If you’re just starting to explore leather working, then making your first leather handbag can be an exciting and intimidating prospect. We recommend keeping your first project relatively simple. A tote bag, a pouch or a small cross-body bag are all great projects that help you develop the basic skills you need without being too complicated. Select a piece of vegetable tanned leather that is around 3-4 oz in weight. This leather is ideal for newbies because it’s supple enough to cut and sew easily but still firm enough to hold its shape. Use a pencil to draw your pattern on a piece of card or Kraft paper. Make sure your measurements are correct and that the bag is symmetrical and proportional. Place your pattern over the leather and using a stylus or an awl, trace the outline of your pattern.
Our favorite part of the whole process, the sewing! For even spacing, use a diamond pricking iron. 5 holes/inch is a great combination of aesthetics and durability. Prick just deep enough to make sewing easier, but not so deep that you risk damaging the leather with your awl. Saddle stitch with waxed thread and two needles, sewing from the same side of the leather. Tug hard on each stitch to keep the thread taut. Try to keep your stitches consistent by only pulling a few at a time. Use a stitching pony if you have one. When you get into a groove, the under and over motion of the needles can be meditative. Don’t worry if you mess up occasionally. I often find that I am pulling too hard on one side of the leather or miss a hole. Despite the setbacks, you learn a lot from your mistakes.
Now for the fun part – assembly! Using your rivet or snap setter and anvil, gently tap your hardware in place, being careful not to mar the leather. Smooth your edges with a leather edge slicker and a pinch of gum tragacanth to give your bag a professional finish. If you choose to line your bag (most first-bags are unlined), now is the time to do it. Give your bag a light coat of neutral leather balm to bring up the grain and enhance the color. This will also help protect your bag as you break it in.
That first time you put the completed bag on your back, or set it on a table, is truly special. It is a product of your labor; every cut, every stitch pulled, every tweak. That first bag is never perfect, but those ‘mistakes’ are a badge of honor. It is a lesson in patience, in problem solving, in never giving up, both in, and outside of leatherworking. Many makers still have those first bags, and as they continue to develop their skills, those bags only get better with age.
That first bag is the key. Once it’s made, you feel more comfortable playing with form, color, and embellishment. And the best part of the process is not the result, but the fact that you’re no longer just a consumer, that you have an idea and you can make it real. Every bag you make after that is a follow up to the first one.
It’s difficult to imagine how they will finish the highway between now and July without creating a traffic nightmare. Of course, I want the new road to be ready as soon as possible, but I also don’t want to have to endure the “black hell” of going through Ashdod. Perhaps we can do some night driving and traffic maneuvers to minimize the traffic load and stress on the drivers. This weekend we will have a bit of a break from the chaos as we celebrate Independence Day. We made plans to meet up with some friends and have a classic Israeli-style barbeque, known as a “mangal.” We will also visit my in-laws and give them some flowers to wish them a happy holiday. It should be a lovely day out, and we are looking forward to it. On Sunday, we have a bunch of errands to run and tasks to complete. We need to buy a few things, go to the bank, and get some other work done. I hope it’s not too crowded everywhere, but I have a feeling it might be. At least we will have a chance to relax a bit on Friday as we observe the Sabbath. In Israel, the weekend is on Friday and Saturday, so we will have some time to unwind before the week starts again on Sunday.