Backstory
So I got this purse about eight years ago and I have used it ever since. Even though it is not orange, not particularly well designed (as for example it sometimes loses smaller coins when tossed around in a bag) and gives of a bit of it’s silver paint, it is really sturdy and looks nearly identical to the day it was bought and so I never saw the need to replace it. The only problem was that the velcro fastener slowly stopped working and it was quite clear that this is the biggest weak point of the whole purse. Personally I was actually fine with that, and was mentally ready to replace it with an orange wallet, but I thought that it was overall in nearly ideal condition, so I looked at “Freitags” homepage and found out that they would repair your bags. As there is a “Freitag” store near me, I decided to just give it a shot and ask them, whether they would replace the velcro fastener.
I really dislike the smell in Freitag stores
The guy at the counter told me that they would do it, but the problem is that they are only allowed to do repairs in Switzerland, and sending the purse there and back again would cost a lot, especially as Switzerland is not part of the EU and it would take them about 6-8 weeks. He instead suggested that I just stop by the next Shoemaker and he would do it for at maximum 5 Euros. So next Friday I walked into the next Shoemaker shop, but he would fix it, as he doesn’t have any velcro fasteners. Then I went to the next tailor shop, but they said that their machines would break, trying to go through the truck tarpaulin. So I called another Shoemaker, who told me that they can’t do that, but their neighbour is a purser. This shop didn’t have an internet website, so I had no idea when it opens or closes, so I just went there and obviously it was closed, but looking at the opening table, it nearly never opens while I would have time to stop by, so I search for another purser in vienna, and I found on near me. She was a bit stressed and a bit unfriendly, so I showed her my problem. She then asked me some questions, but after figuring out that it was eight years old, it seemed like she lost interest in it, took velcro fastener and said that should would just stick it on top of the old one. She was already taking my purse, when I luckily ask her again how much I would have to pay her to do that. Really quite and sharply like she had an unbeatable argument she said 20 Euros, as I told her that thats the minimum cost, the Freitag guy told me it would cost me, if I were to have it repaired by them. Then I looked at her a bit irritated and said, that first of all, I also told her that this was not a price I was willing to pay and that’s why I was searching for an alternative and second of all, Freitag would have at least renewed the velcro fastener and not just stick a new one on top of the old one. Bitterly she replied that if that’s so I can do it myself, I told her that I will, took my purse and went. Motivated by this challenge, I bought myself a strip of velcro fastener for 50 cents and went home.
The repair
Removal
As only the fluffy side of the strip was broken, I only had to change one side. So I tested it and the new and old strips were compatible and then I started to remove the old one. Luckily at the back of my brain, I know that we had this interesting tool, whose use case I never knew, but facing this challenge the first time, I knew that I needed it and I also found it relatively easily at my house. With it, removing the old stipe took me probably less than ten minutes, but that was the easy part, as I just had to cut through some strings at the back.
The wrong needle
To the left the wrong needle, in the middle the tool, and to the left the later used better needle
Assessing the different strings I had at home, I decided for the thickest as I assumed it was also the strongest. The problem was that we did not possess any needles with sharp edges, which would have been able to accompany it, so I started with an embroidery needle. The problem was that it had a dull tip and was quite big. As I just used the same holes from before, for my new stripe, I didn’t have to get through the truck tarpaulin with it, but even the stipe was a challenge. Being so big also meant that it was really unusable on the edges. I only did a quarter with it. So I went to buy a different kind of needles
The better needle
As I had no idea what I was searching for, it took me a bit and three conversations and about 2 Euros later I was in the possession of leather needles. They where perfect, but the edges were still hard to handle. I noticed that going from the outside to the inside was a bit easier than the other way around, so I recalled the different stitches, we learned at elementary school, and deployed on that would only require me to go from the inside to the outside at points I already visited, which not only made the stitching easier, but also lead to a way stronger stitch. The result is that the first half of the top row is rather badly done, the second half is fine, but the second row, I would personally say is quite good.
Future
The velcro fastener will break again, I assume it is just a question of time, but I am prepared to repair it again, but what I assume will happen a bit sooner, is that top row will have some sort of problem and loosen, and I will have to redo it, but this time I will know a lot more, and use the right needle and stitch from the beginning.
