making a Hermès Kelly Bag at home DIY Leather Bag

Hi everyone! Welcome back to my channel. If you're new here, hello! My name is Caroline and I make sewing tutorials and sewing patterns to help you along your sewing journey. And for today's video, I'll be hand sewing a bag from scratch. I have to admit that I have never hand sewn anything. Ever since I started sewing, I just started with like the sewing machine right away. The only type of hand sewing I've done was attaching buttons. I have never made an entire thing just by hand. So I'm excited to take this challenge and make this, but I'm also a little bit nervous. I'm afraid if I do a poor job with the hand stitching, the bag might end up looking bad. Because I really do plan on wearing the hell out of this bag, so I want it to turn out perfect. The bags I've made so far, I really do wear them. Let me get the ones I use the most to show you. There's this cute baguette bag here that I have a tutorial on my channel and it's a free pattern too on my website. And this backpack right here, I think I've made it three times, but just this one for myself. The other two were gifts. It's the raspberry rucksack by Sarah Kirsten and I really do wear them so much. Even more this one because it fits a lot of stuff in here. I just love when I'm wearing them and then someone's like, oh nice bag or oh nice backpack. Where did you get that? And I'm like, I actually made it myself. But these were made with cotton. They're a little bit more casual. I'm kind of missing something handmade for more formal occasions because this is very casual. So this new bag that I'll be making is made out of leather, that's why I need to hand sew it. And the design is inspired by the Kelly bag from Hermes, which is obviously way out of my budget. But it is way more affordable to DIY it and just make it yourself. But instead of paying it with extra money, you're just gonna have to pay with hundreds of hours of your time. I'm kidding, I don't know how much time it will take to make it. But honestly, the more time I spend on something, the more I'm proud to wear it. Like this backpack right here, it took a while to make but I have worn it so many times and with so much pride too. Like it was totally worth it. I think you guys get it, right? Like there's just something different about wearing something that you made. But leather bags are a little bit more complicated. I tried to make one like five years ago, like a fake leather backpack. The edges just didn't turn out looking great. When you cut it yourself and you don't know how to finish it properly, which was my case, that can happen. So that one was kind of a waste of my time. But this time, I am not cutting it myself. I was approached by this company called Babylon Leather and they asked if they could send me one of their leather kits for me to make a bag, which is very cool. And I said yes, of course. Because their kits are made out of real leather, so this bag will last forever, hopefully. And they already come pre-cut with the finishes on the sides and everything. So I am really excited to make this because I don't think it's gonna look handmade at all. And this video is not sponsored, by the way. I just received the kit as a gift to make a video about showing the process. But they also gave me a coupon code. So if you see me make the bag and you want to make it for yourself, you can get yours with a discount. And if you use my code, you'll be helping the channel too because I will get a small commission of the sale. So I'll leave everything in the description. You can decide once you're finished with the video if you want to make one too. There were lots of designs to choose from and lots of colors too, but I am a bit basic. So I chose the Kelly bag in caramel. So it comes with a QR code to take you to the video tutorial, which is a really good idea. I think I'm gonna start adding that to my patterns too. And apparently, it also comes with everything that you need for the project, with the needles, the thread, and even this tiny scissor right here, which I forgot the name. I think it has a special name, which is a nice thing because mine was actually starting to become really bad. I needed to get a new one. And from what they said, this is beginner-friendly. Even people who don't have a lot of sewing experience will be able to make it. But out of precaution, I asked for matching thread. It originally comes with white thread, but you can ask for matching thread if you prefer. So I chose caramel because I feel like if I make any mistakes, it will be a little bit less evident. But let's start now. I already watched the video tutorial two times before I started filming, just so I would get the hang of it, know what I'm doing at least a little bit. And I want to know how much time it will take for me to make it from start to finish. So I'm going to use a chronometer. Starting it now. I'll keep tabs on every minute that I spend on it, and by the end of the video, we'll know how much time it actually took. But I'm not a really fast sewer, so I'm expecting it to take a very long time. I'm going to set my phone up here, so you guys have an idea of what I'm doing. You can see my hands and my face. So the very first pattern piece that they picked up was this one, which I think is the side of the bag. So they said to measure the length of the thread as three times this side part right here. And we need to thread the needle. And to tie the knot, we just need to put the needle through the thread like this. Yeah. So we're going to start doing these tiny holes here. There are eight in total, if I'm not mistaken. So you can choose any small hole, pull the needle first, and then we take the other needle and we put through the second hole right next to it like this. And we have to make sure that they both have the same length and that they're being pulled very tightly, apparently. And now we need to take the first needle and put through the second hole, and then pull it back towards the next one, and then put the second needle through the same hole again, then pull it through the back, and then put the next one. It's actually not that hard. I thought it would be harder. Like looking at it being done, seemed a bit more complicated. We have to make sure that you're pulling it so they don't look loose. I didn't really understand the backstitching part yet, but the first one is finished. The top has an extra stitch because I made a mistake. But since it's brown thread, it doesn't really show that much. So I think it was a good idea to get the brown thread. And now I just have to repeat it seven more times. But it's not that hard, I just need to pay more attention. So I finished all of the smaller bits, and I also did the smaller bits on the main bag piece. And now I'm going to sew the separate bottom piece to the bottom of the bag. And so far it took me one hour and 42 minutes to do only these smaller bits. So the first needle goes through only the bag, and the second needle goes through the bottom and the bag, but the second hole. Now you just need to follow the same principles, I guess, and just keep sewing as we did before. Okay, this one is a bit more complicated. They have some clips, I'm gonna save the house. I did something wrong. Joselino was distracting me. And that was the end of day one. Here I'm top stitching the handle of the bag. And I'm sorry about the flickering lights, I only noticed that once I uploaded the clips to my computer. It looks even worse because I had to speed it up. This material was really thick, so it was a bit harder to sew compared to the others. I even broke a needle in the end, but it's okay because there are lots of extra needles there, so. I didn't follow the exact order of their video tutorial, but I think I should have, because after finishing it, I realized how they said every step in order, like from easier to more complicated. Because first, we only needed to sew one layer of leather, which were those little details, and it was pretty easy to do. So it was perfect as a first step to get the hang of it. And if I'm not mistaken, the next step during their video was sewing the pocket, in which we have to sew two layers to each other, but the pocket layer was way thinner, so it was very easy to do. But I just went straight away to sewing the stiff bottom to the bottom of the bag, so it was way more complicated because I was sewing two layers together for the first time, so I had to make sure I was aligning the holes and everything. But they were thicker and stiffer, so getting the needle through was harder than the pocket piece. So I should have followed the order they said, but I didn't. Still worked out well. But I wanted to mention that in case you wanted to make it too. Follow their order, not mine. Out of all the steps, I'd say this one was the most complicated, sewing the top handle to the bag. I struggled a little bit to hold the tiny piece while I sewed, because you have to make sure the stitching isn't loose, because I think it's the main thing that would make it look a little bit strange if some stitches are looser than others, and because of that, they would look uneven. And I was also making sure that it was really tight, because that's an important stitch. Some other stitches were just decorative, but this one is fully functional and important to be well stitched, because we'll be holding on to it. If it unravels, the bag will come apart. So I was giving my all. And it also worked out pretty well. I think the main struggle was getting all holes at once, because there were three this time. Because I would put the needle through the top handle's hole, and then it would be hard to get through the top of the bag, because I couldn't really see. But towards the end, it became easier. And to finish it all, you always need to use fire to melt the thread. Out of all the materials I needed to make the bag, that was the only thing that didn't come with the kit. I didn't have a lighter. I didn't have one at home, so I ended up buying one for this. But I actually thought using a match gave me more control over the flame in the end, because it was smaller. So I didn't actually need to get one. But that was the end of day two. So far, I stitched the internal pocket, the details of the side of the bag, the key thing and the cover, the front closure, the stiff part at the bottom to give more structure to the bag, the side closures, and the top handle, which I think was the hardest part to do. And for day two, that's how much time it took me. For day three, I needed to sew the sides of the bag to the bag itself. And in the beginning, I was so silly, because I was holding the side piece with my hand while I tried stitching it, and my hands were cramping a bit trying to do that. But the kit literally comes with a clip. So once I remembered that and put it to use, it made my life so much easier, because I didn't need to use my fingers to hold both layers together anymore. I usually don't show up on camera wearing my glasses, because as you can see, they look like the bottom of a bottle. I am severely nearsighted, my glasses are. Mine is 7.75, so as you can see, the lenses look thick. And I didn't know at first what was the point of using these finger condoms, but they make it easier to hold on to things. Your fingers get less slippery, it gives you more grip. So they were helpful to pull the needle through when the layers were thicker, but I only noticed it towards the end, because I am silly. But at this point, I was already so used to it. The stitching method is the same throughout almost the entire bag. I think you can see well through this angle, just back and forth with both needles. So it became very easy to do after a while, like second nature. This is how long it took me at the end of day three. I was basically finished there, just needed to finish the threads. And I was listening to an audiobook the whole time, so it was really calming and fun, because I didn't need to think much. And I'm sorry, but I don't think I used the chronometer during day four. At least I didn't record it. But all the stitching was already done, I just needed to attach the finishing touches, so it was pretty quick. But the footage for this was around 12 minutes long. So this is how the bag turned out. A little close-up for you. I love it so much. I think my stitching turned out pretty even throughout the whole bag, so I'm pretty satisfied with it. It looks really good, I think I did a good job. And in the end, I think the stitching method was actually kind of simple. It didn't look like it at first, but I got used to it right in the beginning, around the first day. It was just a little bit harder when I had to sew thicker parts or more than one layer, but it was still manageable. And whether I think this project is beginner-friendly or not, actually yes. I don't think you need any sewing experience to make this. It's a very different experience from sewing something using the sewing machine. And comparing this to sewing that backpack I told you about in the beginning of the video, this one was easier in my opinion. When you're sewing with the sewing machine, you need to be really focused all the time. And some parts take more skill and a little bit more control. I mean, if we had to make everything from scratch, like cutting all of the panels and making all the holes like evenly spaced out the way that they are, it would be harder. But since the holes are already there, you can't really sew it wrong, like uneven. The only thing is that this takes a lot of time. I calculated the total amount and it was 9 hours and 27 minutes. It was less than what I expected it would take, but it's still quite a lot of hours to put into it. But I found it kind of therapeutic. Once I learned the stitches, I started listening to an audiobook and it was pretty fun because I didn't really need to think much, just stitch. Overall, a 10 out of 10 experience. It was fun and now I have a really cute leather bag. About the quality of the materials, I have to be honest, I am not super knowledgeable about leather, but I really hope it's good quality and lasts forever, because I know I'll use this bag all the time. So if you're looking for a project like this to distract you and to give you a gorgeous bag in the end, so you can say, hey, did you know I stitched this whole bag by hand? I do recommend it. I enjoyed more than I thought I would. But if you like fast and quick projects, maybe this one is not for you. If you do want to make it though, you can use my coupon code. You'll get a discount off your bag kit and I'll get a small commission off the sale too, so you will also be helping the channel. The link to Babylon's website is in the description of the video and I also added the link to the exact bag that I made, in case that's the one you want to make too. I really hope you liked the video and I hope to see you guys around next time as well. Bye!