Sunday, February 13, 2011

Fur and Leather - A Good Match S2617 Part III





The fur and leather refashion purse is finished. One of my goals is to make something made of leather. This year that goal was met. The project was fun. It allowed me to experiment with refashioning two different materials.




At the beginning of the salvaging process, I thought I would be able to get three fur and leather purses. But most of the fur was falling apart. So I was only able to get one purse of fur and leather. The second purse is leather which I will finish later using the same steps written in the three posts on this refashion project.

Simplicity 2617

Pattern Description: patchwork bags. I picked this pattern because it was the basic shape that I was looking for. This project has been on my to do list for two years. I was inspired by a TOD'S bag advertised in Marie Claire magazine. My bag does not look the TODS bag. The inspiration was fur and leather in a purse.




Pattern Sizing: Large, middle and small patchwork bags.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? The only thing that resembled the bag on the envelope was the shape of it.

Were the instructions easy to follow? I only used the instructions to complete the foundation of my purse project. The rest was learn as you go and create the best steps to finish it with good results. But at glance, there didn't appear to be anything difficult about them. See first and second blog posts for all the details.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? As I said earlier, I selected this pattern because I like the shape of purse A. There was nothing I disliked about the pattern. But there were a few things about the construction of the bag that I will try to resolve before I complete the next bag.

Strap - The leather plus padding was really, and I had a very difficult time trying to secure the strap to the "D" ring. I'm not satisfied with the stitching. Sometime this week I will take it to a shoe repair shop to see if they can better secure the strap. I used a pack of leather needles size 14. I also used upholstery strong and heavy thread to secure the lining to the leather and to secure the straps.




Facing for the opening of the purse - I wish I had thought to make a facing for the top of the purse. I think it would give it a more polished look. For this bag it's okay. Since this is my prototype. Now, that I confident in my ability to make a nice bag, I will make bags using different fabrics and skins.




Fabric Used: Recycled fur and leather. Lining remnants from my stash.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: There were a few changes. They are written in the two previous posts on this project.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes, and yes. Make it as intended. Then be creative. Do something different and unexpected with the pattern. Make the design your own.


Conclusion: This was a very fun project, and it feels good to met goals with hopes of using those achievements as stepping stones for the next creative project.

All photos for this project are on Flickr.

19 comments:

  1. Impressive! You've been busy. The two dresses you are working on look like they will be beauties. Can't wait to see those as well and glad you are seeing some relief from the blizzard!

    ReplyDelete
  2. That purse looks awfully cute. There is always a learning curve when dealing with new materials. Hope you iron out any issues that you had to make the next project even more of a success.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your prototype looks good. With that one complete, your next ones will be even better. I like your idea of refashioning a fur coat into something else.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a great job! I definitely admire you, the job of recycling is absolutely brilliant and now you can open a new world to work with fur and leather. Wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Just a tad cheaper than the Tod's bag! Great bag and the way winter is going it will be wearable for awhile this year!

    ReplyDelete
  6. After seeing this lovely bag I don't think I'll ever throw out an old coat again! What a way to recycle. Simply brilliant, my Dear!!!! Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  7. You did a beautiful job. In fact I sw an article in a magazine about refashioning an old fur coat. I will send it to you when I find it.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Very pretty!!! I like your purse better than the Tod's version. You are very talented.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Your purse looks just like fur purses I have seen and admired in magazines. It is neat that you were able to make such a cute,fashionable purse out of old jackets.

    ReplyDelete
  10. What a great job. I'm really impressed that you took on such a task. A fantastic result.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love it!! I'm all about the recycling~ such a fashionable way to do it!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. So very luxe! You did a great job reworking these old pieces to look like your inspiration piece.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Great job! Super ca-ute way to re-use garments.

    ReplyDelete
  14. That is terrific! I love fur bags and it's particularly wonderful that you could a) recycle everything and b) sew it all up for yourself.

    ReplyDelete
  15. This is absolutely fantastic! I love how you refashioned the coat into the fashionable and trendy purse! Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I just purchased this pattern today and i have an old leather coat in the closet that I wanted to refashion. I thought this bag was a nice Kate Spade knock off. NICE PROJECT! I luv what you did with the fur!!!! Thanks again for the inspiration!!! Off I go to tear up that coat!!

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin