Interfacing Leather?

[MtlBiker]

I'm wondering if you guys can suggest a better technique for me than what I've been doing to interface leather for making bags/purses.  What I've been doing when using different fabrics is to first apply a fusible woven interfacing and then for the outer pieces that need more stiffness or form, ironing on Decovil Light.  That's been working just fine.  And for materials which I don't want to use heat with, I've been baste stitching a 1/4" foam in the stitch allowance.  And when I put the pieces together, it's always been just fine without being too thick.

But now with 4oz chrome tan leather for the outer bag when I sew on (baste) the foam interfacing I end up with too much bulk in parts of the bag which I can just manage to sew on my machine (just under 1/2" thick).  (The thickest part is where the gusset meets the front of the bag and the lining attaches and also where the bag flap attaches to the back of the bag.)  It works, but I'd really like to end up with less bulk along the edges.

What do you suggest for giving leather a better form / stiffening it?  If I cut my foam smaller so that my seam allowance would only be the thickness of the leather layers, that would be a big improvement, but I can't stitch the foam in place or the stitching would show.  Does it make any sense to glue the foam in place?  I probably wouldn't have to glue the whole piece of foam... just enough to hold it in place for the finished bag.

Suggestions?

[Northmount]

Try leather tape for basting, also for stitching.  https://www.wawak.com/Bag-Construction/Basting-Tape/super-strong-double-sided-vinylleather-basting-tape-clear/?sku=TPE15

Note different widths available.  1/8" to 1".  They ship to Canada!  Have ordered items from them time to time and have not had any problems with shipping.  Pre-cleared customs.

[MtlBiker]

57 minutes ago, Northmount said:

Try leather tape for basting, also for stitching.  https://www.wawak.com/Bag-Construction/Basting-Tape/super-strong-double-sided-vinylleather-basting-tape-clear/?sku=TPE15

Note different widths available.  1/8" to 1".  They ship to Canada!  Have ordered items from them time to time and have not had any problems with shipping.  Pre-cleared customs.

Thanks.  I deal with Wawak.CA (there's a Canadian specific site) regularly.  They're pretty good.  And I have a bunch of that tape.

But it's not going to work for me in this case...  I need (at least I think I do) a way of attaching the foam INSIDE of the stitch line so that the seam allowance and perhaps 1/4" inside of that stitch line remains thin, without the foam.  And I doubt very much that even if I plaster the inner area of the pattern with that tape, it would stand up over time and keep the foam from shifting.  I'd need a way to keep the foam in position over time.

The foam I'm using I get from JT's Outdoor Fabrics... https://www.jtsoutdoorfabrics.com/.25_Inch_Sewing_Foam

Maybe I should be using something else?

 

[toxo]

3 hours ago, MtlBiker said:

I'm wondering if you guys can suggest a better technique for me than what I've been doing to interface leather for making bags/purses.  What I've been doing when using different fabrics is to first apply a fusible woven interfacing and then for the outer pieces that need more stiffness or form, ironing on Decovil Light.  That's been working just fine.  And for materials which I don't want to use heat with, I've been baste stitching a 1/4" foam in the stitch allowance.  And when I put the pieces together, it's always been just fine without being too thick.

But now with 4oz chrome tan leather for the outer bag when I sew on (baste) the foam interfacing I end up with too much bulk in parts of the bag which I can just manage to sew on my machine (just under 1/2" thick).  (The thickest part is where the gusset meets the front of the bag and the lining attaches and also where the bag flap attaches to the back of the bag.)  It works, but I'd really like to end up with less bulk along the edges.

What do you suggest for giving leather a better form / stiffening it?  If I cut my foam smaller so that my seam allowance would only be the thickness of the leather layers, that would be a big improvement, but I can't stitch the foam in place or the stitching would show.  Does it make any sense to glue the foam in place?  I probably wouldn't have to glue the whole piece of foam... just enough to hold it in place for the finished bag.

Suggestions?

What is it that you're making that needs such a thickness of material? And is the lining designed to come out or not?

I assume you want the stiffness so it stands up? Are you trying to not sew through the turnover at the top?

Edited January 10, 2022 by toxo

[MtlBiker]

35 minutes ago, toxo said:

What is it that you're making that needs such a thickness of material? And is the lining designed to come out or not?

I assume you want the stiffness so it stands up? Are you trying to not sew through the turnover at the top?

It's a purse I'm making.  I'd made several before using interfaced cotton, fake leather, Harris Tweed, etc. and they proved to be very popular.  I'm making the same thing now with the main parts being leather.  I need the bag to maintain its form and not sag when empty.  Do you think 4oz chrome tan was too thick?  Thinner leather would still need (probably foam) interfacing to keep it stiff enough.  The lining is not removable once the bag is finished.

I just finished my first two bags with leather and all that's left is the shoulder straps which I'm making now.  I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out, but I'd like to do better next time.

The purpose of the leather was simply to make the bag more up scale, hopefully appealing to a more (dare I say) snobbish crowd.  Also justifying a higher selling price. 

 

[JayEhl]

First off,  really super amazing crafstmanship.  What I would give to work as an apprentice to learn to do bags and stuff like that!!   

I don't know that much about making bags but when I bought a used sewing machine from a lady she gave me several rolls of Bontex bag stiffener.  I used a piece for a minimalist card holder I was messing with and it work as expected.     I'd be glad to ship you some if you pay for shipping.  

[toxo]

2 hours ago, MtlBiker said:

It's a purse I'm making.  I'd made several before using interfaced cotton, fake leather, Harris Tweed, etc. and they proved to be very popular.  I'm making the same thing now with the main parts being leather.  I need the bag to maintain its form and not sag when empty.  Do you think 4oz chrome tan was too thick?  Thinner leather would still need (probably foam) interfacing to keep it stiff enough.  The lining is not removable once the bag is finished.

I just finished my first two bags with leather and all that's left is the shoulder straps which I'm making now.  I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out, but I'd like to do better next time.

The purpose of the leather was simply to make the bag more up scale, hopefully appealing to a more (dare I say) snobbish crowd.  Also justifying a higher selling price. 

 

Nice work and I like the design although the open holes at the sides always make me determined to do something about that next time.

Have you considered veg tan for the gusset? I see your gusset goes all the way around. A veg tan gusset would hold it up and enable a thinner front and back panel which would enable you to trap the lining between the turnover without it being bulky.

Can't see the clasp well but does it just hold the flap down? If it does you might consider one that locks it in place which would help in it standing up.

[MtlBiker]

21 hours ago, JayEhl said:

First off,  really super amazing crafstmanship.  What I would give to work as an apprentice to learn to do bags and stuff like that!!   

I don't know that much about making bags but when I bought a used sewing machine from a lady she gave me several rolls of Bontex bag stiffener.  I used a piece for a minimalist card holder I was messing with and it work as expected.     I'd be glad to ship you some if you pay for shipping.  

Wow!  Really kind words, thank you.  Before COVID I couldn't even sew a button on a shirt and now I've got a bunch of sewing machines.  I really got hooked during the times non-essential businesses here were forced to close.

Thanks for your kind offer, but I just searched out that product and found scant info on it, but it doesn't seem to be available here in Canada.  And even on Etsy, it says the product doesn't ship to here.  So it may (or not) be a great product but the difficulty in getting it kinda rules it out for me. 

My bags turned out very well (if I do say so myself) and next time I'm going to try to trim my foam to smaller than the seam allowance and glue it in place.  That way I'd only have to deal with the leather thickness and I am pretty sure that with care I'd get a better result.  But I was able to stitch these without too much difficulty.  My next attempt will hopefully be better.

Cheers!

 

[JayEhl]

Hey no problem.   Let me know if you change your mind.     

[MtlBiker]

17 hours ago, toxo said:

Nice work and I like the design although the open holes at the sides always make me determined to do something about that next time.

Have you considered veg tan for the gusset? I see your gusset goes all the way around. A veg tan gusset would hold it up and enable a thinner front and back panel which would enable you to trap the lining between the turnover without it being bulky.

Can't see the clasp well but does it just hold the flap down? If it does you might consider one that locks it in place which would help in it standing up.

The bags in the photos I posted were empty and with anything in the bags the "open holes" at the sides are very much reduced.

Thank you, but I'm not quite following your suggestion about using veg tan.  I'd still need to reinforce it somehow I think, which brings me back to the bulk issue.  Also I wanted the front and sides to match in color and finish.  This leather was about 4 oz... were you suggesting a thicker veg tan?  Are you suggesting veg tan just because for any given weight it's stiffer than chrome tan?  Hmmm.... if I understand right, you're suggesting that the veg tan wouldn't need any reinforcement?  So I could actually make the front and back and gusset from the same veg tan, without applying any foam or other to stiffen it.  But then I'd have to improve my meager skills with dyeing and finishing the veg tan.

The clasp holds the flap down and does lock in the closed position.