INSPIRATION: MAKE YOUR OWN LEATHER TOTE

 

Well for about 3+ months now I have had this idea of making my own leather tote. I wanted something soft & slouchy; and maybe a little Aztec inspiration to it. It also had to be big enough and sturdy enough to hold my laptop & computer because I pretty much am attached at the hip with those two these days. Needless to say anything that met all those requirements worth buy was $400 or more. So here goes nothing....

 

I bought the leather at my FAVORITE place in Chicago, the Textile Outlet a few weeks ago, and to be honest I have been sitting staring at it, completely intimidated since then... But like every thing in life you can talk about it, or you can do it. It was time, like Nike says to, just do it;)!

 

 

I'm not going to sit here and tell you how easy it is, because it took me four hours, and it was far from easy...BUT it was SO much easier than I anticipated! I planned on just making it simple sewing two sides together and adding straps, but of course that didn't end up happening...

 

I decided to make gusset sides, along with inside straps that tie into a bow to close it...I used a woven leather for the bottom and then incorporated that into tiny other details that you can see in the pics!

The leather I bought was so soft, and had the coolest natural details, so I had this idea to make this over-sized flap for the front which also ended up be better for the closure anyways!!! I think the flap kind of made it;)! I finished it off with some studs and a DIY leather tassel that I will be posting a tutorial on later this week, so look-out for that!

All in all, I think it turned out AWESOME for my first attempt, and I only broke one needle, which in my book was a huge success:)!
Hope you love it, and get inspired to do something that you have been thinking about lately but been afraid of! xox