Okay, so I’ve been eyeing this Large Prada Galleria Saffiano Leather Bag for a while now. I mean, who hasn’t? It’s a classic, right? Launched way back in 2007, this bag is just one of those things that never really goes out of style. Anyway, I finally decided to bite the bullet and try to remake one myself.
First thing I did was hop online to do some research. Turns out, this bag is named after Prada’s flagship store, which is pretty cool. It’s made of this Saffiano leather, which I learned is this treated, embossed leather. It’s supposed to be really tough and doesn’t get that worn look that some leathers do. Apparently, the real deal is made of 83 separate pieces! Eighty-three! Can you believe that?
The real one goes for like 4000 euros on the Prada site, which is way out of my budget. So, I started looking into getting some similar leather. I found out that Saffiano is usually chrome-tanned. I needed to find a large piece, since it’s a pretty big bag, and I wanted it in white.
Then came the pattern. This was tricky. I couldn’t find an exact pattern for the Galleria, so I had to kind of piece one together myself based on pictures and descriptions I found online. I spent days drafting and redrafting, trying to get the proportions right. It was a lot of trial and error, let me tell you.
Once I had the leather and a pattern I was somewhat happy with, I started cutting. Eighty-three pieces, remember? That’s a lot of cutting. My hands were cramping by the end of it. Then came the sewing. Oh boy, the sewing. I don’t know if you ever try to sew something like this bag, I don’t have an industrial sewing machine, so I was using my regular home machine. It was tough going, especially with the thicker parts of the leather.
- First I stitched together panels piece by piece.
- Then I attached those panels into larger sections.
- I made the handles which was difficult.
- I added the inner lining, which was a whole other challenge.
- Finally, I put the whole thing together.
It took weeks, working on and off in my spare time. There were definitely moments when I wanted to throw the whole thing in the trash, like when I sewed one of the panels on backward and had to rip the whole seam out. But I kept at it, and eventually, I had something that vaguely resembled a Prada Galleria bag.
It’s definitely not perfect. The stitching isn’t as neat as the real thing, and the shape is a little off in places. But you know what? I made it. And I’m actually pretty proud of it. It might not be a 4000 euro bag, but it’s mine, and it’s a pretty good imitation, if I do say so myself. Plus, I learned a ton about leatherworking in the process, which is pretty cool. Maybe I’ll try to make another one someday, and see if I can get it even closer to the real thing. We’ll see!
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