My Grandma turned 90 this week, and we had a big party for her. “Big” being completely rhetorical. She doesn’t have a lot of brothers and sisters left, and few friends, so it was a lot of younger relatives. It was great to see everyone and catch up.
She was the one that taught me to sew, so of course I had to make her something.
I thought a purse would be something useful for her, so I made this one for her. It was a pretty tough leather, so next time I embark on making something with this leather I am going to use something that has LOTS of rivets to hold it together. My sewing machine was not happy.
You will notice many raw edges with this leather. It would not bend for the seams.
Due to it being so thick and non-bendy, I had to pound the seams with a hammer. If you don’t, it doesn’t curve at the seams and would not have had a nice shape. I also pounded down the handle where I glued it, so everything would lay flat without any bubbles. I only got my finger once, so I call that a WIN!
It has a pocket in the front (didn’t have a nice zipper to match, so it is open), and it has a row of pockets on the inside.
Of course, you need bag feet. The bottom of the bag has some heavy Peltex (or some such…I forget the brand) to help keep the shape. I inserted the bag feet into it to keep the interfacing in place on the bottom.
The decorative piece on the front is a reverse applique that I drew. I glued the other leather on the inside and sewed it after the glue dried.
I was pretty happy with how it turned out, though I am a little afraid the stitches won’t hold with hard wear. I don’t have to worry about that with Grandma, but next time I sew this up I will need a stronger thread. Some of the stitches popped when I turned it inside out, so I had to redo them. I probably should have done another row of inside stitches, but my machine was starting to go on strike!
I will have more bags to show in the next few weeks (hopefully). I think my mom might want one, too, so good thing I have plenty of leather. Tandy Leather had a sale on Minelli leather, so yeah…I spent too much.
Yet again.
At least I am well-stocked for awhile. More bags! Must sew more bags! 😉
