Chanel Handbag My Inspiration!

Laying my pieces of fabric on iron-on lining. 

Embroidery floss and large needle I used.

This is what my pieces looked like right before I started stitching.

So after seeing Chanel Fall/Winter Collections last summer. I couldn't shake that out of my head. I can't really run out and buy all the Chanel I want, so the next best thing for me is to take Chanel to my studio as my inspiration. So I decided to make a handbag. I took little swatches of fabric I had laying around and laid them on iron- on lining. Ironing them on makes it easy to stitch around, because they obviously stay in place. This technique also adds some bulk and thickness. After putting all the swatches the way I wanted them, I began to make large stitches with embroidery floss. I tried to make large stitches to make them stand out. It worked for me since my eyes are getting bad. I had a little clutch handbag from a friend and it was very thin and linen like, perfect for this project. I do call this recycling and being GREEN! So basically what I did was made a cover for the linen clutch and sewed the sides and placed the clutch inside the cover. I added a vintage necklace and rhinestone flowers from another necklace and voilla! I love this little treasure and can't wait to use it!

Finished clutch.

Close Up of finished clutch.