Skip to main content

Made by a Fabricista: The Leather Bonnie Handbag

Hey all!

Sometimes the pattern inspires and the fabric follows, and sometimes it's the fabric that creates the drive to create.  The latter is definitely true with this make:  my first shot at sewing a leather handbag!




I've eyed the leather hides that show up at Fabric Mart here and there in the past, but never bit because I couldn't decide what I would make with them.  When the Michael Stars goatskin hides showed up in full force I decided it was time to figure it out.  Sorry to say they're sold out now.


This goatskin is so thin and supple and beautiful; it definitely seems thin enough to use with a home sewing machine, but my sewing it was not without issues (more to come on that).  The goatskin came folded up in large ziplock bags; when I've seen leathers in the past, they've been either hanging or on rolls, and the folding did create some creases that I was unable to get rid of and unavoidable in cutting, but really aren't so bad.  There were also a few very severe creases along the edges that I had to avoid completely.


This is not my first rodeo at bag making (see here and here) but I by no means consider myself experienced in the art, and I've always used faux leather or fabric.  I decided to let this beautiful leather really shine by going simple with the Swoon Bonnie Bucket Bag.  So simple that I even decided not to include the external welt on the bag; I was nervous for the possibility of messing it all up.


To make up for the lack of that external pocket, I sewed one into the lining of the bag.  I'm a little surprised that there isn't a pocket designed into the interior already, but it's an easy thing to add.  The lining of this is a lovely double faced very sturdy satin.  It's sold out now, but this would make a very nice substitution.


This pattern is definitely a great introductory way to start making bags: it has very minimal notions needs (two O or D rings, 1-2 zippers, and firm sew-in interfacing) and creates a very nice handbag with clean lines in a very usable size.



I had two of the 8-10 square foot skins, and ended up using about 1 1/4 of them to make this bag fully in leather.  This pattern also has an option to use a coordinating fabric for one half of the body.


Leather is certainly a snarky mistress; I had smooth sailing in some areas, and in others had some terrible looking stitching on the bobbin side of the stitches.  Unfortunately, some of this is visible from the top edge of the bag.  Since stitching leather creates perforations that cannot and do not "heal," like fabric can, so I've left it for now for fear of weakening it by ripping and restitching.



I have a Pfaff Performance 5.0, which does have a walking foot, but according to a Pfaff Facebook group I'm in, I would've benefited from a Teflon foot, going super snail slow in my stitching (instead of just fairly slow), and even greater tension than I used (I was at a 7; the default on my machine is 4.6).  I used Coats & Clark "Heavy" thread and used a bit of a longer stitch (3.5) and a size 18 leather needle, which cuts/pierces the hide more than a sharp would.


I feel like I've learned a lot but there is still so much for me to know about working with leather.  My machine definitely seems to struggle with it, so I may not revisit it in the short term, but despite my struggles, I'm really quite happy with this bag!

Until next time, friends!
Jess

Comments

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment! All comments are reviewed before posting to help us eliminate spam. Your comment will be posted within 24 hours.

Popular Posts You Might Like

Made By A Fabricista: Liberty Snow Day

Hi everyone! While we’ve been blanketed with snow out here in Southeastern PA, I decided to conquer my fear of button holes and make NewLook pattern N6749. I was able to snag a few yards of the Jess + Jean print Liberty of London Tana Lawn for it. It’s always exciting when Fabric Mart is able to get Liberty fabrics in! I always make sure to grab some.  Cutting into a beautiful piece of tana lawn is scary every time. The fabric is such good quality, I’m afraid to mess it up! I had to be extra careful as this is also the first directional pattern I’ve worked with. But one of my assistants made sure all of my pieces were laid correctly. Something I wanted to try out with this dress was finishing the inside seams using the overlock stitch on my domestic machine. Normally I would french seam, but it was nice to not have to worry about cutting seam allowance in half, sewing, trimming, flipping, and sewing again. Next time I would cut the seam allowance back before overlocking, but I thin...

Made By A Fabricista: Embracing Winter in Wool Boucle

As winter drags on, the cold weather is such a bummer to me and feeling uncomfortable and cold so often is rough. Meanwhile, I listened to a podcast all about how people in very northern countries deal better with the onset of dark, freezing winter with a radically different mindset of embracing the inevitable season by reframing the chill as refreshing and the opportunity to spend most time indoors as cozy. I can do that!  I found a gorgeous, quintessential wool boucle suiting in black and white to make myself a luxurious outer layer while I’m outside attempting to embrace the sting of dry winter air… It’s kind of working. So classic, so chic! Wearing boucle is always an uptown move and I certainly do feel sophisticated in it. This black and white houndstooth combination feels especially Old Hollywood, and what a treat to make something with this!  I sewed the Daphne Jacket from Vivian Shao Chen. There are no closures, and the shape is boxy and very easy to wear over multipl...

Made By A Fabricista: Sewing + Running

It’s not every day that I get to mix two of my favorite hobbies. Especially when one hobby is sewing and the other is running. You can’t sew and run at the same time, but, you can go running in something that you sewed! With this realization, I embarked on my first hobby-merging adventure.  We’ve had some frigid temperatures in Pennsylvania this winter. Since I’m an outside, stroller-pushing runner, I bundle up my son and myself before I hit the road. The temperature feels 20 degrees warmer for outside runners than the outside air. For the children being pushed in the stroller though, it feels about 20 degrees colder.  With these differences in temperature for each of us, layering is the only thing that ensures that we both stay perfectly warm. My running wardrobe has been lacking a warm top layer. My son’s wardrobe would also benefit from having another warm layer, so I knew pullovers were what I should make.  Inspired by a name-brand ¼ button-down fleece pullover I saw,...