The passantini make the bag.

For the record, I absolutely love hand sewing. As you saw in a previous post, I had to puncture the leather before attaching this piece to the bag in order to create the holes through which the hand needle will pass. Then, once glued down, I had to puncture the holes again so I could create a "path" through all of the layers of the leather. Each hand stitched component is sewn with double needles: one passing through from the top, the other from the bottom. When they pass each other they create the loop which becomes the stitches that hold it in place. The two pieces that cover the zipper (one shown above) have too much material to pass through the machine. I like it because you have a lot more control over the stitches. Sorry, Acci, I still love you, but I love my hand sewing needles more.

This photograph is entitled "what to do versus what not to do," featuring from left to right: what not to do, and what to do. I was in what I believed to be the final stage of my bag, working on the "maniglie," handles. I was so anxious to finish that I cut these pretty quickly, and while to the untrained eye they may look nearly perfect, they were ever so slightly off. I did not put  enough glue down so I sliced into the salpa in a few locations on the handles. I could have covered up the blemishes when I painted the edges, but I could not let the last component of the bag I have been working on for two months be anything less than perfect. The two replacement "maniglie" on the right (what to do) represent one entire day's worth of work.

Yesterday my maestro turned to me and said, "Amanda, you are going to finish your bag tomorrow morning. I nearly screamed in excitement, as I have been working on this bag for what feels like forever. Then he continues.. "Oh wait.. the passantini."

Passantini are the small rings that hold something like a belt down when you buckle it. These are the details that make or break a bag. You can easily tell the quality and workmanship of anything just by looking at the small details such as these.  My bag features twelve. These pieces are tiny, but take a very long time to make. See the photo above? That was my day today. Six long hours and 12 passantini later... I am nearly done.

Unless I have to put more passantini on my bag (when Mao mentioned it I almost hit him) I should be finished with my very first bag tomorrow morning. Right now I am finalizing the placement of the holes on the incredible adjustable maniglie. And then... I will move right onto the next...

I am that girl.

When I arrived in the classroom for the first time in January, my classmate Rita was in the final stages of assembling a beautiful purple handbag, and I remember thinking to myself, I wish I were doing that too. I reminded myself that with time and patience, I would steadily reach that point. We had a new student join us last week, and as I stood at my banco busily working on my handbag, I could see in her eyes what I felt in mine months ago. She wanted to be doing what I was, but instead, she was working on the eyeglass cases that are a distant memory for me now. So often we arrive somewhere without taking the time to notice the steps that we took to get there. There are days that I get so caught up in the project at hand that I forget all of the small projects I've done on the way that have gotten me to the present.

This is the actual leather. Simple, black, bovine leather. I laid out the pattern pieces very carefully to efficiently cut the leather. I used a half hide, and had only a tiny piece to spare, which means I can cut two of this style out of one skin of leather. This is, of course, assuming I do not make any mistakes that require me to re-cut the pattern pieces.

We construct the handbag from the inside out, so the first part of the process is completing the lining. I bought this fabric in the Paris flea market. My bag will feature a "tremezzo," which is a zippered pocket in the middle of the lining that creates two compartments on either side. For all of you zippered pockets fanatics quite like myself, there is another smaller one on one side of the lining.

This is where I was determining the length of the straps that will connect to the handles. I know this is not easy for you to see or understand if you are not a visual person, but it will all make sense once you see the final product. If you are not into the technical stuff, here is your cue to skip ahead. For you handbag designers and patternmakers, this is where the "maniglie," handles, will connect to the bag. The ring is actually upside-down in the photo, but the shoulder strap will be fixed on the ring from the top, and there will be "gimelli" below so you will be able to adjust the length of the handles, kind of like a belt.
Configuring the placement of the "gimelli," which are the components that resemble cufflinks, and the "passantini," the small loop that will hold the strap in place. The "gimelli" will allow for the straps to be adjustable.
My sewing has come a very long way since the day Acci ate my handbag. These straps are a sandwich of material, consisting of salpa #2 on the inside and two layers of leather on the outside. I cut all three layers precisely, and then to give it a finished edge, I executed the same technique I used when I finished the edges of the "tracolla" (straps) for my earlier projects, and the pieces of the passport cases. First, I "tingere," (paint) the edges with black opaque paint, and then pass the pieces through a machine that buffs the edges and removes the glue. Repeat the process twice, and you have a nice smooth finished edge, just like a belt.

This is the inside of the bag which will not be visible from this point on. I put the white silk behind the straps that you see on the outside to prevent the leather from getting caught in the machine. It makes the sewing much easier and smoother. The smaller patches of silk are covering the "passantini" that you see above. They are threaded through the front side of the bag, and glued in the back. The silk will keep them secure. Of course, first, I must first "scarnire" the ends to make it less bulky, then glue the ends together on the backside (kind of like a ring passing through the bag), then hammer it down, and finally, glue the silk on to hold it in place. Of course this is work you will never see, but are necessary steps to properly form the shape of the bag. Overlooking any part of these processes can result in an undesirable effect that you may not even see until years down the line when the leather becomes more supple.

My first bag beginning to take shape.
I would like to take this moment to thank my friends in Scandicci who are making this bag possible. I found hardware and components in some small shops in the center of Firenze, but I was not completely satisfied. I ventured out to Scandicci, one of the industrial zones on the outskirts of Firenze. Even though I was in the epicenter of the hardware universe, I still had difficulty finding exactly what I wanted. I had particular sizes with particular metal finishes in set in my mind and was determined to find nothing less. After hours of rummaging, I of course kept selecting the pieces that were at the very bottom of the drawer, of which they only had 3 from their last order in 1970. Then I would go through the drawer next to it just to see if I could find a 4th that was mis-filed... For those of you who know me this is typical. The effort will never be done in vain, as these are the details that will make my bags so quintessentially me.

Slow but steady progress.

These are my pattern pieces of sample number one. There are three versions of the pattern so far, as I have changed many things along the way. The strap was too long, then I decided it was too wide, and now I want to simplify the side of the bag and take out the seam I had running horizontally.

Reminder and disclosure: I am using scrap leather and this was the only one of which we had pieces large enough from which I could cut my pattern pieces. The closure on the side pictured above will allow you to open the bag and close it depending on how large you want it to be while you are carrying it, or how much you have inside.

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This will be my first hand sewn component. First I have to pass the piece through the machine, without using any thread, to create holes which I will later thread by hand. Then, I have to attach the piece to the bag with glue, and repuncture the holes with the puntorollo, passing through all of the layers of the bag. This creates a passageway for the needle and thread and will allow it to pass through with relative 

ease.

Almost everything changed from this point on. I did not like the shape of the yoke at the top, I did not like the thickness of the straps, I did not like the manner in which I executed the pieces. All of the pieces you see have "rimboco" which is wrapped edges. Then, the components are stitched down. This creates a lot of bulk and makes the bag very stiff, which I did not like. I worked with my teacher to change every component. I simplified the pattern, and decided to use the "tingere" technique. This is what you saw when I executed the "tracolla," shoulder strap. This is why I use scrap leather... and this is why you haven't heard from me in awhile. The process has been very time consuming. And.. I must admit, I have been traveling all over Italy during most of my spare time. But that's a post for another day...