Hi Candice,
In handbag making your biggest enemy is thickness! When using veggie tan leather you absolutely must skive the leather if you are turning the bag, especially if it’s 4-5 oz.
If you are going to use veggie tan go down 2-3 oz leather and even then you will still need to skive the leather to get a good clean professional look. You always need a lining pattern, you can work from the outside pattern but your lining no matter how you do it will need to be smaller, not by much but it has to be smaller, you don’t want the lining showing when you stitch a raw edge bag.
Thanks for pointing out the error, I will correct that but remember I want you to create your own dimensions for every part of the bag. If the T is 2″ it creates a 4″ gusset if it’s 21/2″ it creates a 5″ gusset.
Here is another tip! When choosing your leather don’t go 4-5 oz to get the structured or support you want from the bag. In most cases designers are looking to hold the silhouette and shape with those thicknesses. In fine bag making we build the leather up to achieve the look, Bontex, Pellon and other backing materials and remember reduce thickness.
