About a year ago, I bought this really thick wool fabric from the internet. When it arrived, I realised it looked more like upholstery fabric rather than fashion fabric so I tucked it in a box underneath the staircase, where it lay forgotten – until now. My friend recently commissioned me to make him a bag and when we were discussing the various materials we could use and he saw the wool fabric, he really took a fancy to the texture and the colour. However, I didn’t like the whole bag made out of that material so took some scraps of leather for the pouch, straps and bottom of the bag.
If my sewing machine was alive it would have heaved a sigh of relief, as recently all it has been doing is sewing thick leather. As it was a softer material, the construction of the bag took no time at all and by the first day my trademark slanted pouch was already sewn on to the front.
The back of the bag had leather straps attached to the shoulder straps, but as this was a different leather I could not get the same level of finish I got on my previous one.
This time, instead of a laptop sleeve, I sewed in a pocket so my friend could keep his iPad mini in the bag when he is going on holidays. I’ve also used the remnant of my stripy fabric as the lining brightens up the inside of the bag. I’ve also sewn in a quarter inch boning along the seam allowance to provide some sort of structure to the otherwise floppy bag.
I passed the bag to my friend yesterday and he was really happy with it. Actually, he was ecstatic! So much so that he modelled it today for me.
I just bought some more straps to use in my future bag making projects but I am still surprised by how expensive the bits and bobs are for bag making. I’m trying to source cheaper material but at the same time, I want something of good quality. Maybe I should branch out to metal work to make all the clasps and hooks myself. While I’m at it, I should also learn to weave fabrics and tan leather. Blue sky thinking but when I get a bigger place or a studio, I can consider it, along with the list of 101 things I want to do!
Stephen Yong 