POPSEWING® Leather Lady Pocket Crossbody Bag DIY Kit

The Lady Lady Leather Pocket Crossbody is the first leather bag I sewed entirely by hand. While I am quite familiar with sewing handbags using my industrial sewing machine, sewing a bag entirely by hand is new to me. The tutorial assumes that the maker already knows how to properly hand-sew a saddle stitch (the saddle stitch is also known as the “leap-frog stitch” in some parts of North America). Since I did not know how to sew a leap-frog stitch, I looked online to find a tutorial and found several good ones; the best ones from small businesses that sell leather crafting supplies. Once I had the stitch mastered (it’s not hard to learn), I started on the Popsewing tutorial.

The tutorial adequately shows the necessary sewing order. It also offers close-up views of a few of the trickier areas. The instructions are easy enough to follow. There are, however, few issues that could improve the tutorial:

1. All the decorative stitching that can be done before construction commences, should be done at the beginning of the tutorial. Instead the tutorial goes back and forth between decorative stitching and construction stitching. (That’s like taking one step forward and two steps back).
2. The tutorial could improve instructions on how to finish the thread ends. I had to go refer back to other (North American) leather-crafting tutorials.
3. The suggested thread length for sewing on the handles is far too short. It should be five lengths instead of four.
4. The tutorial incorrectly shows the inner pocket (the pocket which is on the inside of the bag) being sewn to the right side of the leather. That is incorrect. The Inner pocket must sewn wrong side to wrong side. Otherwise you’ll either end up with the inner pocket on the back of the purse (if you don’t want to rip out your stitches) or you’ll end up with the wrong side of the top-grain leather showing on the back of the purse. And it is pretty obviously the wrong side of the leather!

Tutorial aside, the quality of the kit is excellent. The markings all line up, the thread & top-grain leather are great quality, and the sanding and painting of the leather edges are perfect. I loved making this little bag and have three more kits to try out!

Easy craft that brings hours of fun!

I like the completeness of the kit. It's been fun doing this project.

It's easy and fun to sew a bag. A video is shared right after you text them and they actually do check on us if we manage or need help to complete making the bag. Thanks for the great assistance.

Brought it a while ago cause I adored this bag and wanted to try a DIY for once haha.
Did not regret my purchase at all.
They provide a service where you can ask them questions on WhatsApp and they reply quite quickly considering the time diff and location too.
The tutorial was a bit hard to see since the thread and back was similar colour so I made a lot of mistakes.. took me 2 weeks on and off but defo do not regret. Been using it everyday pretty much!
Highly recommend.

Saving up for the laptop bag so I can use it at university next year haha.

I like this bag. If you want find some interesting diyprojects or diygift ideas, I definitely recommend it. Really enjoy it.
Attached is photo of mine. Hope this is helpful.

Un pack completisimo y los materiales de gran calidad. Me ha encantado el resultado!!

This kit is very good, has all you need to make your bag, is very easy btw!

My mom loves sewing and crafting, so this kit was the perfect gift for her! She hasn't finished it yet. I also got a kit for my sister

Brought this as a birthday gift and the recipient was very impressed in fact she brought more kits so she could continue making things.

working on it now

She enjoyed putting this together. Easy enough took her around 6 hours. Looks nice

I don't have much confidence in my abilities (this is my first time doing leather craft/sewing) but the DIY kit made it all very straightforward. I am impressed by how strong the saddlestitch method/materials are! As a bag itself, it is VERY pretty and roomy enough for daily essentials.

Good quality supplies and everything you need is included.

It's very fun and relaxing to make the bag, feels very fulfilling when it's all made!

This bag came out just stunning! So fun to make, with the instruction video it was a piece of cake. I am amazed at the quality of the leather and all hardware details. I can highly recommend this model, it is a great size and, just stunning! And knowing that you pieced it all together by yourself…highly satisfying!