With proper care, a genuine leather handbag can last you years to a lifetime. However, even the most careful handbag owner can experience rips and tears on their prized arm candy. Thankfully, you can always turn to a local handbag repair shop for help in restoring your favorite piece to its former glory. Leather handbags, while known for their extreme durability, are not impervious to everything. They can also be vulnerable to scratches, rips, and tears when caught on sharp edges. Fortunately, a handbag repair shop is equipped with everything your bag might need to restore its appearance, all while maintain the strength and integrity of the leather. Here are some useful step by step repairing tips for leather hand bags according to handbag repair shop experts:
- Thread your needle with a substantial amount of thread (20 inches would be a safe length). Position both sides of the rip so that they would touch as they normally would if the rip wasn’t there. Don’t pucker the leather as you would cotton or other fabrics, as this would weaken it.
- Sew the tear up, left to right using a basic over-stitch, this will keep the sides of the ripped leather touching. Use larger stitches than you would a normal fabric as a smaller stitch could pull on the leather and result in more rips. Make the stitches long enough so that the pieces of the rip can be brought together without excessively tugging on the leather.
- Knot the thread as you finish sewing the rip up and cut away any excess. Add some dots of glue to the underside of the rip and directly on your stitches to reinforce the repair.
- Apply a tiny amount of leather glue to the exterior stitches and distribute it using a Q-tip. This will help slightly conceal the stitches and make them stronger.