A tutorial on Pleather/Vinyl straps. I have discovered pleather/vinyl (P/V) to be a less expensive and greener alternative to leather.
This tutorial will show you how to sew a leather looking strap with a tri-fold method that I developed myself. Find the right materials that will work for sewing straps. If the is P/V semi-easy to fold, and the texture looks like leather, then it will work. Always buy more than you think you will need. Keep in mind the kind of pleather that is really thin. Use a Teflon foot (so the p/v will not stick), and a 110/100 needle (topstitch, leather, or jean). Another option if you do not have a Teflon foot is to stick a piece of matte Scotch tape on the bottom of your presser foot.
When cutting p/v, it is necessary to start with a straight cut across the entire width. I cut my straps in measurements of three. PREP FOR SEWING: I recommend using 100% cotton quilting thread for sewing on P/V. With the 1.5" marking on the left side, fold the right edge of the p/v over to the 1.5" line. Roomy 3D pockets. I make loads of purses & one thing that is essential for a purse/bag is pockets!!!!!!!
Everywhere I see the pockets are same.Sew on 3 sides & you are done.You know what,I don't like them!!!!!!!! The pockets should have room to keep things in it....................so I make 3 D pockets & I am going to share it with you all too:) I will explain how to make 2 types of pockets. Now we all carry gadgets right?????? What would a girl do without her i-phone,blackberry,kindle etc etc .................. So I use batting to add a little bit of padding. Cut- 2 pieces from the pocket fabric-6.5" by 6". 1 piece batting -6.5" by 6". It is OK to sew at the edges as after turning it we will be top stitching all four sides. Now turn this inside out so that the pocket fabric is at the front & back with the batting in the center. Turn the fabric on the 4th unstitched side 1/4" inside & top stitch it.So you will get a padded pocket patch of 6" by 5.5".
Now to add the pleats to make the pocket 3 D. at the pleats. Tutorial-How to make interesting leather straps for purses. I really like to experiment a lot in bag making.I am bored of the plain straps,so I made these chic straps for my new purse & clicked pics so I could belt out a quick tutorial :) Here is what we are going to make.
Isn't it yummy looking:) For this you have to first cut strips from your leather/faux leather/rexin or whatever material you choose.The dimensions are 5" wide by whatever length you want.I have used 20".So cut 2 strips of 5" by desired length. Draw a line on the wrong side in the center of the strip lengthwise like this.Ummm.............OK the line is really faint but I hope you got the point,if not I am here:) Now fold one side lengthwise (wrong side together) so it touches the line in the center & sew. This is what you will get. Now fold the other side similarly & sew.Now you will have a strip 2.5" wide.Fold it in half again & sew the entire length.Sew 2 more lines at regular distance lengthwise throughout the strip.This is the result,a 1.25" wide strap. Make Your Own Vinyl/Leather Look Handbag Straps - A Tutorial. How awesome do these faux leather vinyl handbag straps look?
If you want to make some great leather look straps from vinyl that don't show raw edges and messy threads, keep on reading because I can show you how. They are super easy to make and they turn out so good. I must say, I'm loving them. Recently, I took one of my bags down to the local quilting shop and the ladies working there marveled over my handles and thought they were real leather. If it sounds like I'm tooting my own horn here, I apologize, but I guess I am! A few months ago I was making a handbag from a pattern that called for premade leather straps, and after looking around, I found that they were either really cheap looking, really expensive or available only by order and had a huge wait for delivery. Finding the right vinyl is key, because with the wrong stuff you won't have that great leather look and it will be really hard to sew. Let's get started: Materials: Teflon Presser Foot Upholsery/heavy duty thread.