I've been getting into some ongoing trials

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[–] 16 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

Making copies of handbags. I'm a guy and have never used a handbag. But I got into leathercraft during COVID and, well, it's kind of gone from making BDSM style basic shit, to Ren Faire items, to making bags.

Here is my latest

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  • [–] 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 child)

    Amazing work! That's beautiful.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

    Thank you. It's based off the LV Speedy. Grabbed some "questionably legal" hardware to match it. But made it all from raw materials otherwise. Hand stitched it all. Which took many nights sitting on the couch watching podcasts or twitch streams. But it's honestly my favorite part. Just a nice long relaxing time of craft satisfaction.

    Hardest part is that you literally sew it inside out and then have to "birth" (literally the technical term) the bag by flipping the whole thing inside out at the end. Major feelings of anxiety as you hope your stitching and glue hold up during the flip. That's why the picture has some weird bulge parts. It was taken right after I flipped it. It smoothed out more with time as the leather settled down and I packed the inside with my entire collection of socks and (clean) underwear for a few days to stretch it out.

    Working on a raw denim + denim colored suede leather tote now. I wish I could just do work like this as a job. But, no one is gonna pay enough to sustain the labor required unless it has a popular brand name on it.

    Though I have ripped apart (to create templates for copying) some old or damaged designer bags I've found for cheap, and have been surprised at the lack of actual quality for many of the "high end" brands.

    Rant. But, you replied and knew what to expect :) Hell, I could probably talk for 30 minutes on the zippers alone.

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