Technique – Leather Piping the first implementation

I am absolutely in love with this new technique. If you’ve got a good memory or you are a true Florine leather and Style lover 😉 you might remember the posts about Leather piping. First I did a little research on the actual technique in this post. Next, I gave it a first try on some scraps before I ruined my project by lack of experience in this post. And now… now I did the first implementation of this technique on my latest project. Let’s see how it did go…

No core? 

The last time, I used a sort of foamy core I glued together to make it round… Not the usual core I would use in the future… but it worked for that purpose. Though I was worried about the size of the core and the complete piping. Because even if I found a smaller core it would still be enormous. To overcome this problem I would have to split or skive the straps for the piping ultra thin. That wouldn’t be a problem if I got a skiving machine but I don’t own one (yet… hopefully, one day I will). So eventually I thought of another method. What about no core at all? 

Skiving edges

The leather straps were quite thick and would become the perfect thickness if I would just fold it over. But that would leave me with an evenly thick part to stitch together with the bottom and the sides of the bag… not that neat or pretty. So how could I resolve this issue? I used my safety skiver to skive the edges down to quite a thin edge. Next… it was time to create the piping

Glue / fold / ply

The next step in making the piping was gluing the complete strap, let it dry and stick it together. Are all done? No, not yet. To make the piping evenly and extremely good looking, I used some pliers (covered any sharp parts with tape) and created a strong fold. It became a beautifully rounded part until where the edges were skived. 

Around the corner

I find it still difficult to know how to work with the piping once I made them. Though after some thorough Instagram stalking, Pinterest searching and youtube binge-watching I think I know where to start… Since I want the piping to be between the bottom and the sides of the bag I saw some people starting by applying the piping to the bottom (without stitching it) but just by gluing. So that’s what I’ve done so far… until you reach the corners. 

To make a not so goofy and strange looking corner, you will have to think of a solution to make it more bendable. Also knacked from the all mighty internet I decided to make little slits and as many as were needed. This resulted in the picture above.

Next up… the stitching holes

I am not sure why… but I prefer to count over making the holes as I go. So to know how much holes I need in the sides I must know how much holes there are in the bottom. So to make sure the piping is aligned well and will be stitched evenly between the two layers I preferred to punch the holes of the bottom already. Up to this point… I am really satisfied with the result! the only thing is, I will know for sure if it looks like the way I imagined it once I will turn the bag at the very very end. It’s a little bit scary but already looking forward to it! What about you??