Bag Materials and Trims

What you take from this lesson: Choose materials and trims that match the selling price and the use the bag will get.

The most common materials

• Faux leather and eco-leather: a leather look at a low cost. They do not fray and they sew easily, but they do not tolerate pins (they leave a permanent hole).
• Canvas and Cordura: strong, lightweight and inexpensive. Typical for backpacks and sports bags.
• Waxed cotton canvas: a handmade look, good drape, higher selling price.
• Neoprene: lightweight and padded, for laptop bags and toiletry bags.

Trims are not a minor detail

In clothing, trims are a small part of the cost. In leather goods they can be half of it, and they are the first thing the customer touches.

A bag with good material and cheap hardware feels cheap: the zipper sticks, the buckle loses its finish, the snap hook opens on its own. It is the place where saving money pays off the worst.

• Zippers: metal ones last longer than plastic ones and look better, but they weigh more and cost more.
• Hardware: buckles, snap hooks, strap adjusters and rings. They define the perceived quality.
• Straps and handles: they can be made from the same material or from webbing. Webbing is stronger and cheaper.
• Rivets and snaps: they reinforce the joints that will carry weight.
• Metal feet on the base: they keep the bottom from getting dirty and wearing out. A small detail that raises the perception of quality a lot.

How to choose based on the selling price

The practical rule: trims have to match the selling price, not the cost of the material. A bag made of cheap canvas with good hardware can sell well; an expensive eco-leather bag with a plastic zipper cannot.

Before settling on the design, it pays to put together the full list of trims and price it. That keeps you from discovering, with the cutting already done, that the bag does not work on cost.

Sewing these materials

Faux leather and eco-leather cannot be pinned: hold them with clips or double-sided tape. Every hole stays forever.

You need a leather needle or a needle for heavy materials, and a longer stitch length than for fabric: a short stitch in faux leather acts like a perforation and ends up cutting the material.

A Teflon or roller foot keeps the material from sticking to the presser foot, which is the most common problem when starting out.

Common mistakes

• Pinning faux leather.
• Using a short stitch on materials that do not fray: it perforates instead of sewing.
• Choosing hardware on price alone without noticing it is the first thing the customer touches.

In short

Material according to use, trims according to selling price. And for sewing faux leather: clips instead of pins, a heavy needle, a long stitch and a Teflon foot.