Merchant and Mills Jack Tar bag x 2

It seemed totally sensible to make two of these at once! I was going to make one for a friend then after that, make one for me, with a few additional clever modifications.  It did work out just as anticipated, except that in the end I liked the first one because the strap was subtly longer and I could wear it as a crossbody...so I sent the cute modified one to my friend.

This is really a 2 hour project.  I had the rivets from Merchant and Mills, two different scraps of oilskin - the grey is leftover oilskin, the yellow is dry oilskin, both are from Miss Maude.  The strap leather was bought awhile ago, it is the stuff in Merchant and Mills kits and in fact I possibly had bought one of the Jack Tar bag kits, very very thick solid stuff, I think good for bags but it feels rather unpleasant to start out.  One of the pieces was harvested from my previous little Merchant and Mills Field Belt.  I decided to replace that strap with an oilskin one because it was too heavy for the little bag.  

I didn't have any problems.  I used one layer of interfacing on the lining for the yellow bag and two on the 2-color bag.  I thought a lot about where to place the colours on the grey and yellow bag because I didn't have enough of just one colour, and I am happy with the results.  The 2-colour bag is much heavier though.  It has 2 layers of interfacing, plus I interfaced the internal pocket, and the normal oilskin is heavier than dry oilskin.  A heavier bag can be nice - it holds more and maybe lasts longer, but I was surprised, after all my efforts to make it my dream bag, to like it less than the simple one.  In the future if I made it again, I would stick with the simpler plan and lengthen the strap about 15 cm to make it a true crossbody - it is doable but tight as things are.  I will definitely use a bag more when I can wear it crossbody.  An external pocket is also necessary, and easy enough to add. 

I think to make both of these really took about 4 hours. 

Merchant and Mills field belt in oilskin

 I had been planning this for a year or so.  I had a scrap of suede, which is always annoying, I need to not buy leather without plans...

Anyway so something was blocking it.  And eventually I realised I didn't want it in suede.  I finally had the true vision! Bought grey oilskin from Miss Maude, the oilskin backing, and used a piece of my precious heart fabric that I sadly made into a crappy and thus far not salvaged top!  I had the notions kit and it was so amazingly easy!  Really easy!  I want to make all the bags, and I want to make everything with oilskin now!!

 

This is basically a rectangle that you fold up and you apply the clasps strategically onto it, bag out a lining and box the corners - that's the hardest bit since they are at the bottom.  I had been thinking about this bag for so long that it came as a shock when the entire process took an hour or two.  The rivets in the kit just hammer together with no tools, and my very old hole maker for leather performed fine at making holes.  The only trick is getting the buckles on upright, the picture is correct but somehow seems wrong, which played with my mind.  I used a teflon foot for the oilskin but I'm not sure I even needed it.  My machine definitely got oiled a bit!

A fun little project. The bag is very small, and the leather belt is very firm, so my only grief is really a fabric belt or something floppy would have been more comfortable, because I'll never get enough weight in the bag to need such a substantial belt portion, since I will wear it loosely belted as a bum bag, or as a crossbody.  Maybe the leather will soften.  Also the leather belt really is sized for a man, I could have done with about 10" less length altogether and I've added more holes but probably still not enough if I want it relatively high at my waist. 

I now want to make a whole wardrobe in oilskin.