RJN
Active Member
I posted about this a while back. I made the suitcase from scratch (I didn't make the locks or metal parts of the handle). I have now completed the contents too (as far as I'm able at the moment). I'm pretty pleased with it. A few people thought it was a real suitcase which, for all intents and purposes, I guess it is.
Edit: I thought I should include some 'making of' images. I have also included a couple of images which show the ageing and colouring better than the last picture.
The body of the suitcase is made from faux leather and leather, which I cut and shaped. I coloured the faux leather and leather with a leather/faux leather dye. I introduced more depth of colour with washes of acrylic. I scratched and hammered the surface of the suitcase, then added more washes so that the paint would settle in certain areas. The stitching was done by hand using a leather stitch punch and two needles. I also re-covered the handle from an old suitcase. The riveting was done by hand. Many of the techniques used I learnt as I went along, having done some research beforehand.
I sewed the pyjamas by hand. The gloves were originally white. I changed their appearance with a very similar technique to the one used on the body of the suitcase. I couldn't find a handkerchief similar enough to the original, so had fabric printed and created the handkerchief from the fabric. The clock originally had a white face, so I dismantled the clock and replaced it. I painted over the numbers, by hand, with glow-in-the-dark paint. The scarf is a replica I bought. I bought the binoculars, cleaned them up and re-coloured them.
Edit: I thought I should include some 'making of' images. I have also included a couple of images which show the ageing and colouring better than the last picture.
The body of the suitcase is made from faux leather and leather, which I cut and shaped. I coloured the faux leather and leather with a leather/faux leather dye. I introduced more depth of colour with washes of acrylic. I scratched and hammered the surface of the suitcase, then added more washes so that the paint would settle in certain areas. The stitching was done by hand using a leather stitch punch and two needles. I also re-covered the handle from an old suitcase. The riveting was done by hand. Many of the techniques used I learnt as I went along, having done some research beforehand.
I sewed the pyjamas by hand. The gloves were originally white. I changed their appearance with a very similar technique to the one used on the body of the suitcase. I couldn't find a handkerchief similar enough to the original, so had fabric printed and created the handkerchief from the fabric. The clock originally had a white face, so I dismantled the clock and replaced it. I painted over the numbers, by hand, with glow-in-the-dark paint. The scarf is a replica I bought. I bought the binoculars, cleaned them up and re-coloured them.
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