Leather Clutch Workshop

Early this week I've had the pleasure of meeting a fellow Malaysian,the lovely Saran. With her cheerful and bubbly personality, my day couldn't have been any brighter! Saran was a lawyer and is now a humanitarian working for the UN and on top of that she is also the Co-Founder of DIYKL promoting DIY fashion accessories among other things to hip and creative Malaysians.

Saran participated in the leather Clutch making workshop which took almost the entire day. Here are some of the shots taken throughout the day.

Saran learning to make the paper pattern.
Couldn't emphasize more on the importance
of getting it right 

Practise cutting using leather swatches

Transferring paper pattern to cut leather

Attaching hardware 

Now that the hardware is done,
its time to begin stitching

Saran learning to saddle stitch for the first time.

Saran proudly holding her handcrafted leather clutch.
Good job girl!

Saddle Stitch vs Machine Stitch (lock stitch)

The above illustration is by the pioneer in leathercraft,  Al Stohlman. It explains very simply the difference between hand stitch (Saddle stitch) and lock stitch (machine stitch). I have been asked many times by the participants from my workshops on this and I'd like to share and explain very briefly why leather artisans prefer to use this method instead of using sewing machine even though the later would save plenty of time.

In a lock stitch, when a thread breaks, the seam will come apart and will continue to do so until the entire seam is repaired by sewing the whole stretch again. The Saddle Stitch is a method using 2 needles at each end and every stitch is done by hand. If one side of the thread breaks, the piece is still held on together by the other thread. It can then be repaired with a single needle and thread.

To leather artisans, time isn't so much the main issue. It's the quality of both the leather as well as the quality of the workmanship that matters. Machine stitching no doubt cuts back on time but as explained in the illustration, when it comes to durability, saddle stitch (hand stitch) is definitely more superior. 

Join my workshops and you will learn this wonderful way of hand stitching your leather creations unlike any other.

Saddle Stitch

The Saddle Stitch dates back thousand of years ago probably when saddles were first made by leather artisans. The stitching method is also widely used by artisan book binders till this day. While the origin is still unclear whether it was the English or the French who first created this method, it is still widely practiced by many leather artisans. 

Hermes leather craftsmen are most renowned for their hand crafted leather goods and here is a short video by Hermes using the Saddle Stitch method as well as the traditional way of pricking the stitching holes. 

Its a privilege and humbling experience being able to meet many interesting participants from all walks of life during the leather workshops.  Everyone I've met come from very different backgrounds and it's always a joy listening to their stories and travel experience. I look forward to every meeting. This time around Matt who hails from Australia, came to participate in the Beginners Small Leather Goods workshop. 

Matt and his wife are an adventurous couple and  have travelled far and wide and lived in many different parts of the world. Some may call this a Nomadic life but you've got only one life and its too short to be stucked in just one place!

Great to have you Matt! 

Matt have just completed the paper pattern and is
now cutting all the required parts needed
for his passport holder.

Assembling the parts together for hand stitching.

Cleaning up the edges for burnishing

Matt working hard to give the edges a shiny finish!

The fruit of his labour. Well done Matt!

3 days Billfold Workshop

Abigail got in touch through Gumstoolhill my other blog, when I was still having the leather workshops back in Malaysia few years ago. Going for greater challenge, she decided to participate in the 3 day Billfold workshop instead of the simpler workshops for beginners. She is a young entrepreneur in jewellery, designing and creating her own range of semi precious stone accessories. 

It was indeed a pleasure meeting her. 

Abigail is skiving the pockets before assembling. A process
she finds very challenging having to ensure that every piece
is equally thinned.

Next is assembling the pockets together for stitching

Saddle stitching her leather billfold with the help
of a saddlers clamp.

Beginners Leather Bag Making Workshop - How to create your own bag

Beginners Leather Bag Making Workshop

I have some enquiries for the Beginners Leather Bag Making workshop. Here is another example I would like to give by simply using very much the same pattern with the one taught in the workshop, to create another simple and elegant messenger complete with a shoulder strap. 

Careful guidance will be given through every step and process during lessons. Therefore, upon completion of this workshop, you will be able to create your own leather bags at home.

I've added another thin strip of leather 
to create a more interesting panel.

Since there will be a shoulder strap, the D ring 
holders are stitched in place on the gussets

Two needles saddle stitching the main panel to 
the gussets 

Assembling almost complete.

Time to burn some calories! Burnishing the edges 
is hard work and time consuming.

The before and after effects of burnishing.

Installing the shoulder strap. 

..and we now have an elegant messenger bag 
with a shoulder strap. Handle is optional.

Small Leather Goods Participants

Recently I've had the pleasure of having some interesting participants from Malaysia, Holland as well as Spain who took part in the Small Leather Goods workshop which have kick started in Bangkok having previously held in Malaysia. 

They came with no prior knowledge nor experience in leather work but left with a new enjoyable and addictive skill which they can't wait to start on new projects of their own. 

Shayna is busy hand stitching her leather passport holder using the saddle stitch method for the first time.

Adding some finishing touches to her leather passport holder.

The lovely couple from Holland, Rene and Molly. Molly made a statement that she will never again ask for any discounts in future whenever shopping for handcrafted leather bags citing the amount of effort and work put into each leather goods. Molly made us laugh!

The couple doing well hand stitching for the first time with the help of the saddlers clamp

Maite is seen here assembling her leather passport holder. She has just finished cutting the leather pieces using the paper pattern she learned to make.

Maite was initially very concerned about not being able to remember the stitch sequence but found hand stitching is a breeze after all!