Today in the Lotuff studio, the handles of our No. 12 Business Tote are being turned and burned. As with grinding and polishing (detailed in last week’s post), this is a step in the process of making a bag that we choose to carry out not because it’s necessary, but because it’s important. The No. 12 Tote has over 50 hand-tied knots, and by turning and burning each one to seal it into the leather, the final product ends up being much stronger than if we were to skip doing so. Issues commonly found in leather goods—like loose threads—become less likely to ever occur, too. 

Each nylon thread end gets tied in a square knot and is then heated with a flame. Because it’s nylon and not cotton, the thread melts and doesn’t just burn right up, meaning that we can pull it back into the stitching hole where it’ll cool down and settle right into the leather. By then pushing the surrounding leather back over the hole with a bone folder, the knot becomes completely secured.

Every part of every bag is different, and accordingly, there are three different types of turn-and-burns to go along with them. Pieces that will be affixed to another, as is the case with our fully leather-lined designs, get what we call invisible turn-and-burns, and those pieces that are perceptible from the exterior get visible ones— meaning that the turn-and-burn’s execution must be absolutely perfect. The third type is an edge wrap, which is comprised of five threads wrapped around the parts of the bag most likely to experience strain: corners, edges, and straps. When all these No. 12 Tote straps have completed this part of their journey, they’ll be attached to the rest of the bag… but that’s for another day.

Shop the No. 12 Tote