Adult Backpack – Sewing with Leather, and other tips

Ever have a need to make something but you can’t quite convince yourself that now is the right time because you think it’s too difficult? Or you don’t know where to buy supplies? That’s how I have felt about making myself a backpack. I’ll be sharing some tips and tricks I used, some not so great moments sewing with leather and how I over came them, as well as links to buy supplies from.

Contents

• Pattern
• Supplies
• Fabric
• Sewing with Leather
• Finishings
• Modifications
• Conclusion

Pattern

Being on the lookout for the right pattern was tough – I had my own version of the goldilocks pattern – not too big, not too small; and not too hard to make. Actually, I loved the bag my sister, Ragyi, carries and it was my initial inspiration.

While the pattern I found isn’t exactly like Ragyi’s – it was close enough for my needs.

My goldilocks pattern is the Dainty Daytripper by Mrs H, which I found in late spring 2022.

I had been waiting for a sewing break to get going on it, which happened to be two weeks before my birthday – so I decided this was going to be my birthday present to myself.

Supplies

There are so many places to buy supplies (mostly hardware) but what’s good quality is hard to know until you buy it. And by that time it is too late.

I ended up buying the hardware kit suggested on the pattern and it didn’t disappoint. The kit was from Emmaline Bags, in gunmetal. Emmaline is a Canadian company but I found the shipping to the US to go without a hitch.

The bag kit comes with the bag frame, D-rings, swivel snap hooks, diamond strap anchors, strap sliders, and magnetic snap. I also got the rivets and rivet die – the die works perfectly with my KAM press; along with purse feet and zipper pulls. If you are across the pond then you can get the kit from SewHot.

Annie’s Soft and Stable foam provides structure to the bag – a former sewing teacher gave this to me many years ago. It really is soft and stable, highly recommend it!

Fabric

The main fabric was cotton duck from Fabric.com; unfortunately, I think it’s out of stock now.

The lining was cotton from my stash, possibly Joann Fabrics, but I can’t be certain.

The leather was from a pack from FabScrap.com. I had gotten the metallic leather pack – it came with 3 different pieces. I didn’t really like the metallic side of this blue leather but the “wrong” side looked very nice, suede like.

Interfacing – I used ProWOVEN Shirt-Crisp fusible interfacing from Fashion Sewing Supply.

Sewing with Leather

My leather inspiration came from this bag. Same pattern but she hacked it to have a flap.

Before starting to sew – you want to treat any edges that will be exposed. I used edge paint to finish the edges. It’s a dark purple but you can’t really tell the true color.

I had initial success, used my walking foot, embroidery thread and a leather needle for the topstitching and I thought I had it made!

However, it was a false sense of accomplishment because I was only stitching through 1 layer of leather and 1 layer of duck cotton with interfacing. As soon as I tried to sew the bottom of the outer layer together, nothing worked. That was 2 layers of leather, 2 layers of interfaced duck cotton and 2 layers of foam. The machine would make the holes but was unable to create the stitches. I was stuck.

At this point – I was thinking either I have to remove all the leather (totally not a cool option) or figure out a way to sew it. After some searching, I found a video that explains how to hand sew leather. (Link to the video is at the end of the post)

A technique with two needles attached to one piece of thread on either end. You first create a whole, put one needle in, then slide the other end into the same hole. Tighten the stitch and repeat.

It looked daunting and I wanted to give up. But I also wanted to finish.

I started with what I tell myself (and my daughter, really) these days with daunting tasks. Lets just get through the first few inches and reassess whether I want to continue this path.

No leather hole punch meant punching each whole with an awl. I worked on carpeted floor and used it as my board to punch or my thimble to push the needle through. I’m not going to lie – it was painful (pretty sure there are blood marks on the foam) and it took 2 hours to sew 12 inches but wow… when I turned it over, the finishing was amazing! Better than the machine sewing because there were ZERO gaps in the stitching.

Hand sewing leather is painful, but definitely worth the extra effort

I had to do the box corners by hand too – the area where the seams meet took quite a bit of effort but the rest was fine. Once you get into the grove of it, it goes quicker. Just put something on Netflix and keep going! You’re almost there at this point.

Here’s what the Mrs H team had to say about sewing with leather:

@houseoflilli sorry for the delay in coming back to you! We took a little while to chat on this because we usually don’t advise leather (or even thick faux leathers) for the Dainty Daytripper because the bottom corners in particular get very thick. The team suggests reducing as much of the bulk as you can and say you may want to try skiving what you can, if you can, too. Try to use a non-domestic machine if you can, then take it slow and steady, and be kind to yourself if you get any wobbles. Finally, when it comes to turning through, you may want to leave a gap in your lining as well as in the inside pocket so that you can turn through the lining gap then pull that lining gap through the pocket gap to close it. Hope this helps! Happy sewing! ^El

Finishings

How do you go from homemade to handmade? Topstitch! And take your time topstitching; it pays off. Use good quality thread – I used my Isacord embroidery threads for top stitching. But even then, it wasn’t as prominent as I wanted it to be – to fix that I went over the stitching twice; being veeery careful to get the needle to land at the previous holes. Slow and steady was important here.

The hardware also makes a big difference. If you can add rivets or a magnetic snap, it will not only look good, but be functional as well.

Of course I had to add a bit of embroidery – not to much because I love this fabric as is. But I traced the one elephant, that sits in the middle of the front of the bag, with my embroidery threads.

Modifications

A couple of the patterns I considered had a zippered pocket in the back for your phone and wallet to be more secure. I really liked that idea so I added one on mine. I followed the tutorial for the inside zippered pocket.

I didn’t have enough fabric for the straps so I did combined the lining fabric and outer fabric to give a nice contrasting look. Something not in the instructions was adding any kind of padding. But I wanted padding in mine so I added a strip of fleece before folding the strap edges together.

There is one part where I deviated from the instructions – the side straps that attach to the zipper – I finished the edges by sewing at the seam allowance with right sides together then flipping them over. It was less fiddly this way for me.

Lastly, at the time that I took these pictures, I had literally finished the night before we went for a hike at Great Falls Park in Virginia so hadn’t had time to put in the wire frames. I tried put them on later but then I couldn’t fit my camera into the bag so I’m going to leave it out permanently .

Conclusion

After repairing one backpack and sewing three, I can say for sure, bag making requires a lot of patience at the machine. It’s different from garment sewing where the patience is required with the pattern and fitting but once you sit at the machine it is mostly smooth sailing. Bags – on the other hand need you go to slow at the machine. There are bulky bits and holding the bag in awkward positions to get it through the machine. There are times, your machine will say “Nope. No thank you. I am not sewing that!” and you’ll have to hand stitch instead.

Is it worth the effort? Yes! 100% yes. You will have a one of a kind bag that is just for you. You can add to it what you want or remove from it what you don’t want. And you’ll get to use it for years! So if you are scared of bag sewing, don’t be. Find a good beginner pattern to get your feet wet and work up to the one you really want to make.

And what can I fit in my bag? My Nikon DSLR with a prime lens, Nook book, water bottle, wallet, phone, snacks, and wipes with room to spare.

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