Crochet handbags, made by hand one stitch at a time.
Scroll to start the bag
Photo to come: The finished bag, photographed on a linen background
1anello magico
It starts with a loop
Every Filatelier bag begins the same way: a single strand of yarn wrapped twice around a finger and pulled tight.
I learned to crochet from my grandmother, at her kitchen table. Years later I picked up the hook again and made a bag for myself. People kept asking where I bought it.
Photo to come: The maker's hands holding a crochet hook and the first loop of yarn
The first loop, every time.
2catenella
A chain to build on
The chain sets the width of the bag. Too tight and the base curls; too loose and it sags. It's the one row I count twice.
I work with natural and recycled fibres: paper raffia that holds its shape, cotton that softens with use, and yarn spun from textile offcuts.
Paper raffia
Mercerised cotton
Recycled cotton
3punto basso
A base that holds
The base is worked in rounds of single crochet, the densest stitch there is. It's slow, but it's what lets a bag stand on a table instead of slumping.
≈ 4,000≈ 0stitches in a medium bag
Around eighteen hours of work go into a single bag. Most of them are spent here and in the walls.
4giri
The walls rise
Row by row the walls climb. This is where colour comes in: a band of weld yellow, a stripe of indigo, wherever the pattern calls for it.
Each design is named after a dish from home: the ones that taste of Sundays and the sea.
Brace accesaMercerised cotton
Polpo sbattutoRecycled cotton
Cozze gratinatePaper raffia
5manici
Handles, made to fit
Handles are where a bag becomes yours. In the hand, on the shoulder or across the body: I make them the length you choose.
Every commission can change the colour, the size and the handle length.
“I've carried it every day for a year and it still keeps its shape.”
Giulia, Milan
6rifinitura
Cut the yarn
The last stitch is pulled through, the yarn is cut and the end is woven in by hand so it never comes loose.
Then come the cotton lining, a magnetic closure and a care card: hand-wash cold, dry flat, away from direct sun.
Every bag leaves the studio signed and numbered on a hand-stitched linen tag.
Finished, by hand
From the first loop to the last knot: this is the bag you just watched being made.
The collection
Photo to come: The Polpo sbattuto bag
Polpo sbattutoRecycled cotton
Photo to come: The Brace accesa bag
Brace accesaMercerised cotton
Photo to come: The Cozze gratinate bag
Cozze gratinatePaper raffia
Photo to come: The Riso patate e cozze bag
Riso patate e cozzeRecycled cotton
Photo to come: The Domani il brodo bag
Domani il brodoPaper raffia
Photo to come: The La salciccia piccante bag
La salciccia piccanteMercerised cotton
Commission a bag
Tell me what you have in mind: a bag from the collection in another colour, or something entirely new.
I reply within two days. A commissioned bag usually takes three to four weeks.
