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On the last week of December, Alia's friend,... Ayu came for a visit. She was carrying an interesting looking handbag. Caught my attention,... must make one,... but with a Brown Garden twist. After much thought, research and some sketches I came out with this design,.... thus I name it Ayu.
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A big spacious bag measuring :
L 18" x H 10 1/2" x W 5"
Ayu can be worn over the arm
or
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over the shoulder.
The leather trimmings and hardwares are very interesting and creatively used in the whole ensemble.
It was quite a job but I was happy with the results
I really enjoy the making of Ayu and I want to share it with you.
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First I work on some sketches and figure out the best proportion in terms of length, width and height.
After I was satisfy with the proportion, I prepare the paper patterns
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I was still in the mood of patchwork, so I decided to use all my remnants from the previous projects. No rules here, both warm and cold colors are patched together but I am still careful with the balance and distribution of colors.
I prepared the patchwork first. There's 3 different combination of colors.
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Here I am tracing the patterns onto the leather.
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Cutting was done with a sharp knife, along the traced markings.
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All cut leather trimmings are prepared for stitching.
Ends of strap to be skived to avoid lumps and difficulties when sewing.
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Straps are stitched with my faithful old machine. (Love it so much)
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All required straps edges are stiched.
All together there are 33 straps long and short
The sling strap is the longest - 62" long.
A big piece of leather for the base.
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Here I'm inking the raw edges for better finishing.
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Preparing the leather trimmings and the hardwares for stitching.
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Strap holders are riveted in position.
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Straps sewn in position
Both sides of the bag are not the same. It was a bit messy sewing and unpicking, but I had fun. This color combination is for Alia.
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Sewing the sides of the bag together.
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Riveting the side strap in position
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There are parts the can not fit on the machine, so these are to be sewn by hand.
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Handles strap are done. Here I'm fixing it to the strap holder and buckle.
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Ayu bag for Alia. Alia's color combination have a little dash of red.
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This Ayu is the warmest,...with lots of red all over
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This one is mine. This the first Ayu bag. It has all my favourite swatches.
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Here I present all three Ayu that I have completed.
All three are similar but they are not the same.
Thanks Ayu.