Handmade Couture: Make this look - A Brahmin Duxbury Leather Travel Bag

Are you or someone you love a designer handbag enthusiast? Do you sometimes find yourself staring at bags you see in magazines, or even on someone's shoulder in the grocery store wondering how to recreate that bag? Then the Handmade Couture series is for you. We pick a designer bag and tell you how to recreate it using available sewing patterns, materials and hardware.  You can have the same look, but make it totally "you" and for a fraction of the cost. When you sew your own bag you know exactly what is going into the bag and can add or modify features to suit your preferences. Today, we are going to show you how to recreate this Brahmin Duxbury Leather Travel Bag.

The Duxbury is an elegant weekend travel bag that features a gorgeous crocodile embossed leather. She is the perfect size for that last minute trip at 21" Long x 13" Tall x 11" Deep, she can fit everything you'd need for a quick get away and then some. The Duxbury has both handles and a detachable shoulder strap, a zippered top closure and zippered lining pockets. She definitely makes a bold statement and at 495 US dollars, this beauty could be yours. 

Like the look of the Duxbury?  Lets be our own brand.

Pattern + Hardware + Fabric= Handmade Couture

Pattern:

The Emblem Duffel by Sew Sweetness is the perfect pattern to recreate our inspiration bag. This large duffel measures 18" Long x 10" Tall x 8" Deep,  a tiny bit smaller than our inspiration bag, but very similar. 
Like our inspiration bag, the Emblem has both handles and a detachable shoulder strap. It also has a zippered top closure and zippered lining pockets. The Emblem also boasts a similarly fresh take on the traditional duffel with a more boxy shape.

The Emblem is designed to be very sturdy and functional, as the handles extend into the bottom seam of the bag. Our inspiration bag has handles that are attached with strap tabs, so if you are really aiming to recreate the look of the Duxbury, you will want to attach your handles using strap tabs instead.

Hardware: 

(4) 1" Rectangle Rings:

We will use these to attach our handles to our strap tabs. 
(2) 1" D-rings:

(4) 1/2" Purse Feet: 

(2) 1.5" Swivel Hooks: 

(1) Metal Bag Label:

Fabric:

The Tannery NYC offers an amazing selection of high quality leathers, like this gorgeous Dark Red Embossed Leather:

If real leather is not your thing, you can always try a faux leather like this one from Fabric.com:

Another great option is natural cork fabric, which is available from MM Cork Supply in Canada or from Sew Sweetness in the US.  You can get cork in a various colors and finishes, like this beautiful croco brown:

You can choose to do this in whatever fabric you are comfortable working with! A fun cotton print, canvas or even denim!  That's the benefit of creating your own, it's what YOU want it to be. Handmade can be couture too!

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Photos and content provided and written for Emmaline Bags by Cyndi Farfsing, from The Nosy Pepper. Cyndi's blog is chock is full of more bag photos and make making tips. Check out her bag series "It's in the Bag! Better Bag Making Series," to learn a ton of new bag making skills.

Share your projects made from Emmaline patterns and/or with Emmaline hardware in our facebook group Emmaline Sewing Patterns Group, or on instagram with the hashtags #emmalinehardware, #emmalinepatterns, #emmalinebags, or tag us @emmalinebags.