Light Tote

The Bulletproof Tote is too heavy for my wife, so I got some lighter-weight raw leather and made this one. The leather is half the thickness of what I had previously been using. I also incorporated the pre-fabricated handles and pocket that I got from Tokyu Hands in Osaka.

The strap attachments looked weak, so I riveted them down. I also made some square washers to reinforce the inside of the rivets. I reversed the rivets to the inside so that the metal wont damage clothing it might scrape on. The straps have oxidized to a tan colour compared to the whiteness of the new leather.

I sewed an inside pocket. On the left strap attachment you can see I tried reinforcing it with a leather patch, but this wasn't worth the effort, so only one of the four is reinforced. Hah.
The sides are double-stitched and riveted at the top.

This last pic has some interesting veining in the leather (click on it for a large view). It'll be interesting to see how this thinner leather ages.

Making Leather Tote

A couple of iPhone pics I took while I was making the tote bag.

Here's the body of the bag cutout and the first handle rivetted on.

Here's both handles on, and getting ready to start sewing on that baseplate.

The photos make it look small, but that cutting board is big. A 15 inch laptop just fits in the bag.

Bulletproof Tote

I've made the new bag. I'm calling it the Bulletproof Tote.

It was hard work to make, a lot more difficult than the satchel.

The body is a single piece of leather again, but there was a blemish/hole in the base, so I covered it with a rectangle of leather to match the base, which also gives the bag enough structure to stand on its own.

The side seams are fully double hand-stitched. They are also riveted at the top and bottom corners.
All together the tote has 24 rivets.

If I make it again I will leave out the side straps and the baseplate (which was a lot of work to stitch around)... and makes the bag a bit heavy.

Here are some pics of the satchel which has been getting a lot of indigo rub-off that highlights the grain.

You can also see the brass fittings that I used to change the strap. A couple of dees and clips. It's a definite improvement.

You can also see on the flap some stains from rainfall.

Postal Bag - Satchel

Bag Completed!
It's not really a postal bag. It's a raw leather satchel.
I didn't expect it to be this nice. I've surprised myself.

I hand-sewed the leather strap to the sides with three parallel lines double-stitched. Notice the roughness of the leather edges. Good belts have the leather trimmed/rounded rather than a straight cut. My cutting isn't so refined. It does mean that there is a bit of molting flakes of suede, especially the strap.

The inside isn't lined... it's a hard leather bucket. There are no seams on the back, the body is a single piece of leather.

Here you can see my amateur hand-stitching. This was my first seam, and it was before I purchased the stitching wheel.

For scale, you can see the 15" Macbook Pro fits easily. With a neoprene cover it can be thrown in with everything else.

I found an awesome brass buckle which is stitched to the lower corner of the bag. I also used copper rivets for attaching the tongue to the flap. My first time using rivets... they're awesome. I want to bedazzle everything I own with copper rivets. Hah. I actually went through three different constructions of the tongue and buckle. I almost used rivets to attach the buckle to the bag body, but when prototyping how it would actually work I realised that the rivets would make it more difficult for the tongue to go through the buckle. I've actually owned bags where this was a design fault.

I couldn't be happier with this bag! It's going to be great to see it stain and discolour with wear over time.

The only improvements I will make for the next version will be to make a more flexible strap attachment which allows articulation... and probably use a different type of belt which isn't leather.

Bag Progress

I drew up plans for my version of the postal bag.

I'm aiming for a large satchel that will hold a 15" macbook.

I re-drew the designs a few times, and have now adjusted it so that the main body of the bag will be made from a single piece of leather. From what I can see, most postal bags have the sides as separate pieces, but if I make them part of the body, then there are two benefits: less seams, so the structure is stronger, and that also means less hand sewing that I have to do!

I've actually progressed much further than these pictures. It was VERY difficult to turn the bag inside out after the sides were sewn. I did stab my thumb with the awl once... that was painful, but not as horrific as you would think.

More pictures soon.

Leather Materials

Went to Leffler leather to get some things to make a postal bag.

I got a side of beef, a mallet, an awl (has an elliptical cross-section - not sure if this is better, but I thought it might be easier to pierce the leather with), some hole punches, and a buckle for the front strap.

I've done more research online and the proper postal bag construction also has rivets and articulating clips on the shoulder strap. I don't think I'll go to the trouble of re-creating the original. I'll essentially be trying to make a shoulder satchel. Perhaps if this project goes well I will go to the effort of finding all the hardware needed to make a proper US Mail Postal Bag.

The staff at Leffler talked me into getting a thicker/stiffer leather than I first selected. This is vegetable tanned, and I could imagine it being used for the soles of shoes! The theory is that you can always soften the leather up, so don't get something too soft.


Anyway, I'm quite excited to start, perhaps in a couple of weeks I'll start planning out how to cut this.

btw. tools which I haven't got but I think might be handy if I can locate them are: stitching measuring tool which marks out even stitching marks before you use the awl, and a leather clamp to hold things while you sew.

(Note: I know very little about leathercraft, so there's a good chance this project will fail)

Leather Kit: Card Pocket

Did my first piece of leathercraft. Pretty simple pocket wallet. Two seams to hand sew... pre-hole-punched.

Here's the kit before I started. One piece of pre-cut and punched raw leather. Waxed linen thread. Needles.


I couldn't find info on how to tie off the threads, so I just back-sewed three steps, and then cut. It was pretty tight, so I had to use the pliers to help me get through those.


I probably didn't get the first part tight enough. If I had a soft mallet it would have helped make the crease flat prior to sewing.


Here's the finished product prior to trimming the threads.


It was fun. I'm pretty happy with it. Now I wish I got more supplies from Tokyu Hands. I really want to make a mailbag like this:

Tokyu Hands DIY Leather Making Kits

Tokyu Hands in Osaka has a huge leather making department on the 7th floor. You can buy everything to start your own redmoon leather workshop.

They have buttons, studs, coin studs, clips, hooks, free leather sheets, stingray leather, pre-cut kits, belt leather, buckles, hole punches, needles, thread, knives, and lots of leaflets on how to do it yourself. They have knowledgeable staff, and in-store courses where an expert will help you through making your first piece.

I bought some basic items to try it out, but I wanted to buy a lot more.

Some bag pieces are from Japanese brand Parley. http://www.parley.co.jp
And a cardholder kit made by a Taiwanese company called Indian.

I'll give it a go in a month or so, and I'll post the results.