My Current Favorites [August 2022]: My First Leather Project

I was supposed to take a leatherworking class in Hanoi in mid-August, but due to JB’s surgery, we had to reschedule. To minimize the disappointment, I bought a mini kit on Taobao (Taobao doesn’t ship internationally, so I use the service Wegobuy to buy and ship for me), I bought a minimum of tools, and here’s my very first charm in leather.

Work charms are used to decorate bags. This one is big enough to hold my AirPods or my Insta 360. The design is inspired by the famous Hermès Birkin bag.

The kit includes all the leather pieces already cut and lined. The instructions are on YouTube. The seller forgot two small leather pieces; I think I’ll receive them in a separate package.

I spent the whole afternoon and evening hand-sewing, gluing, and working on the edges…

This is my very first project and I don’t have all the tools yet, so imperfections are inevitable. Look at the stitching on the two sides of the micro bag: they are a few hours apart, yet the progress between them is already huge!!

Unfortunately, edge finishing still needs to be learned. Despite dozens of videos I’ve watched on YouTube, I can’t figure out why my edges are so sloppy. My teacher will probably be able to explain it to me. Maybe I chose an unsuitable paint?

Anyway, this micro bag is so micro that you can’t even close it once you put something inside 😀 but no big deal, I love it!

This is an excellent project for starting leatherworking because you go through all the steps of making a bag, but in a short time. It allows you to have a finished product quickly. It’s a good introduction to leather crafting.