Turns out, sewing with leather is really fun. There is just something so badass about leather. (Words spoken by a pescetarian! Oh, the blasphemy.)
A few weeks ago, my sister made a leather-bottomed wide mouth pouch using Noodlehead's tutorial, and I was desperate to copy her effort as the final result was so damn cute.
Then I randomly chanced upon some leather scraps at CraftWorld in Belfast and it was a match made in heaven. Well, sort of. It is kind of a weird girly color, but I ran with it, pairing it with denim, ribbon and a metal zipper to harden it up. And scraps of my favorite fabric, lawn, for the lining.
As with most of my projects, I ended up making something completely different to what I started out making.
The leather was really thick, and my machine was able to cope with it as long as I used a leather needle, a walking foot, and lots of clips instead of pins. A walking foot is annoying to put on--I mean, you have to get a screwdriver and everything--but it really helped with slippage. (Pic above). However, when I got to the step requiring you to box the corners, it wasn't meant to be. It was way too thick with my extra seam down the middle of the purse, so I added a wrist strap to the side seam and called it a wristlet, and honestly? I'll probably get more use of it this way.
Mistakes always turn into the keystone of the project, I say!
Now I just need to find somewhere super trendy to wear this. Maybe another date night at Belfast Cathedral Quarter's Dirty Onion? (Seriously, it's so trendy you feel like you're in London's Brick Lane. I bet you never thought I'd say that about Belfast). Or, perhaps.... a certain Dolly Parton concert I'm going to on Tuesday night?
(Huge thanks to Noodlehead for a comprehensive tutorial, not to mention tons of creative inspiration!)
// Credits: Tutorial, Noodlehead; Lawn, Fabric Rehab; Leather, CraftWorld; Denim and small ribbon trim, Cotton Print Factory Shop; Large ribbon trim, Guthrie and Ghani
A few weeks ago, my sister made a leather-bottomed wide mouth pouch using Noodlehead's tutorial, and I was desperate to copy her effort as the final result was so damn cute.
Then I randomly chanced upon some leather scraps at CraftWorld in Belfast and it was a match made in heaven. Well, sort of. It is kind of a weird girly color, but I ran with it, pairing it with denim, ribbon and a metal zipper to harden it up. And scraps of my favorite fabric, lawn, for the lining.
As with most of my projects, I ended up making something completely different to what I started out making.
The leather was really thick, and my machine was able to cope with it as long as I used a leather needle, a walking foot, and lots of clips instead of pins. A walking foot is annoying to put on--I mean, you have to get a screwdriver and everything--but it really helped with slippage. (Pic above). However, when I got to the step requiring you to box the corners, it wasn't meant to be. It was way too thick with my extra seam down the middle of the purse, so I added a wrist strap to the side seam and called it a wristlet, and honestly? I'll probably get more use of it this way.
Mistakes always turn into the keystone of the project, I say!
Now I just need to find somewhere super trendy to wear this. Maybe another date night at Belfast Cathedral Quarter's Dirty Onion? (Seriously, it's so trendy you feel like you're in London's Brick Lane. I bet you never thought I'd say that about Belfast). Or, perhaps.... a certain Dolly Parton concert I'm going to on Tuesday night?
(Huge thanks to Noodlehead for a comprehensive tutorial, not to mention tons of creative inspiration!)
// Credits: Tutorial, Noodlehead; Lawn, Fabric Rehab; Leather, CraftWorld; Denim and small ribbon trim, Cotton Print Factory Shop; Large ribbon trim, Guthrie and Ghani