Fix hole or stitching on a leather bag - PEP BB textiles.straw.repair.leatherbag

My everyday carry leather purse broke - the leather loop that holds the D-ring that the shoulder strap attaches to came apart. I used some red cotton embroidery floss from my stash, an awl (I don't think it's an actual leatherworking awl, but it worked), and a regular needle to stitch it back together. I thought I might need to use one of my curved quilting needles, but the leather ended up being flexible enough that once I pierced holes for the needle with the awl, a straight needle worked just fine. (Which is fine with me, as I'm still not super coordinated with the curved needles yet.) The finished stitching isn't the prettiest, but it's functional and I think it turned out pretty well considering this is my first time working with leather. And since the thread is the same color as the purse, it's not noticeable unless you're looking for it.

I repaired the leather bag my grandfather made.
Much of the leather stitching had worn away, and the leather was in poor condition. I first removed the stitching and used a saddle soap and olive oil to clean and condition the leather. Along the sides of the bags, the stitching holes had also been worn badly, so I trimmed them off and made new holes. Then, I used 100% cotton thread rubbed with beeswax to stitch the bag together using an adapted crochet technique. I gave the bag another polish with olive oil, and considered it done.

I attempted to use leather stitching and needle as my Grandpa had done before I settled on the cotton, but found that the finer cotton and crochet hook were gentler on the old leather.