The Kelly Project

http://www.arfon-edition.com/f/index.php?sp=liv&livre_id=66

This is what’s called being a day late and a dollar short - a book on the minutiae of the Kelly bag by Hermès. It’s in French, naturally. But pictures are pictures, eh?

My regrets for chiming in at such a late stage.

Stephen

Hey Daniel, I have used PVC plumbing pipe as a block to glue linings onto curved pieces. You can use it as is or you can place blocks of wood inside it to stiffen it. You can also get another piece of pipe the same size and split it lengthwise and fit it over the outside of the first piece, this will stiffen it quite a bit. I hope that makes sense.

I would say if you are making a freakin Kelly, it is necessary! Not using it would be like Mercedes selling you their S series car for 100K USD and installing cheap 50$ tires on it :D

for me Daniel, these are the extremely small details that make a leather item stand out :)

Either get a local carpenter to make you once, or here you go from AliExpress:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33035045962.html?spm=a2g0o.cart.0.0.12603c003lwDY3&mp=1

SO,. a lot of time has passed. Mostly spent getting all the things together. So here it is, wow, really Is a lot when sewing it this way.

Only thing I need is a block like this, to form the handle over. Cant find any seller, so have to make it myself. Anyone know If its super necessary?

Thanks! Yeah, amazes me sometimes!

Wow beautiful work there !! Think China can get away with pretty much everything :D

Thanks for sharing the link, some amazing (and super hard to find) hardware listed there. Although I’m cautiously surprised that they can sell what they sell without incurring the wrath of some certain large name brands....

if you’re interested, I drafted and made a Kelly style clutch in crocodile. I’m very much a novice at this (it was my first one out of Croc), but happy to help if I can - learnt a lot from doing it. Link to my original work stream post (https://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/80048-croc-clutch/)

Hi, https://www.leathercraftpattern.com. 2 guys from China. Super nice. Make super nice things.

Glad to hear you are back at it!

who's the new hardware supplier you found?

So a little update. RM finally got the leather I needed. So that's perfekt. After a lot of research, I found better hardwere. The ones on the left is the new one. SO much better. Weight, color, accuracy ect. Did cost 4 times more. So right now, I should be able to start in about 2-3 weeks ;D

In sourcing the leather, I found the tanneries use the term "gold" loosely 🤣

So my plan for using Riviera on the outside, and Berenia on the inside is trashed

Berenia is super weird leather. in almost every picture online, it looks much lighter. In sunlight, is super light, but something happens when photo is taken indoor.

Customer wants this color. The Riviera gold fits that. Im not in love with the grain on it, maybe it looks better on a full bag. So im waiting on a visit from costumer, to chose color combo

@Daniel W. heyyy! How are things going with Ms. Kelly?? 😁

So did the first card board assemble today. It really is a simple bag. Hope it will be just as easy in leather :D Think Im going with your idea Fadi, og using 1mm for lining. That will also hide the stiffener I will add. The 0.5mm would show it I think.

Also I think im concerning. is the lining. Dont think I would lay it flat when I glue it to the outer shell, maybe I should encourage a bend? Starting at the top, and then maybe bending it over something. Maybe not, the bag is really square.

Okay, so today I did some more research. Looked through Ellen´s book. She made something similar afterall.

Her outer leather, and lining both is 1.2-1.4mm thickness. Should be only about 3 ,and its skived, but

This gives these super thick edges, im not into that. Maybe is how the picture is taken?

Found this picture from the Hermés workshop. Flap looks like about 2-3mm to me, and rest like 2. so super thin!

So im going to find out, what my outer layer layer thickness and lining should be. im ordering from Rocky M, and they split for free.

I have decided the leather. Rivera for outer, Novonappa for lining. Maybe using some Sully on inner pocket just for pop .D

@philipjury Could you way in? would 1.6mm for both lining and exterior be to much? if I just find two pieces of scrap leather and make 3mm, it looks close to what the Hermes is

Hey Daniel,

I will be following your build closely :)

A quick french lesson:

Retournée means Turned Inside Out (basically, the stitches are inside) and Sellier means Saddlemaker, and sadlle stich is called Point de Sellier in french, where the name of the second bag comes from.

I would definetly go with Sellier version, It looks "crisper" and is more challenging to make I think. Any error with the stitching would be visible, while the Retourné would be more forgivving with errors. So, definetly the Sellier version.

For the leather, I would go not with the Epsom, but with the Saffiano print. I totally agree that the epsom looks and feels a bit plasticy, but the saffiano is top notch and beautiful. I think @Maru Tuchi would agree with my love of the Saffiano.

Regarding the liner, i would also suggest Goat Sully. It's soft and has a luxorious feel.

Hey Daniel!

I would love to follow up your progress on this project!!!!

Have you considered the use of Alran goatskin for the lining? It’s just something I am thinking now. Maybe it will be better option than pigskin.

please, upload pictures when you can!! 😆😆😆😆😆