First wet formed bags

[MagiKelly]

Well you can't make journal covers forever so I thought I would make a wet formed bag.

It was meant to be a possibles pouch with belt dangler loops but Eleanor caught me taking it off the mould and asked if I could make a bag for her. So a change of plan and it became a red bag with a long leather strap. Size wise it is about 17cm x 17cm 5cm.

Of course I have two daughters so Gwen wanted a bag too. Hers turned out a bit taller and was dyed purple.

and both together

I have the next piece of leather on the form so here are a few pictures of the process.

The form

Half done. The first half always being the easiest but you need to make sure you are not leaving too much loose leather for the other side to form.
This is just before the stage where you are sure you will not get it on the form and you want to sweep it all off the table and smash everything in sight.

This is just after the stage of abject hopelessness when you finish and once again are amazed that it actually went on.

There is a mistake on this side. About a third up from the bottom I cut a slit too far in and it is right into the stitching crease. This should not really show up much on the finished bag and it did allow me to take out a good sized dart to tighten up the top part of the leather on this side.

You can see there are far more darts on this side. As I said it is the second side where you get all the hard work.

This third bag should at last be a dark brown possibles pouch with belt loop danglers.

 

[Mesquite]

They look really good MK. Mind you, you better not forget to do one for the wife

 

[Thijzzz]

Really nice work. Very smooth finishing.

 

[MartinK9]

Very nice indeed

 

[Indoorsout]

That's great I bet your daughters are going to be the envy of their friends. Lovely work

 

[pwb]

Lovely pouches, great work .

I particularly like how you've put the buckle and D rings on ,never seen that method before, neat .
I'm half way making a possibles pouch and wanted to use a roll-pin buckle as well .

Cheers, Pete.

 

[leon-1]

Nicely done John, I am looking forward to seeing the finished article (your pouch if the wife doesn't purloin it)

 

[MagiKelly]

I particularly like how you've put the buckle and D rings on ,never seen that method before, neat

It is one of the ways shown in Al Stohlman's leather case making books. I would highly recommend volume one and two of these books. They were a great help to me.

Nicely done John, I am looking forward to seeing the finished article (your pouch if the wife doesn't purloin it)

The pouch is for Warthog1981 so Karen will have to wait. Although if i had more forms I could turn these out a bit quicker as i usually allow at least three days for the leather to dry before starting dyeing and construction.

 

[Klenchblaize]

Nice bags and lucky daughters. I take my hat off to you for having a crack at wet forming as it can be a real pain as you found out! Did you use the "allow leather to sweat in a sealed freezer bag after soaking until suitably malleable" method? It is said the stuff will mould like putty if you catch it just right but I'm not sure I ever have.

If I may make one small suggestion for improvement it would be to go down the route of deploying much smaller stitching. Something like a # 7 pricking iron or even 8 so long as you get the right awl, thread and needle combination. A lot more work but worth it.

Cheers

:You_Rock_

 

[topknot]

Hi, very nice,
This is just before the stage where you are sure you will not get it on the form and you want to sweep it all off the table and smash everything in sight. I 've been there, all i do is walk away from it and come back later mate. One half mould good the other half is hard work. Well thats leather work for you its not easy.
Keep up the good work mate.
Cheers Topknot

 

[jojo]

Very nicely done, john Did you use big snaps for the strap ends? And can I ask what dye you used? I quite like the stitching as it is personally! There is no accounting for taste, is there!

 

[MagiKelly]

Did you use big snaps for the strap ends?

I did. Eleanor wanted a really long strap and I was sure she would want a shorter one eventually. Plus I was thinking of making a short strap that could be swapped over to make it a handbag, as opposed to a shoulder bag.

And can I ask what dye you used?

Fiebing Leather Dye http://www.abbeysaddlery.co.uk/product_detail.cfm?id=LLEADYE

Straight red for the red one and a mixture of Red, Navy Blue and denatured meths for the purple one.

I quite like the stitching as it is personally! There is no accounting for taste, is there!

I do like the artificial sinew as well. I like the chunky look but opinions vary

 

[Kerne]

Cracking work!

When I have wet formed pouches I used a two part mould and clamps to keep it in place - this method looks easier - have you tried both?

 

[MagiKelly]

I have not tried the two part method as I did not think I could make the second part of the former to the correct size to give a good enough result.

 

[leon-1]

I have not tried the two part method as I did not think I could make the second part of the former to the correct size to give a good enough result.

I have made a few John and they're not that hard to make. You should give it a go sometime.