Just had an Alma vachetta estimate and I almost cried. Quote in store was a little over $1100.00
The LV Rescue Club
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The Extended Petit Bucket project
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I think you did a fantastic job on this rescue and showing your students the process and ways to improve it next time. The new lining is adorable! I hope you'll get a lot of use out of this bag now.
I have the same petite bucket bag. Purchased it preloved and within a couple of months of use, the top of the lining started peeling, probably from the weight of things in the open pocket. Idk how much LV would charge to repair it, and I certainly can't do a project like you did. I want to sell it, but don't want to take a huge hit. Oh well.... But thank you for sharing with us!
I've had great success with a toiletry pouch 19 which I purchased on eBay. The lining had completely disintegrated and what was left was peeling and sticky to the point that it would stick to anything put inside it and was unusable. The outside was perfect though so I took a gamble on it.
Before pic
Before pic
Attachments
Hi, I have a speedy 35 vintage from 1984' I would like to replace the zipper, will they do it on a 30 yr old bag? How much would it cost? Piping and canvas are perfect..handles are ok..I also applied brass cleaner to the brass handles.....thanks so much..I'm in love with the bag though !
Thanks! Lv quoted £200 ($335) to replace the lining, it's £210 ($352) for a brand new one! I'm glad I took a chance as i got this for £48 ($80)
As some one who sews, I hate doing repairs. Especially when there is a chance for damage like working with brittle canvas. I would rather customers just get a new item, than do extensive repairs. That is why they are charging so much.
Great idea using the baby wipes. I just received the cosmetic bag for my bucket and I need to clean it up before using.
Great idea using the baby wipes. I just received the cosmetic bag for my bucket and I need to clean it up before using.
Wow, this is impressive even though it was more expensive than you'd hoped it would be. I cleaned out a lining on a GM bucket but I am not a seamstress/designer so I ended up reselling it about a year after the fact. I got it pretty cheap so when I sold I didn't lose any money. It's not as easy as it looks so I think your final product is really great.The Extended Petit Bucket project
I had never set out to take a part this bag. I know that the only way it keeps its “value” is to have the repairs done by a Louis Vuitton Shop. I also understand why they will refuse to perform repairs on older products. The canvas of this bag was becoming brittle after 17 years. Extra holes from stitching the new binding definitely weakened the top. I certainly didn’t “save” any money on this project condition. What I did end up with is saving an old bag, giving it a second life and a fun project. Hopefully all you DIY folks out there will learn from my mistakes.
Where it started:
I teach a high school fashion class. When we were discussing the difference between fast fashion which is cheap but lacking quality, as opposed to purchasing something that is designer. I tried to explain that when you purchased designer goods, they would last an extremely long time if you took care of them. When you purchase something of quality, it is worth repair and replacing worn parts rather than replacing it with something much cheaper.
I was on ebay when I saw a Louis Vuitton Petit Bucket listed for $60. The outside was in fairly good condition but like many products with vuittonite lining, the inside was a sticky mess. I decided to purchase it and make a cream coloured leather insert to go over top of the original lining to extend the life of the bag while not altering it. Everyone who rescues an LV dreams of taking it in for refurbishing.
On the purse forum I read about someone who had scrubbed the sticky off the lining using simple green and a brush. I decided to try scrubbing the lining clean but when I didn’t predict that I would get the leather wet and dry it out. Once the leather binding strip at the top of the bag dried, it cracked and crumbled like a potato chip. The same thing happened to the leather around the liner pockets which destroyed the LV Heat Stamp.
I removed the inside liner, made a pattern from it. I bought some cute purple and cream fabric with an adorable pattern on it and recreated the liner. I was able to reuse the original LV zipper (once I cleaned all the sticky off) and reattached the chain with the date stamp. The leather pieces from around the pockets were garbage so I recreated them with the cream leather I had bought to make the insert I had originally planned.
I took the bag with my custom lining to my local leather repair store. Where I ran into a whole new host of problems.
1) They didn’t have leather in the thickness I required.
2) They didn’t have the correct colour or thickness of thread.
They used natural vegetable tanned leather that was slightly lighter than the original vachetta to replace the binding strip. I contacted a thread company and mailed them a sample of the thread from the inside of the bag. They told me what to order and the project was on its way again. From ordering this bag to actually using it, the timeline was about 5 months.
Pros:
Inside lining is completely repaired/replaced with fabric that is durable and personalized. I will get a fair amount of use out of this bag since the outside is durable. I want my students to see and appreciate the quality of a designer label. I also want them to understand that learning how to sew also has value.
Cons:
I spent more money than I had intended to refurbish this bag. If I had planned it better, I could have bought one with the cosmetics bag. Once I had made the lining and damaged the leather I wasn’t sure what to do. The bag has no resale value but I doubt that being in an unusable condition that it was in was much better.
I hope that those of you who are thinking of rescuing a LV Bag on ebay will take a minute to see what is available for double the cost. You can get a far nicer bag you can easily rather than doing the major overall. I wouldn’t have done this if I didn’t sew, It would have cost me at least another $50 to have someone else figured out and replace the lining. Maybe I should sell the replacement pattern I made on ebay?
Anyway, here is a total cost breakdown of this project including shipping and taxes separate. I originally wasn’t going to include them but in my heart I knew I should.
$60 LV Bag from ebay
$10 Cream coloured leather for insert
$10 Thread and Fabric for lining
$ 4 Yellow LV style thread
$40 Leather binding replacement
$124 Subtotal
$ 38 Shipping, Duty and Taxes
$160 Total Cost for the project
If I were to attempt this project again:
1. Make sure the leather binding at the top of the bucket bag is in good condition.
2. Condition all the leather before handling. The leather was dry to begin with and I think that I would have caused less damage if it had been conditioned a couple times before I started handling it.
3. Cut out the original lining, leaving a 1 inch strip to attach the new lining to. Then you can remove the embossed leather pocket openings and LV zipper and use them.
4. For the replacement lining, instead of just serging the raw edge at the top I would have left an extra ½ inch and folded the top over to make it stronger.
5. I would have bought enough fabric to add more pockets in the lining for sunglasses and lipstick.
6.. If I had to remove the leather binding at the top of the purse. I would reinforce the top of the monogrammed canvas all around the inside top with a strip of electrical tape or fusible interfacing to help it hold together and prevent potential cracking (which my leather specialist had problems with.) I would also tell them that I wanted the special thread I had ordered on both the inside and outside stitching. I guess I didn’t specify that I was important.
Thanks for ready my post. Thoughts, comments questions appreciated.
The binding shows lighter in the picture.
I would have taken more photos but Cleocatra decided she would share the spotlight.
Thanks for sharing your experience.