In the frenzy of work running up to the show I did last month, I finally found the time to make a bag that had been in my head for quite awhile now; a large tote made from linen, with leather handles. I’ve been admiring bag makers who combine leather with cloth for years now, identifying exactly how and why I would like to incorporate it in my work. I took the plunge and ordered some leather from All Leather Supplies, double cap rivets and setting tools from Minkus Margo, a hole punch from Amazon, and I was ready for my new adventure! I practiced installing the rivets and still ended up screwing up my first leather handle installation, but hubby came to the rescue, drilling out the improperly installed rivet, and my first tote turned out great! So I dyed four more pieces of linen in my Autumn Splendor sized to be big enough to cut the front and back side by side and ordered more leather! Four more Autumn Splendor totes were made, and as soon as I posted them on social media 2 were sold, so I knew I had something good going on. I then figured out I had just enough leather for four more bags and dyed more linen with indigo especially for four more bags! Although none of these totes sold at the show, I sold two more a week later to another follower on social media, and I’ve FINALLY had time to take more pix and get these posted in my online shop as well!
I had a lot of fun designing these bags, I really like working with the leather; this particular leather I found has a lovely feel with plenty of heft but not too stiff, and the visual texture is reminiscent of the what I get while dyeing my fabric, a win win!
These five are in the shop as of today, so if it’s time for a new bag, come take a look!
