Leather or Vinyl Tote Bag Workshop ✄✄
what students are saying
👜✨ Sew Your Own Leather (or Pleather!) Tote Bag ✨👜
Join us for a fab 4-hour workshop where you’ll learn how to use a domestic sewing machine ( just like the one you’ve got at home!) to sew with light leather, or vinyl/pleather if you prefer.
This stylish tote can be made tall or short and features:
🧵 A leather body
🎀 Contrasting fabric
🧵 Full lining
💪 Sturdy strapping handles
You’ll learn all the ins & outs of working with leather: 🔧 Tools & equipment 🪡 Best needles & stitch settings ✨ Tips for handling leather & vinyl 🔩 How to install hardware like rivets and magnetic closures
Included in your course fee:
- Magnetic snap closure
- Reinforcement rivets or screws
Hot tip: Thrift your leather - Op shops are a goldmine, think old leather skirts or jackets. Repurpose them into something amazing, and get creative by using existing seams, pockets, or design details in your bag. So fun AND sustainable! 🌍
Workshop plan;
- Working with leather
- Laying up the pattern, cutting and transferring pattern markings
- Machine feet accessories, needle selection, technique
- Bag construction
- Inserting bag hardware
We have all the tools you'll need. Each participant is set up with fabric shears, pinking shears, thread snips, unpicker, hand needles, tape measures, pins, tailor's chalks, hem guides, ironing/pressing tools, rulers, stationery... there is no need to lug around your whole sewing kit. We've taken care of it all.
Workshop skill levels explained – click here.
Details
You will learn
- How to sew light leather on a domestic sewing machine
- Machine feet accessories and needle selection
- Inserting bag accessories and hardware
You will get
- A unique tote bag made by you
- A copy of the pattern and instructions to make it time and time again
Appropriate for
✄✄ Budding Sewing Enthusiasts: You've been dipping your toes into the seductive world of sewing by making accessories and homewares from stable woven fabrics. Threading your sewing machine is getting familiar (maybe you are still double checking a couple of things in the manual). Sewing at seam allowance isn't a foreign concept. You have followed basic patterns and instructions. Terms like grainline and selvedge are not unfamiliar to you.
Preparation
What to bring
- Main bag: .5m of medium to heavy weight fabric, upholstery fabric, pleather or leather (enough to piece together 2 x 40x50cm rectangles)
- Bag contrast panel: .3m of medium weight woven fabric (eg: drill, duck, canvas)
- Lining: .5m woven light weight cotton
- Supplies: 1.5 metres of webbing / handle strapping (or .2m additional fabric to make straps), .3m of medium to heavy weight fusible interfacing, matching sewing machine thread.
- Magnetic bag closures and rivets/screws for securing handles are supplied.
What to wear
Casual
Planning a Private Event?
From corporate team building to birthdays and hen's parties, Thread Den can tailor a private sewing classes experience for your group.
Your Teacher
Thread Den
2417 reviewsLearn to sew, craft and create with Thread Den, located on Melbourne's vibrant Brunswick Street in Fitzroy. Since 2007, we've spent almost 20 years helping students start from the very beginning, level up their skills, and find their own unique style.
Coming to Thread Den feels like learning from a friend, a super nice, clever one, alongside a small group of fellow sewists. Everything you need is right there waiting for you: lovely big cutting tables, smooth-running Janomes with plenty of feet and accessories, inspiring resources, and friendly people to chat to along the way.
Your teachers bring years of experience, their own labels and businesses, and a genuine love of sharing their skills and craftsmanship with you.
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Cancellations & Refunds
If the organiser cancels the class:
You are entitled to a full refund.
If you can't attend the class:
You’re welcome to send someone in your place.
OR
- A refund can be requested 1 day before class starts. An admin fee of AU$35.00 applies.
- A transfer can be requested 4 days before the class starts. An admin fee of AU$10.00 applies.
- A credit note can be requested 4 days before the class starts. An admin fee of AU$10.00 applies.
No changes will be allowed after these times.
Terms & Conditions
Attendance & Preparation
Taking part in a workshop at Thread Den is fun, and we love teaching people our craft, but it''s your responsibility to clear your diary for the session(s) you''ve booked, especially if your course runs across multiple weeks. To finish your project, you''ll need to attend every session and arrive on time. Unfortunately, we can''t go back over material already covered, as it wouldn''t be fair to your fellow participants.
Please bear with us on this next point: our workshops and courses are usually booked out weeks in advance, so it isn''t always possible to simply move you into another session. If a suitable class is running and has space, we''ll try to offer you a discounted spot to help you catch up. If that''s not an option, you may need to book a private lesson to stay on track.
We also won''t chase you up to confirm you''re coming to class or that you have the right supplies. Most workshops require you to bring your own materials; we only offer a supplies kit at an additional cost for the Sewing Basics 3 Week Course. If you''re ever unsure what to bring, just email us at info@threadden.com and we''ll point you in the right direction.
We want you to love what you make just as much as we do, so please take our fabric recommendations seriously. Choosing a fabric suited to a more advanced skill level can make the experience frustrating rather than fun.
We do our best to answer common questions in each workshop description, but please don''t hesitate to email us with anything else. And we''d genuinely love to see the fabric you''re considering, we''re always happy to point you toward our favourite fabric and haberdashery suppliers.
Thanks for reading through the finer details, we appreciate it.
Our cancellation and refund policy is presented during the booking process.
Medical Events
Your safety and wellbeing are important to us. We reserve the right to make decisions necessary to protect the safety of all participants, this may include calling an ambulance on your behalf and at your expense.
Course Cancellations
- Classes are subject to sufficient enrolment (usually a minimum of 2 participants).
- We reserve the right to cancel any scheduled course.
This policy is also available on our website: threadden.com/about/bookings-and-cancellations-policy
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Leather or Vinyl Tote Bag Workshop ✄✄
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