As promised, here are the build along pics for those people who..like myself, Geek out on seeing things being made and put together. Fill ya boots guys.
Pic 1 : First, if you fancy trying to make one of these yourself you’ll need to pay a visit to ‘Dieselpunkro’ and purchase the PDF pattern from them. Print the pattern out and then cut and stick the appropriate pieces together as you can see I did here, pretty straight forward so far. I use the decorators tape as you can still see the hole marks through it for punching.
Pic 2 : you can see some here that I’ve already stuck some pieces together to make the full pattern of certain sections.
Pic 3 : Placing the patterns on my chosen piece of leather to find the best ‘use’ of the leather to avoid too much waste. Some of the off cuts can be used for straps etc.
Pic 4 : Here you see the top section / gusset cut out and all the holes have been punched a 1.5mm punch seems big enough, not too small that you couldn’t pass two needles across each other through them and not too big that they won’t close up nicely once tapped gently with a hammer by the end of the project. For anyone just looking for the first time and not sure what I mean by that, Once you have stitched a section, it’s a good idea to then go around the stitching with a hammer and gently tap the stitching flat, this helps to close up the holes a bit..making it tighter around your stitch and to also lower the profile of the thread to help avoid snagging or tearing of it down the line. Hope that explains it.
Pic 5 : this is the main body section, I’ve cut the pattern and stuck it to the leather ready to cut the required piece to size and shape, the hole punching has just been done, In the picture is my 1.5mm ‘Single’ hole punch, you can use a stitch iron or a ‘several’ pronged punch just make sure the hole distance is the same as the pattern or it won’t align properly when you stitch it. I put an elastic band around it to make it thicker for grip.
Pic 6 : The ‘Skirt’ section that joins the other two pieces together.
Pic 7 : The ‘pipes’ Basically the same procedure for all the pieces.
Pic 8 :After all the dying is done the pipes are the first to be stitched on before the main build.
Pic 9 : All leather pieces ready for dye.
Pic 10 : I chose a Walnut ‘Pro Dye’ although you see a dauber here it proved to be taking too long so I swapped it for a sponge which covered the area much quicker.
Pic 11 : I chose Black for the ‘Pipe’ patterns. Don’t buff the leather too quickly, allow to dry naturally in a warm room, the buffing will be easier for it.
Pic 12 : I glued the zipper into position and then went again around the holes with the punch to also cut through the zipper tape.
Pic 13 : Once dried it’s ready for stitching , all stitching on this kit bag is saddle stitch to give it more strength.
Pic 13A. you really have to enjoy stitching to do this kind of work...’coz there are looooooooaaaads of them.
Pic 14 : Stitching done.
Pic 15 : I used a couple of clamps to hold the ‘skirt’ in position, this was a bit fiddly but if the holes are aligned correctly the bag will come together well. However...as those of you who saw my ‘Black Dopp kit bag’ will remember...it’s easy to get the wrong hole(s) and that will leave the bag twisted. ‘IF’ this happens I can only suggest you do what I did...take a deep breath...laugh it off, cut all the stitching...double check the pattern and instruction and find the ‘correct’ hole...and start again. there’s nothing else for it. so check the pattern carefully when at that stage and mark the required holes properly...don’t lose site of them when dying the leather. I used my ‘awl’ and made a tiny stab mark either side of the required holes. Before beginning any of the stitching would be a good time to remember the old saying..’Check twice, cut ( or do )..once.
Pic 16 : There’s no way to rush this if you want the hand stitched look, you need a lot of patience and tough fingers.
Pic 17 : The ‘skirt’ is attached, ready to attach to the main body. Again, we’re stitching here so I had to pay careful attention to the pattern marks to find the correct start point. I’m using the clamps again here , they’re great for holding things in position whilst you get the stitching going.
Pic 18 : Almost a full side and end now connected, with every stitch the bag took more shape. I used a White waxed thread which I personally think goes well with the other colors but if doing one for yourself..it’s your choice, give it a go it’s a great feeling seeing it coming together by your own hands.
Pic 19 : And apart from stitching the pipes on, which really you just do before the build, that’s about it. You just need to smooth off the edges with some kind of sand paper, then wet it and burnish it to make it nice and smooth. If you don’t understand burnishing you can google it and find videos showing you. It’s a simple thing to do.
Pic 20 : The final actual ‘build’ thing is to ...if you choose to, make a small leather pull tab to go on the zipper pull. Then finally I coated the whole thing in Effax Leather Balm which darkens the leather a bit as you can see in this final picture and it also softens the leather and helps to ‘fix’ the dye to the leather. If you don’t want to use the Leather balm you could use Resolene or leather sheene, and will buff to a nice shine, again..just allow to dry at room temperature..
Pic 21 : finished.
Pic 22 : other view.
And voila, one fantastic, heavy duty large Wash kit or Tabacco and pipe kit...or whatever kit, or for whatever you desire.. bag. I had fun making this one, I hope it gives someone out there the idea to have ago yourself. I just have to put this on the Etsy shop now @handmadecp and it’s on to another project. Hope you geeked out as much as I did, take care, stay safe out there, see you on the next one. Till then, stay Crafty.
