My Grandmother was a paragon of style to the very end. If there was one thing she taught me it was to always carry a leather handbag. Even the most basic of leather handbags have become wildly expensive. Leather hide however still appears to be quite affordable. Sewing your own leather bag can be quite straight forward.
This isn’t a tutorial on how to make a specific leather bag. Handbag preferences are very personal and there are bag patterns available for free all over the Internet. Over the years I’ve often enjoyed sewing my own leather handbags. Here are some of the things I’ve learned … the hard way.
Sewing leather is all about having the right tools and materials.
- A walking foot for your sewing machine is vital!!!!
- You will want to use heavy duty thread.
- Leather needles are also required. I’ve tried substituting with standard needles but they tend to make the thread snap constantly.
- The weight of the hide is important. Too light and your bag won’t last. Too heavy and your sewing machine won’t be able to sew it. Leather can be measured in weight or thickness. Leather in the range of 3-4oz and/or 1.2-1.6mm thick is usually OK to be used for a handbag.
- Sewing weakens leather. Make your stitches as long as your sewing machine will allow to make the bag as strong as possible.
- For the same reason never sew over the same point multiple times (unless you can sew through the exact same holes each time).
- Gluing the inside of the hems is a good way to increase the strength of what you make.
Thank you for the sewing tips…..I’m using them now to make a few different types of leather bags. Yours is beautiful by the way. Just wanted to let you know your info is appreciated.