Hi Guys, real sorry for the long delay on this one, unfortunately real life hit us hard with the passing of our Mother which as I’m sure a lot of you can understand ..it takes it’s toll. However, we are getting back on track and I’m feeling the need to return to the leather. So, as promised, here is the bowls bag. Let’s get straight in.
Pic 1 : This project came about as a request from a family member to fix a Bowls carry bag, turned out it was beyond repair so as a surprise I re-made one completely using the old pieces as the pattern.
Pic 2 : These are the two end sections and one of the inner ‘dividers’ just cut from new veg tan leather 1.5mm thick.
Pic 3 : using dividers I marked a line around the edge and then marked for the new holes.
Pic 4 : finishing the marking out, the same proceedure applies for marking all the holes on all the new pieces.
Pic 5 : next step was to punch all holes on all pieces using a 1.5mm single punch.
Pic 6 : When all the new pieces were cut out marked and punched, it was time to dye them, I chose a walnut color and gave it 3 coats.
Pic 7 : I cut out a new main body section, transfered all the holes marking with an awl then followed up with the 1.5mm single punch untill i had all the holes made.
Pic 8 : Now all the pieces are ready for the build.
Pic 9 :The main body needs to be thickened up, so, as per the original, I cut a section of card in the shape of the main body and glued it to a nice blue vinyl sheet as shown here, this will eventually become the inner lining. Once dried I trimmed it round the edges glued it to the main body section and continued all holes through these new pieces.
Pic 10 : , I wet the whole thing with a water spray and slowly folded / rolled it and ‘convinced’ it to take the shape I needed, next the end sections were stitched in place using a saddle stitch then I fastened a strap around it to maintain the shape whilst it dried over night. ( I haven’t shown the stitching of these end sections as there are many projects on my blog at ‘Shamencraftprojects showing the procedure, feel free to drop by there and have a look.)
pic 11 : Next day the strap was removed and the case was now dry and holding its shape well.
Pic 12 : view of the inner blue vinyl liner.
Pic 13 : I placed the Bowls in the case and slotted the dividers in between just to give it some time to stretch, for this I lightly sprayed the outside leather with water. ( As the inner vinyl is water proof ). Again..once dried completely the bowls had done their job and they now fitted in easily.
Pic 14 :I positioned the upper straps, marked lightly, ‘scratched / roughed the area they would sit and then glued them in place, here you see me using an awl to carry the holes through
Pic 15 : Here I’m saddle stitching the upper straps to permanently fix them into place.
Pic 16 : The straps fixed in place.
Pic 17 : Folding to see if everything is still lining up,...all ok.
Pic 18 : Now for thelower buckle straps.
Pic19 : Buckles attached ready to close the case and mark their positions, I use the same tecnique to fit these straps as with the uppers.
Pic 20 : Once glued into place Icarry the holes through with an Awl and here I’m Saddle stitching it. I chose Gold colored buckles as I personally think it looks good with the dye color.
Pic 21 : view of the inside during stitching of the lower straps.
Pic 22 : All done, permanently fixed.
Pic 23 : The buckles and straps fit well together and are looking good. N ow for the handle.
Pic 24 : I decided to make a handle from scratch. I folded a piece of leather then..using my own stitch, which is a basic saddle stitch, but after each saddle stitch you take the stitch over the top passing both needles across each other then move to the next and repeat. It holds the leather very well and you end up with a nice looking and very solid stitch, I folded extra end material over on itself to attach the connectors.
Pic 25 : side view.
Pic 26 : You can see here, I have punched stitch holes all around the edges and along the top, these are to hold the vinyl into place but are decorative too. I’ve glued the handle into position with decorative leather pieces to hold the D-rings.
Pic 26a : During the stitching along the top.
Pic 27 : Another angle.
Pic 27a : Here you can see the stitching around the edges and the handle in place. now for the inside.
Pic 28 : You can see here the two ‘dividers’ stitched into the case and with decorative stitching around the edges. these can either lie flat as seen here or can be pulled up and placed between thebowls to protect them.
Pic 29 : this initials tag will be fitted later but this shows where it will go.
Pic 30 : All that remains to be done is to coat the whole thing in Effax leather balm and then buff to a shine,
Pic 31 : and Pic 32 : All done, one new useable and..even if I say so myself, a good looking leather bowls case.
Pic 32 : Well, I finally got to it, sorry about that, I hope you can understand, it’s been a very hard few years, we lost both my parents, two aunties and 2 cousins all close together, but leathercraft is a fantastic hobby for distracting the mind and I am so glad to be back, thanks for waiting. I have a new project starting in the next day or so..I am making a set of saddle bags hopefully to fit on my new motorbike, I will be making a video of the build as I go along and once done and edited I will put it up on youtube under Shamancraft projects so it would be great if you guys could check out my other vids..only a few at the moment but every like and subscribe etc helps me to build on it and each vid gets longer and better as I gain experience. thanks for your support. See you on the next one..watch this space and as always..Stay Crafty.
