DO IT YOURSELF N°5

My little cats!

I'm as excited as a flea! This morning I'm off to the Chanel show at the Grand Palais, and I can't imagine what Karl Lagerfeld has in store for us... I have a feeling it's going to be even crazier. I've been looking forward to it like a kid on Christmas morning! Don't worry, I've got my camera, and I'll do a little report on the show tomorrow if you're good! In the meantime, today is all about Do it Yourself. I'm so excited because I love my little perfume bottle bag. It's a DIY that's been made with the sweat of our brows, redone a number of times to make it as easy as possible to reproduce at home. Yes, it can be improved, of course, and you can add a lining, but I love it as it is, with those little seams visible by hand and its wobbly lettering... I'm off, I'm on parade!

Time: a whole Saturday, or two afternoons, or lots of little creative times. Basically, you'll need to be patient...

Difficulty: it's not easy, you'll need patience, but good news: you don't need a sewing machine!

Cost: around thirty euros, no, you're not dreaming!

For this DIY you'll need :

- downloadable patterns here and here
- white, cream, yellow and black felt,
- gold chain,
- white nubuck ribbon,
- embroidery drum,
- needle,
- black, white and yellow thread,
- double-sided tape,
- thin cardboard,
- two hinges found at rougier et plé,
- two hooks found at rougier and plé,
- glue,
- pins.

Download the patterns and cut out all the pieces from the felt (don't forget to leave a seam allowance) and cardboard. Then take felt piece no. 13 and glue it lightly onto piece no. 1, using the original design as a guide for placement.

Continue to lightly glue piece n°12 to n°13 and finally the Chanel typography.

Do the same for all the pieces to be embroidered, one on top of the other, and attach your embroidery drum. Start embroidering with the right color thread, using small, closely-spaced stitches. Milk Bag).

Once you've finished embroidering (in other words, a few hours and a film later), you'll be able to assemble the structure using the cardboard from which you've cut all the pieces.

Prepare all your cardboard pieces with double-sided tape, covering the entire surface for a precise result.

Take cardboard piece n°1 and stick it to the back of felt n°1. Do the same with the other pieces.

Now for the assembly: clear the corners of the pieces on the sides of the bottle. Fold and glue the felt on the side where the bag opening is, for greater clarity.

Assemble side n°4 with the front, using small, closely-spaced stitches. Continue with the other side n°4 and the bottom n°5.

Cut out two duplicates of felt piece n°6 and glue them to the reverse side of the cardboard for a cleaner result. Clear the corners of piece n°3 and glue the felt to the reverse side except for one side, which you'll use to sew the pieces together.

Assemble pieces n°7 and n°8 to create the structure of the stopper. Then attach it to the front of the cap.

Continue sewing the pieces together, including the bottom piece (n°5) and the second cork front.

That's it, everything's assembled, you're now going to fit the hinges, and here's where you need to concentrate...

Place the hinges in place and use a leather needle and thimble to work your way through the cardboard to secure them (don't hesitate to use two or three stitches, just to make sure everything holds).

Continue with the second hinge, first TA-DA!

Attach the gussets to the sides of the bag. You can first attach them with double-sided tape, then sew them in place. Take your chain and nubuck and carefully thread the nubuck through the chain, making sure it stays straight.