So…
in our last post I told you that I was strongly considering the possibility of trying my hand at using faux leather for one of my bags for the first time EVER and guess what?
That’s exactly what I DID!
But secondly– using faux leather definitely has its challenges! More about that in a bit but in the meantime let me tell you what I like about this sample! And that would be EVERYTHING!
But seriously, even though I was a little nervous the whole time I was sewing this bag together, (and judging by the picture at left, I wasn’t the only one), I knew right off the bat that this bag was gonna be AWESOME! I loved the print and the way it plays off our black w/silver zippers is perfection. All in all, I find the final look quite compelling!
warning about working with faux leather.
It may not be possible to use faux leather for BOTH sides of your bag!
And in the case of THIS particular bag design… we used quilter’s cotton for the Bag Back and I’m SO glad that I did! This entire Bag has to be turned right-side out at what amounts to the very last step and it wasn’t particularly easy even with cotton on the backside. As “grabby” as faux leather is, this step might have been near impossible
if I had used faux leather on the Bag back.
Now without a doubt, the faux leather produced a “stiffer” finish than does quilter’s cotton (even though it was only on the front-side of the bag) and I was a little concerned from the outset that this design would lose some of the body-hugging quality that makes it so unique, but it really didn’t! and since faux leather is so much lighter-weight than real leather, you still tend to forget you’re wearing it!
And here’s one thing I didn’t expect, and I’m guessing it could have something to do with the fact that this faux leather is of such a light color, but this sample actually LOOKS a good deal smaller than the any of the other samples I;ve made, but when I hold it up against the other samples, it’s exactly the same size.
I guess its just an optical illusion?
And this time I decided to put a little sweater over the bag on my mannequin instead of a jacket. A sweater, particularly this sweater, is much more clingy that a jacket would be and yet even so… this bag is basically undetectable underneath it!
So… as much as I’d like to talk about working with faux leather and the Side Slinger pattern right now, I’d rather reserve my comments for a bit as I have one other piece of faux leather planned for this design and since it’s completely different than this piece, I’d like to save my comments for after I’ve worked with both of them… so stay tuned for that post? (coming soon, I promise)
And now…. it’s YOUR turn!
So have you ever worked with faux leather? And if so, do you have any other tips or tricks to add? And remember, we love reading your comments and answering your questions too, so please feel free to leave either or both in the space provided below.
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Having worked with a fair amount of leather—it’s important to know that there are a LOT of different types of leather. Some are thick and stiff, some are stretchy, some are more rigid, some are smooth, light, and drapey. The embossed leathers are so cool but some of them are quite stiff. That being said—I think the thinner, softer, more flexible leathers would be good candidates for this bag—they are also not particularly heavy. The stiffer leathers would be harder to work with, for sure!
I had no idea there was such variation but I sure found out! Thanks for commenting Mary! 🙂
Great idea to use cotton on the back. And I like the vinyl/fabric colors and agree that it looks smaller. It might be a result of the color (black/grey) or the more subtle all over print. Either way it looks great!
Thanks Kim! I love it too! 🙂
Looks Great you did a Wonderful job.
You are so brave to attempt these new materials–cork, faux leather! I absolutely love the way this turned out! It’s elegant! I like your Studio-Kitten also!
I like (love) both as well!