Bags and Pouches

Part of Leatherwork

Making leather bags, pouches, and carrying containers for everyday survival use.

Why This Matters

In a rebuilding society, the ability to carry tools, food, water, and supplies efficiently determines how far you can range from your settlement and how productive each trip becomes. Plastic bags and synthetic containers will degrade and disappear within the first years. Leather bags and pouches, properly made, last decades and can be repaired indefinitely with basic tools and materials already available to any community processing hides.

Beyond utility, leather containers solve problems that baskets and cloth bags cannot. A well-made leather pouch keeps small items secure during physical labor. A leather satchel protects documents and delicate instruments from rain. A leather water bag, when properly sealed, carries liquid without leaking. These are not luxury goods but fundamental infrastructure for a mobile, productive community.

The skills involved in bag-making also build your broader leatherworking capability. Cutting patterns, stitching seams under stress, setting hardware, and finishing edges are all techniques that transfer directly to making belts, harnesses, armor, and other critical leather goods.

Basic Tools and Materials

You need surprisingly few specialized tools to make functional leather bags. Most can be improvised from materials available in any post-collapse environment.

Essential Tools

Tool	Purpose	Improvised Alternative
Cutting knife	Pattern cutting	Any sharp blade, broken glass
Awl	Punching stitch holes	Sharpened nail, bone splinter
Needles (2)	Saddle stitching	Thorns, bone needles, wire
Thread	Joining pieces	Sinew, waxed linen, rawhide lace
Edge beveler	Finishing edges	Broken glass held at angle
Mallet	Setting hardware	Any smooth hammer or heavy stick

Selecting Leather

For bags, you want leather between 1.5mm and 3mm thick depending on the application:

• Belt pouches and small bags: 1.5-2mm vegetable-tanned leather
• Satchels and messenger bags: 2-2.5mm firm leather
• Heavy tool bags: 2.5-3mm thick, stiff leather
• Drawstring pouches: 1-1.5mm soft leather or brain-tanned buckskin

Grain Direction

Leather has a “grain” that runs along the animal’s spine. Cut your main panels so the grain runs vertically on the bag body. This gives maximum strength where stress concentrates at the top opening.

Pattern Design and Cutting

The One-Piece Pouch

The simplest functional container uses a single piece of leather folded and stitched:

1. Measure the items you need to carry. Add 2cm to each dimension for seam allowance.
2. Cut a rectangle twice the desired height plus the desired width (this becomes the bottom fold plus both sides).
3. Fold the leather in half, flesh side out.
4. Mark stitch lines 8mm from each side edge.
5. Punch holes every 4-5mm along the stitch lines using your awl.
6. Saddle stitch both sides from bottom to top.
7. Turn inside out so the grain side faces outward and seams are hidden.

The Gusseted Bag

For larger bags that need to stand open and hold bulky items:

1. Cut two identical panels for front and back (rectangular or shaped).
2. Cut a long strip for the gusset — width equals desired bag depth, length equals the total perimeter of the bottom plus two sides.
3. Mark and punch matching stitch holes on all pieces. Start from the center bottom and work outward to ensure alignment.
4. Stitch the gusset to the back panel first, then attach the front panel.
5. Add a flap by extending the back panel upward, or cut a separate flap and rivet it on.

Matching Holes

Always mark and punch both pieces simultaneously or use a pricking iron to transfer hole positions. Misaligned holes create puckered, weak seams that will fail under load.

Making Templates

Before cutting expensive leather, make your pattern from bark, stiff cloth, or scrap hide:

1. Cut the template and assemble it with temporary ties or thorns.
2. Test the fit with the actual items you plan to carry.
3. Adjust dimensions and re-test.
4. Only cut your good leather once the template is proven.

Stitching Techniques for Load-Bearing Seams

Bags experience constant stress. Every stitch must be strong enough that if adjacent stitches fail, the remaining ones hold until repair.

Saddle Stitch (Primary Method)

The saddle stitch uses two needles, one on each end of the thread, passing through the same holes from opposite sides:

1. Cut thread 3.5 times the length of the seam.
2. Thread a needle on each end.
3. Push the first needle through the first hole. Pull through until equal lengths remain on both sides.
4. Push the right needle through the second hole from right to left.
5. Push the left needle through the same hole from left to right, passing behind the first thread.
6. Pull both threads tight simultaneously.
7. Continue for each hole, maintaining consistent tension.

This creates a stitch where every hole has thread passing in both directions. If one thread breaks, the other holds the seam together — unlike machine stitching, which unravels completely from a single break.

Reinforcing Stress Points

Where straps attach to the bag body, where flaps hinge, and at the top corners of side seams, reinforce with:

• Back-stitching: At the start and end of every seam, go back through the previous 2-3 holes before continuing forward.
• Rivets: Copper or iron rivets through doubled leather at strap attachment points.
• Layered leather: Glue or stitch a reinforcement patch behind high-stress attachment points.

Closures and Straps

Drawstring Closure

The simplest closure for pouches:

1. Punch an even number of holes around the bag opening, 15mm from the edge and 20mm apart.
2. Thread a leather lace or cord through the holes, weaving in and out.
3. Pull both ends to cinch the opening closed.
4. For security, use two laces starting from opposite sides so the bag cinches from both directions.

Flap and Toggle

For satchels and messenger bags:

1. Extend the back panel or attach a separate flap that folds over the opening.
2. Cut a slot in the flap center, 30mm long.
3. Carve a wooden or bone toggle — a cylinder 40mm long, 10mm diameter.
4. Attach the toggle to the bag front with a short leather loop.
5. Slip the toggle through the slot to secure the flap.

Buckle Closure

If you have access to forged metal:

1. Attach the buckle to a short strap riveted to the bag front.
2. Attach a longer strap to the flap with punched adjustment holes.
3. The buckle prong passes through the strap holes for adjustable closure.

Strap Construction

For shoulder straps and handles:

1. Cut straps at least 25mm wide for load-bearing use, 38mm for heavy loads.
2. Round the edges with a knife or edge beveler to prevent cutting into the shoulder.
3. Attach with rivets — minimum two rivets per attachment point, set 15mm apart.
4. Adjustable straps: Punch holes every 25mm and use a buckle, or thread through a metal or wooden ring.

Water-Resistant Bags

Standard leather bags handle light rain but will soak through in sustained wet conditions. For water resistance:

Wax Treatment

1. Melt beeswax with an equal portion of rendered animal fat (tallow).
2. Apply the warm mixture to the grain side with a cloth, working it into every pore.
3. Use gentle heat (hold near a fire, not over it) to help the wax penetrate.
4. Apply a second coat after the first has cooled and set.
5. Reapply every few months with regular use.

Pitch Lining

For actual water-carrying bags:

1. Collect pine pitch or birch tar.
2. Heat the pitch until liquid.
3. Pour into the finished bag and swirl to coat the interior completely.
4. Pour out excess and let the coating set.
5. The pitch creates a waterproof membrane inside the bag.

Pitch-lined bags should only carry water, not food items that would contact the pitch directly. The pitch can impart an unpleasant taste and may contain compounds you do not want to ingest regularly.

Repair and Maintenance

Leather bags will eventually need repair. The most common failures:

• Torn stitch holes: The leather between holes elongates and tears. Restitch through new holes set further from the edge, possibly adding a reinforcement strip behind the damaged area.
• Worn straps: Replace entirely rather than patching. Rivet new straps through fresh holes.
• Dried, cracked leather: Condition with rendered fat or oil. Work it in thoroughly, let it absorb overnight, then buff off excess.
• Mold: Wipe with diluted vinegar (1:4 vinegar to water), let dry completely in sun and air, then condition with oil.

Regular maintenance prevents most failures: condition the leather every few months, store bags stuffed with dry grass to hold their shape, and keep them away from direct heat sources that dry and crack the material.