Has anyone ever altered their designer bag? I want to alter my MJ hobo!

[Polya]

I have a large MJ hobo bag. Not the multicompartment bag, but the one that has two front pockets. The shoulder straps aren't fixed so when you wear the bag, it slides down and turns into this floppy ball of leather that bounces like crazy as you walk. It bounces itself right off my shoulder! It's annoying but I love the bag. So I was thinking of sewing the shoulder strap to the side of the bag. I think I can do it in a way so the alteration is hidden, but I'm very nervous about ruining it. Should I take a deep breath and do it? Are there any professional leather people who could do it? I live in a small town and there's no MJ store in sight!

 

[Luna]

Hm. Could you link any picture to this thread.. so I can get an idea of how the hardware works on the bag?

Back when I had no idea how to sew anything when I was in high school.. I took a bag into a shoe fixing place.. and they did what I asked them to do...

but.. yea.. Post a pic of the bag...



PS Welcome to tFS.

 

[Polya]

Picture

Viola!

The pic of black bag is from saks.com. The other pic shows where I want to do the alteration. I was thinking about sewing the shoulder strap to the bag where I'm pointing so that the stitches are hidden under the crossing strap. HELP!!!!

 

[Luna]

The only thing I worry about is those two buckle things towards the bottom of the bag(on the sides)... what will happen to those once you move the strap. And I think it's pretty do-able.. but that strap (that you hope will cover the new stitches up) will be rough to work around.

 

[Luna]

Ohh.. an afterthought.. You could easily cut the strap.. and have it riveted on.. the rivets would be covered by that strap you're pointing to. a lot easier than sewing.. I think.

 

[Luna]

Oooh wow. I'm silly. I just re-read your first post.. Seriously.. go to a shoe-maker place where they have some sort of riveting tools... and have them rivet the handle to the sides of the bag. Sewing is really not necessary.

 

[Polya]

Luna, riveting is a great idea!! Why didn't I think of that? And it'll be stronger support than thread or nylon. I'm gonna look into it!

 

[Luna]

NP.