Men are so hard to sew for. Many of them don't have a finely attuned sense of the transcendently adorable. But one does persist in making them gifts. For my father's birthday I made him this bag out of black duck (that's a heavy cotton fabric) with a leather pocket and bird. The bird is legit; he will probably use the bag for bird-watching. I learned quite a bit about sewing with leather, namely that I don't know how to do it. As I sewed, it stretched dramatically. The pocket began as a rectangle and ended up trapezoidal. I kept trimming and re-sewing, and it got wonkier each time. It finally ended up acceptably, but I'm going to have to work on it more, because I really like leather, and there's plenty of it out there to reclaim.
Here Shanga poses with the bag, suggesting they go for a walk immediately. Isn't she beautiful?
Men are so hard to sew for. Many of them don't have a finely attuned sense of the transcendently adorable. But one does persist in making them gifts. For my father's birthday I made him this bag out of black duck (that's a heavy cotton fabric) with a leather pocket and bird. The bird is legit; he will probably use the bag for bird-watching. I learned quite a bit about sewing with leather, namely that I don't know how to do it. As I sewed, it stretched dramatically. The pocket began as a rectangle and ended up trapezoidal. I kept trimming and re-sewing, and it got wonkier each time. It finally ended up acceptably, but I'm going to have to work on it more, because I really like leather, and there's plenty of it out there to reclaim.
Here Shanga poses with the bag, suggesting they go for a walk immediately. Isn't she beautiful?
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Too absolutely adorable!
ReplyDeleteIt's a dad with a dog and a bird-bag. Happy family!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful bag, and a wonderful present! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI love that bag; I want that bag! (one like it, that is) What a talented seamstress.
ReplyDeleteI tried to work with leather once and gave it up mid-project... I'll bring you the leftover pieces if you want.
I think that the best way to solve the stretchy leather problem is to put the leather on stabilizer. The clerk at you fabric store can help you get the right weight and tell you how to use it or help you with problems. They are remarkably kind and helpful. Remember the 103-year-old seamstress we saw at Fabric Depot? Amazing and wonderful.
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