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Giving new life to a messed up second hand VW Chancery Heart Bag
Final Pics TBA
Final Pics TBA
TL/DR: I'm really happy with the result, I've wanted a heart bag for a long time so I sought an afforable option, which was this. £30, which initially upon recieving it I reactively didn't even think was worth that, BUT under the assumption it was real I still think thats a good deal. I have no clue if it's fake (the Chancery model is rife with fakes) but honestly, I was really impressed with its construction details and that really made me hope it was real, especially combined with the hardware quality. If this is a fake, its a bloody good one. Theres a VW store in town I could see about authenticating but I'm a bit nervous they'd be weird about it. Anywho, I feel I learn't alot in the process and despite little flaws on my part, I think I did a really good job of it!
First step, dissasembling the bag. It was pretty gross, I'm not saying that to make comment at the previous owner; 1. because the lining could not be pulled out , each part is sewn down which makes it super difficult to clean and 2. They clearly used this bag alot and things like makeup and crumbs are inevitable.
Step 2: Clean-up, Painting & Patterning. Keeping the vinyl shell in tact means I needed to remove any flaking parts, any dried glue residue I could and wiping off as much grime as possible. I then used a leather "dye" (paint) to colour the bag red. The gold hardware got cleaned and polished however some of it which isn't removable I spot treated best I could. Tracing the lining pattern to a tidy enough pattern, interpreting and translating it for my own reference. (Turns out my lining was a touch too big but that got addressed later.)
Step 3: Making the lining. I did alot of the sewing by hand, mainly because I was too tired to use my machine or in the case of the shell, needing to use strong thread that wouldnt go through it. Pocket assembly first so each full piece is ready to go.
Finished back side pocked with plaque re-attached.
Using 2 layers of card to make a strong backing for the front side pocket. I did a little self serving accreditation that will be completely hidden in the assembly of the bag, (for if somehow oneday someone takes it apart again and can contact me if they wanted.)
The previous padding was this thin foam that was disintergrating everywhere. I couldnt source one within a resonable cost so I ended up using a 3mm wadding instead. Following the clues of assembly this is very lightly glued down.
Most pieces had adhesive on some edges and I didnt know why until putting them together and realising it just makes the process easier to keep things in place.
Big mistake about to happen here in the order of assembly. This is NOT the next step, this is actually the last step which once I completed 10 hours worth of saddle stitching realised and had to undo...
I also broke a needle... This was brutal on my hands, I had to use a leather awl to try make the sewing holes easier to go through but I still ended up with quite a collection of hand injuries during sewing.
After undo-ing all of that previously I then went on to the actual step I should have done. All of the pieces are sewn to that heart shaped strip, which at the very end is sewn to the front faces. For these steps I used my machine, to try save both time, and my hands.
I placed the sewn pieces on top of the face piece to visualise what it will look like, which was quite a nice re-motivator.
Knowing how they got bias tape on the seams after realising the order of assembly, I made some of my own with the lining fabric and attached it best I could. The machine sewing is a bit messy but it was very difficult to work with on a home machine, Im convinced they use one of those open leather stitching type machines. (Tips for working with Faux Leather; Use a large Microtex needle, a Non Stick presser foot, and a longer stitch length.)
Sewing the Zip on by sandwiching it between the lining and the shell. I ended up doing a small hand whip stitch only on the lining edge after since I felt it was a bit vunrable.
Playing with the zipper because its so satisfying to achieve haha. You can see the vinyl peeling off in areas, This gets somewhat addressed later however I did leave it mostly near the zip since it will inevitably shed more overall which I can then try to patch up more evenly down the line.
Pretend the zippers attached here, as re-attaching the faces are one of the final steps.
Now fully assembled, final touch up's are the last step. During the front faces being hand sewn, removed and hand sewn again in my error, more vinyl peeled away on the edges so I got the leather filler back out to try smooth over and protect the gaps.
After applying one layer of the dye, without sealent. (Note: The paint doesn't stick to the hyper shiny black vinyl, I had to scrape it off back when I painted it all.)
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