The sardine can

[Spyros]

Growing up I used to see sardine cans in the supermarket that were about this shape, so designing and making this bag brought back some memories.  I think it's cute though :D

 

 

This is custom bag commissioned by a wedding photographer who wanted a cross body bag to fit a specific lens and flash.  

I designed the holders to be friction fit for that equipment (which I also happened to own, so that made things a little easier).

The gussets looked like a pain even before I started, so I cut the gusset lining about 5mm narrower, and that helped the exterior leather turn and stitch a little easier.

As you can see I glued but didn't always stitch both sides of the lining to the gusset, because I didn't want the exterior to show too many stitch lines. Especially in areas where it's naturally held in place by hardware like the photo above I didn't feel it was needed, but we'll see how it holds up over time.

First time using RiRi zippers (this is a "Metal 8" size), and I can say I'm impressed.  I love the highly polished teeth, I think it's important not to scratch the hand or the lens, plus the bag has a lot of curves so I wanted something to navigate them reliably without snagging.  Wish they were a bit cheaper though.

One thing I learned the hard way is never underestimate the time it takes to design something from scratch.  This took about one hour of thinking for every hour of making.

The exterior is Horween Dublin and the interior is soft veg tan calf.  

Cheers

Spyro

 

 

Edited November 2, 2021 by Spyros

[toxo]

Well done Spyros. An excellent job. I have to slow myself down to pay attention to this amount of detail because I'm always in a hurry to see the final outcome.

If I were to be really picky I'd say the flap needs something but well done again.

ps. I hope those pockets are felt lined. That class of lens is not cheap.

Edited November 2, 2021 by toxo

[RockyAussie]

Damn that is really good @Spyros. I think you just might be a natural LW.

[Spyros]

Thanks Brian

1 hour ago, toxo said:

Well done Spyros. An excellent job. I have to slow myself down to pay attention to this amount of detail because I'm always in a hurry to see the final outcome.

If I were to be really picky I'd say the flap needs something but well done again.

ps. I hope those pockets are felt lined. That class of lens is not cheap.

Yeah I had to keep reminding myself this is not a luxury bag (and I certainly didn't price it like that), at the end of the day it's still just a secondary camera bag to be used for work, it will be knocked about from day 1.  And that waxy pull up leather,  you look at it funny and it scratches LOL

So yes the flap on the front pocket and the strap could be lined, some edges could be skived, I could cast the thread on the back of every stitch, etc.  But at some point it just didn't make sense to keep adding detail so I focused on the functionality of the design and let the quality of the materials do most of the talking.   

One thing I'm not worried about is the padding, I own the same lens and wouldn't hesitate to keep it in that pocket.  There's 4-6 layers of soft leather between the lens and the outside world.

Edited November 2, 2021 by Spyros

[chuck123wapati]

really nice !!

[YinTx]

Really nice work!

YinTx

[Spyros]

thanks guys, means a lot coming from you

[jcuk]

Can only echo what has already been said nice work.

JCUK

[BoxerMel]

Nice design and excellent workmanship. Thanks for sharing!

[JayEhl]

Hi,  this is some really neat craftsmanship.  Can you share about how many hours in total it took to create this?  Not including the design time, just from (about ) the time you rolled out the leather until you made the final touches.       

[PocoOso]

Beautifully done! Interesting shape and nice, clean craftmanship. Kudos!

[Spyros]

Thanks again everyone, much appreciated

On 11/10/2021 at 3:30 AM, JayEhl said:

Hi,  this is some really neat craftsmanship.  Can you share about how many hours in total it took to create this?  Not including the design time, just from (about ) the time you rolled out the leather until you made the final touches.       

I was designing it as I went along, so one thing kind of blended into the other, but if I was going to separate the actual making I would say it took about 25-30 hours maybe.  Which is not terrible as far as handstitched bags go.  It helped that I didn't stitch the strap. 

Not sure if you've watched a youtube by Corter Leather showing how to saddle stitch without a clam or stitching pony?  It makes a stitch that looks very nice on the front and fairly boring/straight looking in the back, but more importantly it is probably the fastest way to saddle stitch.  That's the technique I used on this bag, because there was no room to clamp and the back of most stitches is hidden inside the lining anyway.

 

 

 

Edited November 12, 2021 by Spyros

[JayEhl]

3 hours ago, Spyros said:

watched a youtube by Corter Leather showing how to saddle stitch without a clam or stitching pony

HI, I've watched several videos where he hand stitches without a pony while building something but don't believe I've ever seen a show and tell of how to do it, (properly).   I'll have to check that out.   

[Spyros]

2 hours ago, JayEhl said:

HI, I've watched several videos where he hand stitches without a pony while building something but don't believe I've ever seen a show and tell of how to do it, (properly).   I'll have to check that out.   

Yeah it's very easy.  Basically you hold your work with your left hand, and with the same hand you always pull the back thread down to keep the tension.  So the thread that is already in the hole is always pulled down, and you always aim high in the hole with the other needle to pass over the existing thread. So your left hand always holds thread down, and your right hand does all the stitching both from the front and the back, and always passing the thread high.    It's on youtube, you'll find it.

[battlemunky]

4 hours ago, JayEhl said:

HI, I've watched several videos where he hand stitches without a pony while building something but don't believe I've ever seen a show and tell of how to do it, (properly).   I'll have to check that out.   

He says he doesn't use a pony. He also has a few videos about how to sew without one. It's fine for smaller items, which is @corter's specialty, but sometimes you need some clamping force, ya know, like a holster? I can't do it nearly as well without a pony.

He's on LW.net so maybe he'll see this post and weigh in. That dude is right up there with Nigel, Art from Mascon, and Ian in my eyes.

[Spyros]

10 hours ago, battlemunky said:

He says he doesn't use a pony. He also has a few videos about how to sew without one. It's fine for smaller items, which is @corter's specialty, but sometimes you need some clamping force, ya know, like a holster? I can't do it nearly as well without a pony.

He's on LW.net so maybe he'll see this post and weigh in. That dude is right up there with Nigel, Art from Mascon, and Ian in my eyes.

I don't thing it's a matter of big and small or clamping force... 

If you want both sides of your stitching to have that French/angled look, the way he does it just won't work because you can't cast the thread on the back (unless you have 3 hands).  But if you're ok with the back side of your stitching looking just plain straight, then what he does is probably the fastest and most practical way to stitch.  And you can definitely apply a lot of tension with your left hand.