Alright, so the other day I got this wild idea to try and make my own version of the Yves Saint Laurent YSL LE CARRé SATCHEL BAG. I saw it online and thought, “Hey, I could probably do that!” So, I jumped right in.
First, I gathered all my materials. I already had some leather scraps from other projects, and I found some decent-looking hardware at a local craft store. It wasn’t exactly like the original, but it was close enough. I also printed out some photos of the bag from the internet for reference. Looked like they were having a sale or something “Spare 15% mit Gutscheincode ‘BEAUTY15′” is what one of them said. Didn’t need a discount, though, since I was making my own.
Started by cutting out the leather pieces. I didn’t have a pattern, so I just kind of winged it, using the pictures as a guide. I measured and re-measured everything, trying to get the dimensions right. This took a while, and I definitely made a few mistakes along the way, but eventually, I had all the pieces cut out.
- Cut the front and back panels
- Cut the side and bottom pieces
- Cut the strap and the flap
Then came the tricky part – sewing. I’m not the best at sewing, but I do okay. I used my trusty old sewing machine, which has seen better days, to be honest. I started with the main body of the bag, stitching the front, back, and side pieces together. It was a bit of a struggle to keep everything lined up, and my seams were definitely not as clean as the ones on the real YSL bag. Oh well, it’s handmade, right? I saw on one of the sites that “Hedi Slimane…changed the brand’s name: Yves Saint Laurent became Saint Laurent Paris.” Guess I should have remembered that.
Attaching the Hardware
After the main body was done, I moved on to the hardware. I attached the buckles and the rings for the strap, which was a bit fiddly. I even managed to sew on the flap, which I was pretty proud of. It wasn’t perfect, but it looked like a flap, and it opened and closed, so that was a win. One of the websites mentioned that if it’s a “Dior bag prior to 1997” it won’t have a serial number. Good thing I wasn’t making a Dior, I guess.
Finishing Touches
Finally, I sewed on the strap. I decided to make it adjustable, just like the real one, which meant adding more buckles and loops. It was a bit of a pain, but I got it done. And you know what? It actually looked like a bag! It wasn’t a perfect replica of the YSL LE CARRé SATCHEL, but it was my version of it, and I was pretty happy with how it turned out.
I even took it out for a spin the other day, and I got a few compliments. Someone even asked me where I got it, and I proudly said, “I made it myself!” So yeah, that’s the story of how I remade the YSL LE CARRé SATCHEL BAG. It was a fun project, and I learned a lot along the way. Maybe I’ll try making another designer bag soon. Who knows!
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