Nonetheless, Friday was the start to a new project for me! Previously I had made the envelope clutch. Our next construction branched off of that idea into a tote bag. We did some material sourcing ahead of time. Beginning at the leather store, I picked out a small hide to incorporate into the base, straps, and trip. I then went to Hancock where I chose the outer fashion material; we looked in the upholstery section to locate a heavier weight material needed for a handbag. From there I found inner lining to match as well as webbing for straps. Surprisingly with all of these items, my total was very minimal.
This does not include leather; however, the hide was $20.00 and I maybe used a third of that making a grand total of around $18.00 to create this bag; much lower than the cost of one similar found in a store.
Above are the materials bought for the project. I would say that my inspiration came from the upholstery piece located on the right. I love the burnt, warm tones as well as the mosaic-like print.
Getting the pieces home, I needed to cut and then lay out how I wanted the bag to look.
I wanted to brown leather to pull through the same color on the light brown leaves, so I laid that portion of the fabric next to the leather with both the front and back pieces. Once this was assessed, I could start sewing what would be the outside of the bag.
I then prepared the straps which were made from webbing and leather.
At this point, a good portion of work is done, and in fact what I finished Friday. Today, I was able to continue on the progress with attaching the inner lining.
Where the two meet, I had to iron flat so that the lining would remain tucked within the bag. I was now able to attach the handles and leather trim. I needed to find the center of each face of the bag, attach pins, and evenly place pins to place each end of the strap.
The next part was just to sew through!
After, I could fold the bag in half inside-out and sew the side seams.
I actually used paper clips to hold my sides together since leather is not supposed to be poked through; it will be permanently punctured.
It is really starting to look like the bag at this point which is super exciting!!! I add on binding to the sides so it protects the trim from fraying and really just gives the inside a cleaner look.
Just a couple steps left:) I know this post is getting super long but I really want to share the process and how much goes into a project like this; especially since it is non-clothing.
To make the bottom of the bag square, the corners need to be folded into a triangle (again, a lot of mathematics involved with design!).
The bag can now be turned right side out and finished with a bit of hardware!
I punctured 6 holes within the trip of the bag. I could then inject studs through, press, pound, and done!
This really adds to the finished look of the bag in the end. I came out with a really fab bag that I absolutely love and cannot wait to bring out!
Here is the front.
The back!
And of course the complementary interior!
I am truly proud of this project. This was a new challenge that opened my eyes to even more that is possible in creating within the fashion world.
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