Leather Bag Making Course

Lesson 1 • Exotic and Alternative Leathers

Introduces suede, nubuck, and exotic hides alongside vegan leather alternatives. Prepares students to work with specialist materials encountered in premium bag production.

Lesson 2 • Understanding Leather Types and Grades

Covers full-grain, top-grain, corrected-grain, split, and bonded leather distinctions. Establishes material literacy essential for all subsequent construction decisions.

Lesson 3 • Tanning Processes and Their Effects

Explains vegetable, chrome, and combination tanning and how each affects texture, durability, and workability. Connects tanning knowledge to material selection for specific bag styles.

Lesson 4 • Sourcing and Evaluating Suppliers

Teaches how to assess tanneries, hardware vendors, and fabric suppliers for quality and reliability. Builds procurement judgment needed before production begins.

Lesson 1 • Workspace Layout and Safety

Guides students in organising benches, lighting, ventilation, and chemical storage for safe daily operation. A well-organised workspace reduces errors and occupational hazards.

Lesson 2 • Cutting and Skiving Equipment

Explains clicker presses, band knives, and manual skiving machines for production-level cutting. Accurate cutting and skiving directly determine seam quality and bag structure.

Lesson 3 • Sewing Machines for Leather

Covers walking-foot, cylinder-arm, and post-bed machines suited to bag construction. Students learn to match machine type to seam location and leather thickness.

Lesson 4 • Essential Hand Tools for Leatherwork

Introduces cutting mats, swivel knives, skiving knives, edge bevelers, and pricking irons. Correct tool selection prevents material waste and injury throughout the course.

Lesson 1 • Prototyping with Muslin and Mock-Up Materials

Covers building paper and muslin mock-ups to test proportion, fit, and construction sequence before cutting leather. Mock-ups prevent costly errors in final material.

Lesson 2 • Bag Anatomy and Design Principles

Defines structural components—body panels, gussets, straps, pockets, and closures—and their functional roles. Understanding anatomy guides every pattern decision made in this chapter.

Lesson 3 • Manual Pattern Drafting Techniques

Teaches drafting flat patterns on card stock using rulers, curves, and set squares with seam allowances. Manual drafting builds spatial reasoning that supports digital pattern work.

Lesson 4 • Digital Pattern Design Tools

Introduces vector-based CAD software for creating precise, scalable bag patterns. Digital tools enable rapid iteration and accurate nesting for material efficiency.

Lesson 1 • Skiving Methods and Applications

Explains flat, bevel, and channel skiving to thin leather at seams, folds, and edges for clean joins. Proper skiving eliminates bulk and is critical for professional-grade seam quality.

Lesson 2 • Hand-Cutting Techniques

Covers straight-line and curved cutting with knives and scissors on cutting mats for clean, accurate edges. Consistent hand-cutting skill is foundational before machine cutting is introduced.

Lesson 3 • Laying Out Patterns on Hides

Teaches how to position patterns on hides to maximise yield, avoid defects, and respect grain direction. Efficient layout directly reduces material cost per unit.

Lesson 4 • Machine Cutting and Die Cutting

Introduces clicker press and band knife operation for high-volume, repeatable panel cutting. Machine cutting increases speed and consistency for production runs.

Lesson 1 • Interfacing and Structural Reinforcement

Explains iron-on and sew-in interfacings, foam padding, and base boards used to add structure to bag panels. Reinforcement choices define the bag's shape retention and load-bearing capacity.

Lesson 2 • Applying and Pressing Adhesives

Covers even adhesive application, alignment techniques, and pressing methods for strong, bubble-free bonds. Correct pressing technique ensures consistent bond quality across all panel types.

Lesson 3 • Lining Attachment and Preparation

Covers cutting, bonding, and preparing fabric linings to leather panels before final assembly. A well-attached lining improves interior finish and adds structural support to the bag body.

Lesson 4 • Surface Preparation for Bonding

Teaches roughing, degreasing, and priming leather surfaces to achieve maximum adhesive bond strength. Inadequate surface prep is the leading cause of bond failure in bag production.

Lesson 1 • Hand Stitching: Saddle Stitch Technique

Teaches the two-needle saddle stitch for durable, hand-finished seams on straps, handles, and accent panels. Saddle stitching produces stronger seams than machine lock stitching in high-stress areas.

Lesson 2 • Seam Types and Their Applications

Explains butt seams, lap seams, welt seams, and turned-and-stitched seams and when each is appropriate. Seam type selection affects both structural strength and the visual profile of the bag.

Lesson 3 • Machine Stitching for Bag Construction

Covers straight stitch, topstitch, and backstitch settings on leather sewing machines for main seams. Machine stitching delivers speed and consistency required for production-volume bag making.

Lesson 4 • Thread Selection and Needle Pairing

Covers waxed linen, polyester, and nylon thread weights and their pairing with needle sizes for leather. Correct thread-needle pairing prevents skipped stitches and needle breakage.

Lesson 1 • Turn Locks, Clasps, and Decorative Hardware

Covers installation of turn locks, kiss locks, frame clasps, and decorative studs for premium bag styles. Decorative hardware must be both functional and precisely aligned for a luxury finish.

Lesson 2 • Zipper Installation Techniques

Covers top-zip, side-zip, and interior pocket zipper installation using glue-and-stitch and zipper-foot methods. Clean zipper installation is a primary indicator of bag construction quality.

Lesson 3 • Rivet and Eyelet Installation

Covers double-cap rivets, tubular rivets, and eyelets set with hand tools and presses for strap and panel attachment. Correctly set rivets bear load without tearing the surrounding leather.

Lesson 4 • Buckles, D-Rings, and Strap Hardware

Explains attaching roller buckles, centre-bar buckles, D-rings, and O-rings to straps and bag bodies. Correct hardware attachment ensures adjustable straps function reliably under load.

Lesson 1 • Quality Inspection and Defect Correction

Establishes a systematic inspection checklist covering stitching, hardware, edges, shape, and surface finish. Students learn to identify, document, and correct defects before bags leave the workshop.

Lesson 2 • Edge Finishing on Completed Bags

Applies final edge paint, burnishing, and creasing to all exposed edges of the assembled bag. Consistent edge finishing is a hallmark of professional-grade leather goods.

Lesson 3 • Assembly Sequencing and Workflow

Establishes the correct order of operations for assembling panels, gussets, linings, hardware, and straps. Proper sequencing prevents inaccessible seams and rework in the final assembly stage.

Lesson 4 • Turning and Shaping Assembled Bags

Covers techniques for turning sewn bags right-side out and shaping them with forms, stuffing, and steam. Correct shaping sets the bag's final silhouette and prevents distortion during finishing.