I digress.
I finally decided that Daddy would need his own bag. This became even more evident when they found out they were having a girl! I could never see this man carrying a pink, frilly, lacy diaper bag EVER!! So, I set out on the search for an appropriate item to repurpose into the most hip, happening Daddy Bag of the bygone generation.
Inspiration would soon be found (lucked into) at a small thrift store in the next town over. It was like the heavens opened and the angels sang. Did you know angels sing a tune entitled "50% off?" I didn't. Until that fateful day that the Crafting Gods bestowed upon me this gem:
Tada!! Size large sheepskin flight vest, cerca 1940. Fully fleece lined and complete with "Made in USA" tag, as well as manufacture tag. The previous owner's name was still inked on the tag (more on that later). I just about stole this baby for $10. Not even kidding.
It sat in my craft room for a few months. I had ideas of how to construct the bag, but I knew it was a one-shot gig. If I messed this thing up, there was no trip to Joann's to replace the goods. So I sat on the project until the week before the shower. I started by deconstructing the parts of the vest. In the end, I had a bunch of leather binding, two lined pockets, the bottom lighter strip of leather, and this main piece:
We sat some more. Then I measured. I loosely based the design on Simplicity pattern 2358 (view A), but really that was just for sizing. The only pattern piece I actually used was for the sides of the bag, and even then it was just to round off the edges. I used the bottom thick band of leather as the sides, and the fleece lined section for the main part of the bag and flap. I did have to sew together a few chunks of the vest to make it long enough. I was nervous at first, since I'd never really sewn leather before. I used heavy duty black thread and a jeans needle in my machine. It seemed to be easier to lay the pieces side-by-side and zig-zag the ends together. So that's what I did.
Oh, and here's the inside flap. I couldn't bear to leave out the original tag from the vest, complete with previous owner information.
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