Don’t you love it when you reach the end of a project, or in this case the end of the first part. It seems like yesterday but in reality it was a few weeks ago I set out to make this bag as it says in the best arty press releases ” a fusion of contrasting materials”. Another way to look at it is a way of using up some off cuts.

For sometime I have been thinking about mixing together Upholstery Material with Leather to create a bag. Starting small I set out to make a handbag and as the pictures shows I managed it. For a first attempt without any references to guide me from it works to a point, however if I ever made another I would do it slightly differently.

Its been an interesting project. Leather is a lovely material to work with, stable, doesn’t fray, its stiff and retains a shape. Fabric is quite the reverse. I frequently work with both materials separately but this is the first time together, and it came with a number of issues. Normally when your stitching leather you hold the pieces together in a clamp, that didn’t work with fabric, so sewing the parts together was like juggling jelly fish and it shows. Not my neatest sewing, but occasionally it does you good to push the boundaries. Just to complicate the issue once I started I realised I needed to line the back of the fabric. Another first a lined bag.

Throughout the process its always interesting to see the reaction from visitors to my workshop, for this project its been mixed, one particular visitor hated it at the start, and now wants one, some loved it from the start, others continue to dislike it. Any comments or design tips always welcome

Now its just the handle to make. I have been inspired by a book on leather whip braiding.I have braided a few whips in the past so I understand the technique but have never tried making a braided shoulder strap before, so I might as well continue the experimental theme and see what happens.

Thanks for reading

Tom