saraleatherwork

[saraleatherwork]

Waxed Canvas Tote

Going for the “dipped” look with a waxed canvas tote. The leather is section on the bottom half serves as a pocket.

Also, finally a photo of the sewing machine I’ve been using for the last few bags.

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Leather tote

This leather tote is made using the same dimensions as the infamous Birkin bag. The bag has 6 pockets fit to hold an iPad, kindle, cell phone, pens, and small odds and ends.

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Nubuck bucket bag

I visited Prime Asia, a leather tannery in Vietnam. They toured us around their facility and taught us about the process leather hides go through. At the end of the tour, the manager generously gave me a piece of scrap nubuck leather that I used to made a bucket bag. The leather is thick but soft and unstructured -- making it great for a casual day bag.

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Men’s Satchel

A simple straight up leather satchel with no lining. There is a small front pocket for a phone, internal key hook, swinging latch closure, and quick release shoulder strap buckle. The vegetable tan leather strap will progressively get darker and softer with wear.

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Men’s Chelsea Boots with a Vibram outsole

The making of these boots are a few posts back but here is the final product with a Vibram outsole. These were left on the last for a couple months and ended up taking the shape beautifully!

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Lightweight pack in action

The pack was the perfect size for some layers, water, and a couple chocolate chip cookies. The reflective zippers also make this a good option for cycling.

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Lightweight casual urban pack

I was inspired by brands like KEEN and Cotopaxi who are making packs from repurposed parachutes. The packs fold down to nothing and are easy to slip into a bigger bag if you’re travelling.

I found some lightweight rip stop nylon as well as a durable waterproof nylon lining at Rose City Textiles in Portland along with reflective zippers.

Compartments:

The top zip opens up to the main compartment of the bag where there are two fleece lined pockets -- one for a laptop and one for a folder or tablet. The second zipper opens up to a smaller pocket for odds and ends like pens, a wallet, keys, passport. The bag also features three external pockets that are measured to fit a water bottle, cliffbar, and other quick-access things that do not need to be in a zipped pocket.

Structure:

The pack is padded on the back and on the sleeves for a comfortable fit. The adjustable straps allow for the bag to sit high up or hang low depending on the wearer or how full the pack is.

I had a great time working on this over Thanksgiving break. There is a lot more that can be done with technical materials that I wasn’t able to do with leather. I feel ready for the transition to more techy products!

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Simple drawstring tote

This square base tote was just a few quick straight stitches. I punched square holes for the drawstring closure to keep with the square symmetry of the bag silhouette. 

The leather is from an Hermes factory. This piece passed the first inspection but not the second, so I was able to get my hands on it!

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Men’s chelsea boot uppers

The chelsea boot is a classic ankle high slip on boot with elastic panels on the inside and outside. Fortunately, I live near a last factory that takes our custom one-off orders! This is a US10.5 last with a rounded toe that is customized to fit a wide forefoot and a narrow ankle. The last was taped up, drawn on, peeled off, and used for the pattern making. The pieces were cut out of a piece of leather and stretched on a block of wood get its boot-like shape.

I sewed the elastic panels to the liner first and then attached the upper to the liner. Two hand stitched lines were added to the inside and outside of foot to add a little personal touch! The uppers were pulled and nailed onto their last where they will sit for a bit before the sole is built.

The final photo is the chelsea boot upper attached to its last. I’ll post final photos of the boot once it is ready to go!

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Two tone leather backpack

This two tone leather backpack features adjustable straps, a carry handle, and an exterior pocket. The buckles are attached to magnetic closures to allow for quick opening and closing of the top flap. Inside the bag is a key ring to clip your keys to so you don’t end up fumbling around at the front door.

I’m a fan of the rugged texture on the leather-- it makes it look beefy and worn. Changes I would make in the future are longer shoulder straps and a laptop internal sleeve. 

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Hand-dyed micro fiber backpack

We had some left over micro fiber at the office that I decided to experiment with on some designs I’ve been wanting to make in leather. This is a first attempt at a backpack that I think would work in a weathered looking tan leather. There are three magnetic closures that prevent things from falling out and also allow the bag to hang nicely if it is not too full. If the bag is full of things, the magnetic closures on the sides can be popped open to allow for more room.

Enough micro fiber for now, back to leather in the next post!

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Working on some new things! The puzzle of figuring out how all the pieces come together is my favourite part.

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Simple black sling purse for Anne

A simple purse stitched inside-out with some silver hardware. I chose to use silver hardware to add a sparkle to the matte leather. The front pocket fits an iPhone 5 and is lined with a hot pink elephant print fabric to give a little rock-and-roll to the otherwise classic purse.

As always, this purse also has a hidden clip on the inside to clip keys to. 

Anne is about to embark on big trip around Asia, starting with a one-way ticket to the Philippines. She also just turned 24 this week, Happy Birthday Anne!

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Leather shopping

I took my parents out to my local leather store, Lonsdale Leather, to show them where I spend many of my weekends. We picked up some new tools and a roll of vegetable tan leather for some belts!

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Tan leather satchel with dark horse leather accents for Andrew

I put together a satchel to give to Andrew for Christmas. I used a tan cow leather for most of the bag with accents of dark horse leather for the shoulder strap, handle, and newspaper pocket. The inside of the bag features a key hook, small pocket for a phone or passport, and a laptop sleeve padded with Andrew's childhood Lammy (lamb fur).

I chose the swinging latch hook and brass studs add to add a vintage touch to the tan leather's aged look.

I'm still working out the kinks in the design and learning about the proper leather weight for a satchel. My next attempt will be using a vegetable tan leather with hand stitched seams.

Merry Christmas Andrew!

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Horse leather belt with a quick release buckle

The quick release buckle owes its origins to firefighters in the 1600s. It is believed that this quick release buckle system was used to release hoses during the Great Fire of London. With hinges on two corners of the buckle, the belt can be released with the flick of a thumb. The buckle I used is a hand made solid brass buckle from Churchill Leather.

I chose to use horse leather for the belt because it is self healing, Scuffs and scratches can be smoothed out easily by going over it with a bone.