Three times as glad?!

I was very chuffed to finish the renovation of Nick's Gladstone bag. I bragged about it to friends and posted on FaceBook - and I really thought that was the end of our monogrammed luggage story.  Hah!

Just to recap.  My bag was $40.00 and in great condition.  Nick's bag cost $60.00 and came with keys that fit both - but needed a little more work. I opted to replace part of it's lining only as I wasn't confident of completely replacing it. 

I've made a lot of non-leather bags so sewing a new fabric lining would be fairly easy. I was worried about taking the bag apart, properly attaching the new lining and then re-assembling the bag without causing any damage.  The project seemed beyond my skill-set, so I chose a work-around solution.

The day after finishing Nick's bag we were poking around an op-shop and I spotted another Gladstone bag!  This one was smaller than the other two and in worse condition.  It was priced at $40.00 and after discussion, I put it back on the shelf.

When I went to the counter to pay for my other items, I started chatting with the lovely volunteer who found something else I was looking for - and offered the bag for $20.00! 

I'm going to use this bag a practice piece.  $20.00 is a modest outlay for quite a few hours of entertainment.  If all goes well, we could have an extra bag in our monogrammed luggage set! Fingers crossed!

Like the other two bags, this one needed a spa treatment. Some repairs were necessary, as well as a replacement lining.

My rough plan was to remove the frame piece from the bag, take out the lining, repair the hole at one end and also reinforce the same area of the other end, make a replacement lining and then (hopefully!) reassemble the bag.

I've watched several tutorials about re-stitching leather bags and although this bag is vinyl, the principle will be the same.  

The bigger issue is how to repair the handle attachment loops on one side of the bag.  (There is wear to the frame covering on the opposite side of the bag, so we think a previous owner may have carried the bag by one handle).  

I'll take the bag to a reputable shoe repairer to get a quote for having that work done.

I gave the bag a very thorough clean and removed a few marks (magic sponge worked on some and I used goo remover for others).  

Fine grade steel wool and a bit of metal polish worked on the clasp, which was rusty. (Nick sprayed inside with WD40). It's the same lock as the other two, so our keys fit - bonus!

I've removed the frame from the bag body, just using a large unpicker and a bit of oomph.  I'll repair the worn areas of the vinyl before re-sewing it around the frame. That will need some leather needles and waxed thread, I think. (I've also applied leather/vinyl conditioner to the vinyl frame pieces and the bag itself).

Once the frame was off, it was fairly easy to pull the lining out.  I've taken measurements and expect making a new lining will be quite straight-forward. I won't bother covering cardboard with fabric for the base.  Instead I'll buy another sheet of the light plastic that we used for the other two bags. I didn't glue the bases down in those bags, preferring to keep them removable for cleaning.

Making the lining is my next mission and I might then consult a repairer to see what options are suggested for the handle repair. It may not be as involved as I think - and if the cost is quite reasonable, I'd be happy for someone else to do that work.  We'll see what happens.