Katrantzou's got the cream: How to DIY a Mary Katrantzou print clutch

Make a big impression with bold print, courtesy of Katrantzou.

MARY KATRANTZOU Sterling Printed Leather Large Pouch (see more pouch purses)

MARY KATRANTZOU Kathmandu Printed Leather Large Pouch (see more pouch purses)

You will need

A zipped bag (Mine was actually made from strong paper and came from this Ebay seller)

Paper (If your bag isn't made from it, like mine)

Craft Mount (Again, if your bag isn't made from paper)

Pencil and eraser

Felt tips (as many colours as possible. Mine were spares from home and a bog standard Crayola set from Hobbycraft costing £3.99)

Clear car lacquer

Difficulty

Very Easy

...And I bet there you were thinking colouring in was for kids!

Time

Mine took about 5 hours but it depends on the designs you choose to do.

Operation cut, stick 'n' colour...

If you aren't working straight onto paper, craft mount a sheet to the front and back of your bag, even if you're not doing both sides, just for consistency. Use your pencil and eraser to sketch out your design.

 

Colour them in (woohoo!)

Blast the whole bag with clear car lacquer.

A Brief Miu Miu-sing

My gratitude for your patience in this overdue entry and tutorial. I like to think, and live in hope, that it's been worth the wait - as well as further proof of the absolute gospel truth, and I understand one of the fundamental laws of physics, that one can never have too many bags or shoes. So, with that, I shall keep you no longer and cut straight to the chase...

For this entry I was part trend-conscious, part indulgent in my choice, taking on Miu Miu's red leather rosette pouch:

Difficulty

Fiddly

Pretty straightforward (I'm aware I say that a lot) but requiring of a steady hand and a reasonable degree of skill, especially for crafting the "rose." Definitely worth the effort but you have been warned!

Time

Mine took about 10 hours, most of which was spent waiting for the contact adhesive to dry - you have to apply it to both surfaces and wait 10-15 minutes before pressing them together - so, with a little multi-tasking and organisation, it's definitely possible to economise a little more on time.

You will need (in no particular order)

A small red bag

Black and opaque yellow fabric paint by Dylon (£3 each at John Lewis and £2.99 at Hobbycraft)

A sheet of A4 paper

A clutch pencil

A patternmaster or graded setsquare

Contact adhesive (£6.18 in tub form, which I used, or £2.08 in tube form)

0.5m leather or pleather

Scalpel

All-purpose scissors

Seam ripper

Wide paintbrush

Black gel or ballpoint pen

Palette knife

Sewing pins

The reasons? All will be revealed in the following video:

That hand-crafted oeuvre again...