D.I.Y Logo Crossbody Bag
I had so much fun making my D.I.Y Baguette blog, so much fun in fact that I decided to make another bag. I decided to make a little crossbody bag as I always find they tend to be a smidge too small for me to be able to fit my essentials in. Making my own, I had the power to tailor the bag to my needs. Crossbody bags have been INCREDIBLY popular in recent years helped by bags like the Gucci quilted shoulder bag, Chanel Classic Flap, and the new era Dior Saddlebag. As much I as find the Chanel Flap a VERY classy bag, I would never get one. Not only is the price of pretty steep but they are a little too classic for me and my style. Now I do LOVE the colourful versions in bright coloured lambskin, but again I could never justify buying one at this moment in time. I’d come up with the idea of a cutout logo design on the front, kinda like a signature as a fun way to brand the bag. I loved the idea of having a few bags that I could either wear individually or hook them onto each other and create a colourful mash-up of bags/charms extravaganza. Versace’s spring/summer 2021 collection was the inspiration for this crossbody bag and the styled look for the shoot. They created bags made entirely from one colour and they offer the most beautiful colourful accessories such as plastic chain handles and cardholders with lanyards to wear around your neck. All the colours they used not only work amazingly with the entire collection but amazingly with each other. The perfect opportunity to mix and match the colours and create your own unique look. The colours used in the collection were the perfect mix of a pumped-up zingy-coloured mix of Malibu Barbie’s summer wardrobe and that of the Little Mermaid, if only she had a house on Miami Beach in the 1980s, which in my eyes couldn’t get any more perfect haha.
There are few things I need to fit into my bag each day, be it for work or essential food shopping, which would be: keys, wallet, hand sanitiser, mask and sometimes my insulin pen. Most of these tend to fit on a bag of any size except for the insulin, these are pretty long and I like to lay them flat just in case they get damaged. When it comes to smaller bags I am really not too fussed with an inside pocket as the bags are so small you can usually find things pretty quickly and easily.
What I used for the crossbody bag:
2 different coloured types of vinyl
2 metrs of flanged piping
polyester tread
quilting tape
2 D-rings
2 orange metal lobster claw clasps
8-inch chunky closed end zip
chunky clear plastic chain
The first thing I did was come up with the size that I wanted the bag to be. I used my Moschino Powerpuff Girl bag for sizing, only I made it twice as wide. I used a bowl to make the paper pattern piece for the front and the bag then drew a line connecting the two circles at the top and the bottom. I then folded the pattern piece in quaters for notches when it comes to sewing the parts together. For the side panel, I measured the diameter of the front panel and notched where I wanted the zip to start from. I divided the top panel in half widthways and then removed 0.5cm from each side to make room for the zip to sit between the panels. For the bottom panel, I decided to divide the panel in half lengthways and add a seam just to give the bag some strength (and it made it easier for a centre notch).
Once I had all of the pattern pieces drawn up I then went and started with the cutout logo on the front panel. I decided to go for a white vinyl JUST because I couldn’t make my mind up as to another colour I would go for haha. I drew the logo design and cut it out ready to trace it on to the back of the orange vinyl. Remember to place the stencil on backwards so it is the right way from the right side……… this took me 3 attempts to get right LOL. I then used a sharp scalpel and slowly started to cut out the logo design. This took me a good while to do trying to make sure the lines ran parallel to one other. Once I had cut out the design I then used quilting tape, which was the BEST buy for this project, to stop the 2 pieces of vinyl from moving when I was sewing them together. This quilting tape is incredible you can wash it and it disappears and you can sew through it without any issues. For the topstitching, I used a medium to long stitch length and I turned the needle by hand making sure it was as neat as possible, as it can get a little too carried away when using the foot control haha. Now, this was VERY tiring on the old hand so I would suggest doing it with breaks as my hand and forearm started to BUUUUURN LOL. Instead of cutting the thread off after stitching on the sewing machine, I used a sewing needle and threaded it back through one of the stitch holes made by the sewing machine and then tied them off on the backside. I found this way more clean looking and it stops any stitches from coming undone. When the logo was stitched in place I then trimmed the excess white vinyl to take away any bulk in the fabric.
The next step was to attach the piping. Like I said in the D.I.Y Baguette blog I found using piping not only helps make the bag look a little more pulled together but also helps disguise little imperfections that would scream at you if the piping wasn’t there. So it is a godsend LOL! I started by pinning one end of the piping to the bottom centre then slowly working my way around the edge snipping the piping to make sure it follows the curve. Once I made it to the other end I cut the piping overlapping the centre point by 2cm. The next part can be a little tricky, I unpicked the stitching of the piping to get to the cord. I then cut the cord at the centre notch then folded over the fabric wrapping it tightly around the opposite edge and pinned it in place. When stitching the piping I always find it best to stitch the join first to stop it from unravelling and making your life a little tougher haha. I did this to both the back and front panel then set them aside for now. Next is to stitch the side panels together in the centre and topstitch the seams flat. I then stitched the zip on to the panels at the top and again topstitched the seams down. Once this was finished I then added the golden D-rings. I attached these to the centre of the zip and pinned the bottom panel to the zip and panel and the D-ring. Once these were stitched together I then topstitched for added strength.
For this bag, I managed to find this amazing clear plastic chunky chain which came as a necklace. I linked 2 of them together and made one long strap. I just attached an orange coloured metal lobster claw clasp on each end and this would then be able to attach to any of the bags. I thought not only would this be perfect for carrying the bag but also just as an added detail if I wanted to use another handle.
And VOILA the crossbody bag is done!!!
Suit - BoohooMan
Shirt - ASOS
T-shirt - ASOS
‘Van Cartier’ Necklace - Etsy
Sword and shield necklace - Versace x H&M
Necklace - Fendi
Belt - Versace x H&M
Boots - ASOS
Rings - Versace, New Look. ASOS, Swarovski, Topman
Sunglasses - Moschino