Leather accessories have always been very popular. High-quality watches, wallet, shoes speak about the owner’s taste, his status. The most common and popular attribute is a leather bag.
Men's and women's, leather bags can be casual, business, with a shoulder strap or a carrying handle. Large and small, they always store the necessary things of their owner.
Bag models
Amazing variety. You can choose for every taste and for any situation. They can be hard, soft, semi-soft, wire-frame, tote bags, backpack bags, shoppers, clutches, hobos, instant messengers, weekends, baguette bags - each form, with proper tailoring and selection according to needs, maximally meets the requirements and needs of its owner.
It should be borne in mind that it is necessary to select models of bags not only for the outfit, situation or weather. Of great importance is the construction of the image and the figure of the owner. A large bag in the hands of a fragile lady will look advantageous only in the right ensemble.
Sewing bags with your own hands
In ancient times, tanning was valued, and craftsmen were worth their weight in gold. Modern technologies have stepped far forward, and there is no need to go through a long procedure of preparing material and sewing on their own. It is much easier to buy a finished product by choosing from a huge range that is offered to the consumer.
However, creativity often requires implementation. Therefore, you can sew the bag yourself. To work, you need to prepare the tools and carefully familiarize yourself with the theory. You can begin to practice by completing all of the above items.
Material selection
The choice of material for tailoring the bag is important. Leather is divided into:
- cheprak is a thick, dense skin. Made from the hide of cattle;
- yuft is soft, thin skin (about 2 mm);
- crust is a thick and dense skin. Its surface is smooth, has a natural texture. Good for making bracelets, cases or scabbards.
Different masters use different skin. Some people like deer skin, some like pork, others prefer a crocodile. There are many varieties of material, each has its own unique properties, pluses and minuses.
Instruments
- punch (or awl and hammer);
- needles (2 pcs., always with a wide eye and a blunt end);
- a thread;
- compasses (or special gears);
- scissors for skin;
- rolling and finishing tools (optional);
- vise.
This is the minimum set of materials that are necessary in order to sew a bag on the simplest pattern. The simplest pattern of a leather bag is a long rectangle, cut in such a way that the valve of the front part and the side walls, as well as the back and front parts, are a single whole. Use these materials and you can easily get a leather bag over your shoulder. Patterns of leather bags always contain instructions on the number of necessary parts.
Building patterns
Patterns of men's leather bags from women's at the initial stage do not differ. A classic cross-body bag for a man and a woman is cut out according to the same patterns, only with different sizes.
At the beginning, getting to work, you need to make sure that the skin is ready for cutting.
A piece of leather laid out on a smooth surface is positioned so that the material can be used as efficiently as possible.
The pattern with a pencil or chalk is transferred to the skin from the wrong side. The dimensions of the finished product will correspond to A4 format, respectively, the dimensions of the drawing should be with an allowance of +1 cm. For the convenience of transferring the drawing to the pattern, you can select your favorite pattern model, print it on a sheet of the required format and transfer it to the material.
From the remnants of leather accessories and additional elements are cut out - a valve (its dimensions are equal to the parameters of the back wall of the bag - 210 mm by 297 mm, for convenience they take 21 cm by 30 cm). A leather bag over the shoulder will turn out if you cut a strap 4 cm wide and a length equal to the length of the body from the waist to the shoulder, multiplied by 2. You can use the braid, it must be thrown over the shoulder so that its level matches the future position of the bag. The length of the tape is measured with a centimeter, and the size is used to build the pattern.
Assembly of elements
When all the details are cut, they begin to assemble the future bag.
The first thing to do is to outline the places for future seams. If sewing will be carried out manually, then a compass or a special wheel is used for marking. Often the patterns of leather bags contain dashed lines along which this wheel should pass. Using the selected tool, a line is rolled or gently scratched, on which the seam will be located. Then, using a punch (a special gear fork) or an awl and a hammer, holes are pierced into which the needle will be inserted.
How to sew a leather bag from finished parts? Stitching of bag parts is carried out by a special seam. The seam is called "saddle". Unlike machine, manual seam is more durable and high quality.
The seam is formed using two needles. The thread is fixed in the needle. To do this, the thread in the middle is pierced with the tip of the needle, and a free tip is threaded into the resulting loop and gently tightened.
Needles during operation are introduced towards each other. If you imagine a seam in a section, it turns out the weave of the letters "P". After each stitch, the thread is slightly tightened. This is done so that the seam is durable, without gaps and gaps between the skin.
Bag from an old coat
How to sew a leather bag with your own hands, patterns from which material to use? After all, there are never many bags. Good bags - even more so. Using the simplest patterns of leather bags, you can simultaneously get an interesting design solution and a new accessory. As a material, you can use an old coat.
The easiest option is to cut the bag from the sleeve.
Before starting work, it is necessary to prepare the skin. To do this, the sleeves are first stripped off. If there is a lining, then it must be gently torn away without cutting the seams. If the lining is intact, you can use it without cutting. The sleeve is turned outwardly by a lining.
On one side, the lining and leather are neatly pulled apart, and lightning is sewn into this place. The length of the zipper should match the length of the open space.
Now from the second sleeve it is necessary to cut 2 circles, the diameter of which will be equal to the width of the sleeve + 7 mm allowance for the seam. A strip of 3 cm wide and 70 cm long is also cut out. This is the future handle of the bag.
Using a sewing machine, a leather circle is sewn on each side to the pipe from the sleeve so that the handle is on top, exactly opposite the zipper. The skin for the handle is sewn during sewing circles, laying it between the layers of leather. Thus, when the bag is turned out, the handle will be outside, and will not be sewn inside.
The result is an interesting bag bag that resembles a baguette model.
Using various methods of cutting, finding application to old pockets, belts, hem, you can sew any version of the bag: shopper, laptop bag, bag bag.
Patterns of leather bags from an old coat differ only in work with the material, the shape of the product can be any.
Patch Bag
How to sew a leather bag of leather flaps? It is easy to do. At the beginning of the work, it is necessary to prepare the material. Pieces of leather are best sewn together using a special zigzag seam. It is durable, does not allow fraying of the edges of the skin. The same seam can be repeated manually, it is only important to monitor the tension of the thread, otherwise the fabric will lead to the sides, and the finished bag will look untidy.
The pattern of the bag model is superimposed on the skin from the wrong side and is encircled with chalk. A seam allowance is made - approximately 0.5 cm.
For a bag of rags, it is advisable to make a lining. The lining is cut out on the pattern of the central part of the bag. For pens it is not needed. A durable satin is used for the lining, best of all - a special strong lining fabric.
The stitched leather parts and lining are assembled together and once again stitched along the upper seam.
Advice
Masters often wonder how to sew a leather bag from parts of leather of different dressings. Such experiments are best carried out with a hand in working with a material of the same strength and density.
Combined bags, however, are a popular and sought after accessory.
For example, a hand- sewn leather bag, the patterns of which are proposed above, will look great with side parts or handles made of leather of a different color, or of a leather of a different texture (for example, a combination of leather with ostrich and calf leather).
Unisex patterns
The world of leather goods is changing as fast as the world of fashion. Bags have ceased to be so divided into male and female, materials have become more diverse. Using the same patterns, you can sew a bag for both men and women.
For example, the patterns in the photo, cut out on high-quality leather, will allow you to sew bags that can be used by both men and women.
To more clearly indicate whether the accessory belongs to a particular floor, you can use decorative elements. For a handbag, make leather handles shorter or longer so that it can be hung on the shoulder by two handles. For men - make one wide strap. A long handle over the shoulder will make the bag universal, such models are especially popular among young people and students.
In addition, such models make it easy to vary sizes. Bags according to these patterns can be easily adjusted both to the format of the A5 notebook, and to make them more spacious - to fit the A3 folder.
To enlarge or reduce the pattern, it is convenient to use the printed pattern options. When printing, the pattern is divided into several sheets. It will be necessary to cut, assemble and transfer it in full size to the skin. The second option is to manually draw the bag onto the paper. In this case, it is necessary to work carefully, errors can spoil all subsequent work.