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Sewing a luggage set had been on the back burner for a long time. So when I came accross this gorgeous rose gold faux leather*, I knew that I could put my Christmas giveaway prize from Sacôtin to good use!
So here is part 1 of the luggage set: the Volte backpack and its zippered pouch.
I’ll also give you some tips for sewing faux leather.
- Volte pattern
- Faux leather*
- Lining (I used some Liberty lawn I already had. Scraps are great).
- #3 and #5 zipper tapes
- Zipper pull for the bag and zipper pull for the pouch
- Flex Foam
- D-rings
- Strap sliders
- label
- 9×8 double cap rivets
One pattern, Two sizes
Volte is an anti-theft backpack. That means that the zipper is not easily accessible since it’s against your back.
That’s a sleek square design, with curved corners at the top and a flat boxed base.
A large compartment with a patch pocket makes the inside of the bag.
Two sizes are available: Small and Medium.
This pattern is perfect for mixing and matching fabrics and textures.
It’s sold with a zippered pouch pattern.
Un Volte full of beans
Rose gold everywhere
I went with rose gold only. This textured faux leather is also available in 17 other colours.
It’s part of the Minerva Core Range fabrics and the quality is excellent.
All of the hardware comes from Serial Bag Makers. I had a hard time choosing the right zipper tape colour. Ultimately, I went with Elephant Grey because it was one of the rare colours that had #3 and #5 zippers available.
A Small Volte
I cut a Small Volte and there’s enough space for passport, make-up, the pouch, etc.
Sewing Volte is relatively easy IF you have a powerful machine than handles thick fabrics and foam.
The zippered pouch is large enough for make-up, comb, etc.
A convertible bag
You can add D-rings at the top of the bag to wear it over one shoulder or cross-body.
I didn’t add the rings for 2 reasons:
- I had no use of a convertible bag. The backpack was enough for me.
- I forgot to order the swivem hppks TWICE! So I had 2 extra D-rings and I slightly changed the order of construction and that makes my straps non-convertible.
Tips for sewing faux leather
With heavy fabric like faux leather, a denim size 100 (even 110) is compulsory. DO NOT use a leather needle: it punctures the fabric and would leave big holes.
A walking foot really helped when topstitching. It fed the fabric beautifully under the needle.
Unpicking is a big NO-NO, unless you want holes in your fabric.
Same, prefer using clips instead of pins and clip INTO the seam allowance. When you have many layers, even the clip can leave marks on the fabric.
Double-sided tape is really useful, but check that you won’t sew through it. Otherwise, your needle will be covered in glu.
Are you ready for Part 2 of the shiny luggage set???