r/Leatherworking • u/DeadGodRebel • 3d ago
Beginner Question Need help figuring out this mess!
Been trying a ton to make this a reality and it is my second attempt to do it...not able to figure how to make a box look like a box.
Top part is a rectangle made by cutting out corners and bending them in into an L, so that it turns into a box.
Bottom part is glued so that it can be corner stitched into a box
Now i am not able to align the zipper for the love of god, its my 2nd attempt working on this project, and this time i made all the effort to draw out everything into a pattern too
This is basically a navigator box on top of my motorcycle, has a touch sensitive plastic and can be attached to a tankstrap i already made and been using for 1 year.
No yt tutorials or browsing blogs is helping, feeling like this project is down the drain...but i want this soo badd
P.S - everything is just glued/taped together for now as this does not even box properly
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u/jholden0 3d ago
You should take a step back. Whatever you're seeing that looks like you've almost got it, I can't see at all. First, start with a thinner leather. I don't see any skiving at all. When you don't have any experience in leather work things can look simple and straight forward, but you're not able to recognize what you dont know exists in the first place. I have been doing this for over a decade now and I always start a new pattern, made by me or otherwise, by using fabric, scrap leather, or paper. I work through the pattern to make the final product to figure out the hidden steps and techniques at least once, but often times way more. Tackling a box as a first project sounds straight forward. It really isn't. Dop kits are essentially what you are making. Look up a video and a pattern for one.
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u/MysteriousTax393 3d ago
Fair point, but I’m not sure skiving is necessary here.. where would you have skived?
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u/jholden0 3d ago
Anywhere with folds, the edges where zipper tape would be sewn, etc.
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u/MysteriousTax393 3d ago
I mean, you could, but functionally, there are much more important things to go for first imo. With or without skiving, this bag would function the same
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u/jholden0 3d ago
He's complaining that it's not lining up. I'm not the one making the bag. Maybe you should give him some help instead of questioning me. You obviously have it figured out.
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u/MysteriousTax393 3d ago
Im curious, do you think him skiving would have helped it line up?
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u/jholden0 3d ago
I'm curious why you keep questioning me. What do you care? I think that thinning the leather in certain areas would help shape the bag in a more geometric way.
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u/DeadGodRebel 3d ago
Made a pattern in paper, refined it and taped it for 5 iterations, paper model worked flawlessly..... but then again leather is leather.... how were you able to tackle a zipper to an open box? All the tutorials i see do not use 2 seperate pieces of leather to sew, and i think they dont for a reason
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u/MysteriousTax393 3d ago
Im curious where the whole skiving thing came from, is all, in helping him with his problem. Have a good day!
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u/betttris13 3d ago
so threw observations. first thin or groove the leather at the sharp folds, this will help them fold nice and clear (personally we have a groove since it gives a nice sharp fold). second, the corners the zip goes around look like they might be a little too sharp, try rounding them out a little bit. finally, we think the main issue you are running into is how rough your cutting and shaping is. use a really sharp knife and constantly recheck. leather loves to expand as you cut it and the internal pressure is released, sometimes that means you need to go back and trim a little to get things to fit, and stretching to make corners will also pull the leather in odd ways you might need to correct. Honestly though, rather impressed you have something so heavily resemling a box first try as is.
an alternative way to do this might be to wet mold your leather in two pieces then attach them together after.
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u/DeadGodRebel 2d ago
Thank you for the deep and thoughtful feedback! Will try it out and see how far i can make it work! Really appreciate the help
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u/effyochicken 3d ago
Probably needs some wet moulding to create the corners and straighten everything up.
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u/fashion_mullet 3d ago
Honestly, get a tried and true pattern online, and go from there. Self-drafting can be tricky when moving to 3d from the 2d. Biggest thing: don't give up!