10-15-2008, 03:44 PM
Well, I might be using a slight hyperbole. :wink: I might have lost count, or dropped a stitch. But the sewing of all those little X straps will take longer than anything else. If you bind around the seams with a folded leather, as many Roman bags seem to have, it will be quite a bit of sewing, any way you go.
I punched the holes before stitching (and I cheated and glued the X straps in place before that) so they came out fairly regularly spaced. One way is to take a standard leather punch (for lacing) and cut off every other blade. That doubles the width of the stitch (and halves the amount of leather that is cut) and makes many less stitches. These aren't structural seams so much as they're stylistic. If the bag is soft leather (goat, deer, etc) the strips would tend to reinforce the bag. Mine is made from thin cowhide, and really didn't require the bracing, but I put it there so folks can easily identify it, and I don't have to defend the construction technique so much. I made it from the leather I had at the time, in other words.
I punched the holes before stitching (and I cheated and glued the X straps in place before that) so they came out fairly regularly spaced. One way is to take a standard leather punch (for lacing) and cut off every other blade. That doubles the width of the stitch (and halves the amount of leather that is cut) and makes many less stitches. These aren't structural seams so much as they're stylistic. If the bag is soft leather (goat, deer, etc) the strips would tend to reinforce the bag. Mine is made from thin cowhide, and really didn't require the bracing, but I put it there so folks can easily identify it, and I don't have to defend the construction technique so much. I made it from the leather I had at the time, in other words.
M. Demetrius Abicio
(David Wills)
Saepe veritas est dura.
(David Wills)
Saepe veritas est dura.
