motocouture]

On 1/22/2020 at 9:22 PM, Sangrati said:

That's a nice bag. Can I have the sketch too pls?

Thanks! Not a problem at all, I will send you a message with the sketch. 

Edited January 24, 2020 by motocouture

[Tugadude]

On 1/12/2020 at 9:33 AM, motocouture said:

Hi all, recently finished an overnight / gym duffel for myself (Happy Christmas!). I drafted the design from scratch, and it is completely handstitched. Materials used were a light khaki crocodile, with olive HAAS tumbled calf leather (roughly 2.5 to 3oz weight from memory, thanks @nstarleather!). Thread is linen 532 Fil au Chinois in grey, and the edge paint is a custom color I mixed using Uniters (with a gloss top coat). Webbing for the strap is 38mm wide cotton webbing sourced from Amazon. Hardware is plated solid brass from @Buckleguy Supplier; great quality as always. 
 

As always, took longer to make than I thought it would 

BTW, I was meaning to ask what your process is for handstitching.  Do you use chisels to make the holes or do you use a pricking iron and awl?  If you use chisels, what type if I may ask?  it looks quite nice!

[motocouture]

10 hours ago, Tugadude said:

BTW, I was meaning to ask what your process is for handstitching.  Do you use chisels to make the holes or do you use a pricking iron and awl?  If you use chisels, what type if I may ask?  it looks quite nice!

Sure! I use KS Blade pricking irons, from memory, the 3.00mm (8.5 stitches per inch). I have a 10 tooth, 4 tooth and 2 tooth in the set. I very rarely use an awl, just use the pricking irons to make holes all the way through. I used a ‘normal’ saddle stitch, no casting, with a grey linen fil au chinois 532 thread. I love these pricking irons, use them for everything.

I am looking at getting a set with teeth at approximately 4 or 5mm spacing, for doing the seams where the piping is, as these are flipped and not visible on the outside. I want to do some samples though, I don’t like the leather ‘gapping’ between stitches when the seam is flipped. 

[Tugadude]

59 minutes ago, motocouture said:

Sure! I use KS Blade pricking irons, from memory, the 3.00mm (8.5 stitches per inch). I have a 10 tooth, 4 tooth and 2 tooth in the set. I very rarely use an awl, just use the pricking irons to make holes all the way through. I used a ‘normal’ saddle stitch, no casting, with a grey linen fil au chinois 532 thread. I love these pricking irons, use them for everything.

I am looking at getting a set with teeth at approximately 4 or 5mm spacing, for doing the seams where the piping is, as these are flipped and not visible on the outside. I want to do some samples though, I don’t like the leather ‘gapping’ between stitches when the seam is flipped. 

Well that bag is a great advertisement for those irons then.  I also sometimes use wider spacing on the inside of turned bags to save time.  I think 4mm might be the limit though.  Maybe 5mm would work, but it might not give good results on thin leathers.

I'll have to try that thread sometime.  I've mainly used polyester.

thanks for the info!

[motocouture]

21 hours ago, Tugadude said:

Well that bag is a great advertisement for those irons then.  I also sometimes use wider spacing on the inside of turned bags to save time.  I think 4mm might be the limit though.  Maybe 5mm would work, but it might not give good results on thin leathers.

I'll have to try that thread sometime.  I've mainly used polyester.

thanks for the info!

No worries at all, glad to hear someone else does wider spaced stitching on turned seams. Good point for the thinner leathers, probably works best when you have 3-4 layers of firmer leather. 

I’m a huge fan of Meisi thread, both linen and polyester versions. Just didn’t have it in the right color (of course) on hand for this project, and didn’t want to wait lol. 
 

[toxo]

Moto is there a reason why you didn't join the two zips as in this pic of my Pitch Doctor bag? Also shows one way of avoiding the gap although I'm not a fan of velcro and the flap should be the other way round to shed rain rather than inviting it in.

[motocouture]

On 1/26/2020 at 6:48 AM, toxo said:

Moto is there a reason why you didn't join the two zips as in this pic of my Pitch Doctor bag? Also shows one way of avoiding the gap although I'm not a fan of velcro and the flap should be the other way round to shed rain rather than inviting it in.

Hi toxo, thanks for sharing! I do plan to join the two zips, exactly as shown in your picture (using maybe a small clip on either end so they can be detached if desired). Just didn’t get round to it before ducking off on some travel to a place with palm trees with my bag )

great idea on the flap, it helps to see a visual, and agreed, would have the flap inside so that it didn’t channel rain. Having a flap like that would also help me run the piping the whole way across which I think would be a nice design touch and help add structure at the opening as well.

[toxo]

5 hours ago, motocouture said:

Hi toxo, thanks for sharing! I do plan to join the two zips, exactly as shown in your picture (using maybe a small clip on either end so they can be detached if desired). Just didn’t get round to it before ducking off on some travel to a place with palm trees with my bag )

great idea on the flap, it helps to see a visual, and agreed, would have the flap inside so that it didn’t channel rain. Having a flap like that would also help me run the piping the whole way across which I think would be a nice design touch and help add structure at the opening as well.

So you had an unfinished bag and you chose to go on holiday instead! I'm astonished.

[motocouture]

4 hours ago, toxo said:

So you had an unfinished bag and you chose to go on holiday instead! I'm astonished.

 it was hard, but I forced myself to...