Hi,

I've made a couple of sporrans with non-traditional materials. The latest one is "okay", but I want to improve on it. It's tweed and duck canvas (pics below). Although the duck canvas worked pretty well for the gusset, I think it would look, feel, and function better if I use leather. The panels can still be made from layers of duck canvas and tweed.

I've never worked with leather. I understand a chisel tipped needle is used for machine sewing leather, but I prefer to sew by hand. Is the leather typically used for the gusset something I can hand sew? Are there chisel shaped needles for hand sewing leather or is an awl and blunt round-nose needle (like a x-stitch needle?) typically used?

Thanks