A hand-stitched leather bag in a day

Since 2005, ‘Quirky Workshops’ in Greystoke has been offering an eclectic and unrivalled range of arts, crafts and heritage skills courses. We now run over 140 ‘Quirky Workshops’ each year from our pretty 17thC farmhouse on the fringes of the beautiful Lake District and Eden Valley in Cumbria. In July 2020 we opened a lovely new, listed & spacious 'Covid-secure' teaching studio - the 'Swallow Barn', which now enjoys consistently excellent feedback; please see below for all details. Our new programme for each year is sent out at the end of October, by email, directly to those on our database. Please contact us directly if you wish to join this list in order to have early sight of next year’s programme. About your Workshop: Leather worker Ruth Pullan specialises in creating hand stitched bags and accessories using high quality British materials. Join her for this workshop which will give you the basic skills needed to make a small leather bag. You will learn how to: - dye and condition natural vegetable tanned leather - stitch using the two needle traditional saddler's stitch - bevel and burnish raw edges for a professional finish - fit buckles and fastenings to complete your bag. Please contact us/Ruth before the course if you have a particular colour in mind. About the Swallow Barn: “I’ve been thinking about last week’s workshop session. I am SO impressed with the loveliness of the Swallow barn. In the midst of this COVID world of chaos and uncertainty, it’s such a calm, safe space and I’m sure that everyone who visits will agree. I also appreciate the abundance of extra safety/hygiene measures that you’ve put in place. It works so well. Also, as Gwen mentioned, the extra space and its layout has made for a more social environment - it’s easier to chat and to look at what others are doing. I’m so glad I came, I feel uplifted, somewhat healed and much more positive as a result. Oh... and the salad lunch was just wonderful! “