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Along these lines I've found a large padded belly camera pack works best for toting essentials for back country skiing etc.. A single wide strap 'round the waist secures it.

Just curious but in the 2 instruments pictured it appears that the strap and rest are shifted. The button position is the same for both. Does this give a clue as to the intent?

As no mention has been made as to system of concertina, I'll add that with a duet, using that D ( or any other suitable note in the overlap zone ) yields a beautiful and haunting mid-range drone, a much different effect than a low note beneath the melody. with my Jeff duet I can use my right thumb in this manner for 2 or 3 useful notes while playing melody with my fingers as usual.

Miz Mermaid appears to be enjoying herself however.....😏

Visiting Ireland is itself a "concertina related " event. The concertina is a port key, an interpreter of the Ambient. The first time I hitchhiked around the "emerald isle" in the 70's it was still painted wagons, painted sheep, old men thatching roofs, road(?) signs switched the wrong way, palm trees in Dublin and bombed out gas stations in Belfast. The pubs I went to all had 3 piece Johnny Cash cover bands. Sweet and bitter and magical....

Don't leave them unattended! Judging from the plethora of ceramic and cinematic representations, all manner of Critters love to play 'em. Theft by " evolutionarily advanced ?" primates is also a issue.

I should let this go but I can't. I'm proposing a tough but flexible plug ( leather has a thickness after all ) with the slightest feathering before cure atop and beneath. Not a patch, ( although perhaps in conjunction with one ). Tried and true works but there's more than one way to skin a cat.

True, certainly but if the alternative is to toss 'em and buy a new set a bit of experimentation wouldn't hurt. That's why I made the disclaimer in the first place. The concertina world isn't divided sharply into Experts and Dolts. Cheers

My friend Joel (passed ) had a very small bandoneon I always envied. It was about the size of a standard 'tina, all the beautiful workmanship, pearl button tops and such and yes, a bandoneon.

I've posted about this a couple of times but I'd like to mention that a slice of refrigerator magnet about one third of the reed length will lower the pitch a whole step. easy to do, easy to reverse, easy to experiment. Stays put.

" Shirly " this has been posted before?

Perhaps not but the flex/fill/adhesive properties should allow for a plug contiguous with the leather edges with little or no overlap at least externally and maybe a brief thin film on the inside to anchor. A future leather patch needn't reverse anything. At any rate:

Not a fettler but these corner breaches appear to be caused by wear rather than flex. I would be tempted to apply a flexible adhesive such as Goop Marine Sealant/Adhesive or shoe goo very sparingly from the inside and pressed out to be just barely proud of the corner then hand dressed with a small tool such as a flux brush inside and out. The patch could be easily color matched with a dry powder. The above appear to be silicone based. There is a latex based alternative specifically for fabrics and leather. The product I have is called Tear Mender. I'd try this before springing for a new bellows....

I may help if you "engineer" your play so that you're starting each phrase with the bellows completely closed or open. Assuming you have an air button you can play with a "controlled leak" to achieve this.

One thing you can do to smooth out your playing is learn how to switch fingers on a note without interrupting the reed thereby re-positioning your hand and avoiding a "hop" to reach a subsequent note or harmony shape. It doesn't involve a bellows change but smoothing out in general may make those more tolerable.