Introduction: Creating your own leather bag is one of the most rewarding projects in leathercraft. In this project, I used a special technique called wet shaping to give the bag a truly unique form that you just can’t achieve with flat patterns alone.
This project is made entirely from vegetable-tanned leather — the only type of leather suitable for wet molding. It’s amazing how this material transforms once soaked and shaped!
About the Project: The centrepiece of this design is not just the sculpted leather body, but also a clever, eye-catching way to mount O-rings. This adds both a strong attachment point and a distinctive design element.
Working with wet leather gives you the ability to mold curves, ridges, and other 3D features that really make your piece stand out.
Resources to Help You: To make it easy for you to try this yourself, I’m offering the pattern and detailed instructions for free — you can download them directly from the link below!
If you’re a more visual learner, I’ve also filmed the entire process. You can watch the full step-by-step video tutorial on our YouTube channel.
What You’ll Learn:
- How to properly wet and shape vegetable-tanned leather
- Tricks for getting smooth, professional-looking forms
- My special method for integrating hardware (like the O-ring) seamlessly into a wet-formed design
- Tips on finishing and assembling your bag
Get Started: ➡️ Download the free pattern and instructions here!
➡️ Watch the full video tutorial here!
Whether you’re an experienced leatherworker or just starting out, this project will help you push your skills to the next level — and the final result is a bag that’s not only functional but truly one-of-a-kind.
Happy crafting!
