Leather and Lace (well, not really)

My sister has a sweet connection with a manager of a large home furnishings store (I dare not give away my source here), and occasionally she give me huge sacks of upholstery samples. They are perfect for lining handbags.  And every once in a while, I get some seriously nice leather pieces.  I have a huge stack of small ones-- they measure about 4" x 8"-- which are perfect for little wallets and what I am about to show you. 

I made these little pendant necklaces out of the smaller pieces of leather.  They were super fun to make, and I wear one all the time. This is one example: 

I took a rotary cutter with a rippled edge and cut out a circle.  Actually, I cut out two circles and glued them together.  With leather, it is important to fix the pieces together with glue before you sew them.  If you don't, then the leather slips when you sew it, and that is massively annoying.  Then I made a little red leather star and glued that on.  Using a leather needle, probably a size 100/16 (and a teflon sewing foot comes in real handy), I stitched it with the radial lines and sewed the button on. On the back, I made a little tab out of leather that I stitched on before I applied the star.  That way, it wouldn't show.  Then, I strung a cord through, added jewelry findings, and now it is a super cute necklace!  And you can buy it on my etsy site!

Here is another made with white leather.  Same method, different look.  I love the button on it. Vintage.

This one sports a little flower I made from thread.  Using a water soluble interfacing, such as Solvy, you can make all sorts of shapes.  It is a very cool product.  You just have to make sure the threads all overlap, or it will fall apart.  

Here are two more fun ones in black:

Different shape, different color, different design, oh-so-cool vintage button:

Then I branched out and made a bracelet.....

And that is a story for another day....  In the meantime, check out my etsy site!  Did I already mention that?

Some Things I Have Made

Whew! Computer troubles stink!  But I think I got it all straightened out and now I can get my blog back on track. In the meantime, here are a few things that I have made that I am proud of. I will admit that some of the photography is lacking.  

I really love this bag. I made it from a recycled Old Navy backpack (the pink part) and pieced it with a piece of vintage fabric (the blue). I think it turned out pretty cute!


A friend saw a bag in the Sundance catalog and asked me to make one for her. I actually found some very similar fabric and made a pattern quite like the one in the catalog. It turned out pretty well, I even managed to make leather straps for it.

This next one was made from a large piece of killer bark cloth. I got it at a little antique/junk shop in Charlottesville. I really, really love this fabric. I even made a shower curtain from it!

Then I made it into a zippered clutch.

Here is a basic tote made from a really cool piece of yellow flocked fabric. I think it used to be a tablecloth. I try to use thrifted and recycled fabrics as much as possible.

Same style, different fabric:

Same style but in oilcloth. I really, really love oilcloth. It's not terribly easy to sew with, but it sure is cute!

And another oil cloth bag. I really love this one.  Unfortunately, they are hard to photograph, because the flash always makes a reflection.

And another....

And another....

Actually, I haven't made any bags in awhile.  Actually, I haven't made anything in awhile.  The kids are home from school for the summer, and they seem to be taking all my time.  Hopefully, soon...