01 December 2011

The Saddle Bag: a first draft

saddlebag front
The Alpine Adventure Saddle Bag

After much ado, here is the first draft of my saddle bag.

My husband thinks it belongs in the Swiss Alps, so I have aptly named it the Alpine Adventure Saddle Bag,

 If you recall my inspiration, it involved traditional shaping, a flap, and leather.   But I also incorporated wool with a herringbone pattern in the main body, 3 different colors of leather (one for the side of the bag, one for the strap, front and back details, and a third for the trim on the flap.

saddlebag back
The back has belt loops for completely shoulder-free carrying
saddlebag side
The leather strap was secured with hand-stitching to the leather side
 
saddlebag inside
The inside pocket holds my wallet

It's a pretty small saddle bag, just large enough to hold my phone, wallet and keys.  I also drafted a larger version, but that one isn't finished yet.  The inside is a floral quilting cotton, and the flap closes with a magnetic snap.

I'm really happy with how it turned out, though I am not yet satisfied with the order of construction.  Too much hand-sewing was necessary on this bag, and the lining was not as tight as I would like on the inside.  I am trying a different construction method on the larger bag, as well as different interfacing.

But I will leave you with a few more pictures of the finished bag anyway.  
saddlebag full
Here you can see my wristlet keychain, courtesy of Keri from Platypus Pouches!
saddlebag bottom
I love how this particular leather strapping is light yet strong
saddlebag top
This bag is also well-sized for a point-and-shoot camera, which does start to make the name "Alpine Adventure" make sense.  Now, I just need to take an appropriate trip!

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