Bag Process

With the launch of Crafty Republic bags, I'd like to invite you into my virtual studio to share my recycling process. Today's post documents the first phase of the lifecycle of one piece of leather - I'll take you through the how this honey colored messenger bag was made (this bag will be in the etsy shop tomorrow).

I started out with a medium-sized piece of post-industrial waste leather. This piece had a label on the back with the image of a shoe on it, so I'm guessing it came from a shoe factory. The starting weight was 23.7 ounces.

My first step was to lay out my pattern pieces to make sure I had enough leather to make the bag.

I was able to get all the pieces I needed for the messenger bag, plus parts for a wristlet.

The total weight of the remaining leather was 8.3 ounces.

Next, I pulled scraps out of my stash to make the honeycomb design and the inside pocket. After cutting, these pieces weighed 3.5 ounces.,

8.3 ounces of leather from the original piece went into my stash of scraps, and 3.5 ounces came out of the stash. Making this bag contributed 4.8 ounces of leather scraps to my stash - nothing was thrown away.

Please check back on Friday to see the next step in the process!