Genoa tote in leather
How DO people get decent photos of bags and totes? I find it so difficult!
I’ve sewn the Blogless Anna Genoa Tote quite a few times, but this is the first time that I’ve sewn it in leather. It was prompted by a visit to Leffler Leather in February last year with a group of other sewers.
So much fabulous leather in so many colours, textures and patterns! I chose this metallic brown (rather than purple alligator or similar) and also bought some pre-cut handles of thicker leather.
You can see that I over did things when I hammered the rivets into place, leaving circular marks on the handle leather around them from the anvil edges. Bugger. I was so concerned with ensuring that they were as secure as possible that I didn’t even realise that was happening.
I used a printed barkcloth that I picked up at last year’s Restash for the lining, with a pocket from Japanese linen that I have had in my collection for a little while. This is the smallest of the tote sizes. Sewing the leather was a little challenging; it was thicker than preferred for this project – I’d use thinner and softer leather next time. However, overall I am pleased with the finished product.
That looks very professionally done. I have some leather and cork that are asking to become a bag of some sort and you are inspiring me to get on with it. I sometimes have to bang rivets into jeans that I make and have had the same problem with hammer marks on my fabric. I now lay piece of fabric with a hole cut out in the same shape and size as the rivet over the rivet before I pound it. For jeans, I usually use a scrap of ultrasuede that I’ve salvaged from a suit that belonged to my MIL. It’s just the right thickness to allow me to pound the rivet without damaging my jeans. Maybe something like that would work for this application as well.
That’s an excellent suggestion Allison! Wiill definitely do something like that next time.