Comments on: I couldn’t make this up if I tried

By: moss

moss — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 14:40:15 +0000

Just a note on home sewing and leather, I am a passionate amateur and work with leather a lot, but I only hand sew. I don’t own a sewing machine.

Thus, with my trusty leather punch and sinew, there is no leather that is too thick for me.

By: Counterfeit Chic

Counterfeit Chic — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 19:57:31 +0000

Kathleen, what a great story. From my perspective, it’s particularly interesting because one standard claim in legal debates is that knockoffs are typically of *worse* quality than originals, and thus harm the reputation of the originals.

It appears that, at least at the level of non-famous brands, which are presumably targeted because of their recognizability to consumers rather than their poor execution of an original idea, the opposite is true. I’m definitely going to link to your post!

Best,
Susan

By: Gigi

Gigi — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 18:13:42 +0000

I also believe it was a production item because there were two shortcuts used: The strap lining was eliminated (you can see that in Kathleen’s photo) and the inside pocket was topstitched on (vs. the more labor-intensive but neater free-hanging pocket). These departures from the original pattern would have made it less costly to produce. I also agree with Kathleen that this bag couldn’t have been sewn on a domestic machine – the leather was much too heavy.

By: Kathleen

Kathleen — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 16:04:28 +0000

Interesting argument Anne. However, nobody said it was made with homesewing equipment (highly doubtful); the leather was too heavy for that. The label isn’t the same quality either as in homesewing. Plus, if h.s.ers put in a label, it’s usually done flat so you can read the whole thing easily. This one was folded; it wrapped around. Definitely more of a commercial application with less emotional involvement. Homesewers tend to stay away from leather and rarely sew it (I’m a leather pattern maker btw). I try to encourage them to do it but they are less intimidated by ultrasuede and stuff like that. Ultrasuede -btw- is at least twice as costly as leather but they are reluctant to work with leather thinking it requires tricky production to do it.

By: Anne Frances

Anne Frances — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 10:17:54 +0000

Is it possible that this bag – which you acquired already well worn at a garage sale – was never in fact a commercialised product at all? The only thing that suggests that it wasn’t a home sewer’s effort for herself alone, done on home-sewer’s equipment, is the label. I can’t see it very clearly in the photo but it looks quite like the sort of label lots of home sewers get made for what they make themselves or make to give to friends, just to add a personal and slightly less “amateur” touch. And since it turns out to have been made from a home sewer’s pattern doesn’t that make it all the more likely that is exactly what it was? None of which of course detracts from the main point of what you are saying, which is that home sewing and manufactured production don’t mix, are very different processes and shouldn’t be confused. And that quality matters.

By: Gigi

Gigi — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 05:01:50 +0000

I’m so glad you wrote about this! I think we both agree that the bag design itself is *awesome* but there was sooooo much room for improvement! Being a persnickety home sewer myself I know there is always room for a lot of improvement where home patterns are concerned. I can’t imagine why anyone would even consider using home sewing patterns for production work! The workarounds/alterations required are easy enough when you are sewing as a hobby but must be nightmares in production. Needless to say, I am excited to complete this project now!