Circle Bag

Months ago, I was the recipient of three partial rolls of upholstery-grade leather from a guild member. (Thanks Nora! @norstar_german) There was some orange and bronze that I used to make Leather Pincushions with last summer, and then a roll of silver, that I'd yet to cut into. But now I have.

I was thinking of using some to make myself a new bag, and my first try came out way too small. I may share it later, but for now, I want to share what WAS successful... a Circle Bag, a free pattern from Sallie Tomato. Rather than a full printed pattern, there is a video available, which was really well done.

The bag measures 8-1/2” wide, 8-1/2” high and 2-1/2” deep, maybe a little small for my needs, but super cute just the same. It called for a 15" zipper, but I only had a 14" metal zip on hand, so I just added to its length by adding a zipper tab on the closed end. 

The installation of the zipper itself, happened to be about the easiest part of the bag. Not that the bag was difficult, but sewing circles together was a little finicky with the thickness of the leather. 

The bag IS unfinished on the interior, but I'm fine with that for this particular bag.

For thread, I used Aurifil Forty3 in 1246 [Grey], with the same color 40wt in the bobbin. That combo worked great with the leather. And finally, I stole hardware off of an older bag, which worked out well; and did cut the strap 2" wide rather than the suggested 1". It was folded in half, so finished at 1" wide.

So that was fun. Something a little unexpected, but some good time sewing.