You need It When!

I love watching project runway! Watching the talented designers create from scratch a designer look in what seems to be impossible timeline is exciting. My girls watch with me and we make it our Thursday night ritual.  They are four and three and you might ask why and how much do they watch? I never realized how much they do pay attention until last season when one of the designers was "out" and my oldest year started to cry. Mostly they watch to see the actual runway show. They like seeing the models or as they call them the "girls" in the pretty clothes.  I watch to see the design process and the fabric selection. Not to mention the fast pace of flat fabric to designer dress in just a couple of hours. Speed sewing at its finest. It got me thinking about those projects that I get asked to do as the last minutes. On Fridays  I will post of some of these crazy projects. I have to say after the project is complete, I must admit that the time squeeze adds to the excitement and pride in the completed project.

Bad weather and crazy days.

I'm still working on the leather bag. The last couple of weeks have been a blur. My bag is coming along. I did take it apart and cut new gusset pieces. Ripping out seams in leather is not fun or attractive. However, it had to be done and I am happy with result. The bag actually looks like a purse now. I restitched the seams as close as possible to the original. I know it is not perfect, but I will let the pictures say the rest. The next bag I believe will be better. What now is causing me some consternation is the lining fabric. Trying to figure out which color better suits the leather has been a little challenging. I at first thought that would be the easiest part of the whole process. Everything goes with leather right? I do not know. The tone of the leather and the texture seems to be at odds with the fabric for the lining. I guess I need to get out my fabric stash and see what will work. Another issue to consider as we'll is the hardware. A work in process indeed!

Mistakes Made

The leather bag is coming along, but not without some mistakes. The first lesson learned was picking the right size needle. I have a Janome home sewing machine and a heavy duty machine. My heavy machine only stitches straight and zigzag. It is fine for most construction, but I like using my Janome for certain stitches. I had to order needles for both machine in various sizes. Too small and the machine labored. Too big and the needle cut the leather along the stitch line. All I can say is that before you start your project take a few minutes to experiment with a few pieces of your project leather and test different sizes of needles. 

With right needle, I began construction the exterior of the bag. It was pretty straightforward, but I wish I had made some alterations the the pattern. The piece joining the front and the back is a gusset. The gusset is folded in half lengthwise and stitched on the folded edge. I imagine this gives the bottom of the bag to have some structure and allows the bag to sit upright when using cotton fabric. This step is bulky with leather. I plan to make a gusset without the stitched edge on the next bag, and I think the leather has enough strength to omit this part of the instruction. 

The biggest mistake is made while sewing tired and distracted. Once the gusset is sewn to the front and the back, the pattern instructs "to trim back any excess gusset to match the main body top edges." NEVER cut when you are tired. The back to the front angles in and instead of a mirror image, I cut both sides the same! Now I have to decide; will I start over, or make it work and rework the flap closure?

Next week installing a closure and interlining.

Learn Leather Together

Learn Leather Together

For the next couple of blogs I will be showing a leather project. Leather has always scared me. I would window shop the leather store, but was always afraid to make a purchase. Leather will scare me no more! I am ready to broaden my horizon. After all, it is just material and if I miss cut, it is not the end of the project. Some of my favorite projects started with disaster and end with complete success.

I chose a pattern from one of my favorite sewing magazines, SewingWorld.www.sewingworldmagazine.com The bag featured in the magazine is made from fabric so I have had to modify a few steps to accommodate for the leather material. I am fortunate that I live close enough to a leather supplier and was able to feel the leather with my own hands. However, if you do not live there are several online stores to shop with. I have had a good experience with Tandy Leather, www.tandyleatherfactory.com and do recommend them.

I chose a piece the reminds me of burl walnut and thought is would make a cool bag. I then positioned the pattern to get the most desirable pattern and used a very sharp, serrated scissor. The particular pair, I purchased from Famore Cutlery www.famorecutlery.com at the Original Sewing Expo in Duluth, GA. (My sister and I attend yearly. So much fun.) Now chose a lining fabric and cut using the same pattern pieces.  Now 
it is time to start some assembly.

 Next week: Using the right needle and fastener options.

I love January. It is my favorite month out of the year. Though the holidays are fun, January is the month were we can sit back, clean out and start anew. I have made only a few new years resolutions. The usual lose weight, but mostly I have made a resolution to enjoy my sewing more and be more creative. To think outside the box. Let the fabric show the way. I want to learn some new techniques and improve on some old ones as well. Try new fabrics I have always been afraid to sew. Leather will be the first one I try. On Tuesdays the post will be about sewing leather. With research and trial and error I hope to make leather a fabric that no longer causes me any doubts or fears when sewing.