Japanese bag therapy

This is, I notice, my 515th blog post. Seems apt that it should be published on 21/01/20.

Christmas made a serious dint in my supply of the large drawstring bags I use in place of wrapping paper. I still had a good supply of small bags but decided I needed to make more medium and large bags. My whole family uses and recycles these bags so I like to keep the supply going - and the making of them is, for me, enjoyable, even therapeutic.

In the past I have purchased vintage sari and kimono pieces for these bags. This time I unpicked a kimono jacket given to me by my daughter. It took a bit of unpicking as it turned out to be made from a huge length of obi-width fabric, folded and tacked ingeniously - as kimonos usually are. Regretably, I didn't take photos of the unpicking and ingenious folds.


The jacket was fully lined. In some cases I used the lining as a lining for a bag. In other cases I made a bag of the lining and a bag of the outer layer.

It made 23 bags of very varied size, from very small to fairly large. I like to let the fabric dictate the shape and size. Flaws and holes get incorporated. I kept as much of the original hand-stitching as I could. Much of it was stitched using two rows of running stitch.

After stitching the bags, I spent a relaxing evening finding matching ribbon or drawstrings of various cords, such as shoelaces.  A further hour or so was spent finding stoppers for the cords, using the remains of old earrings, buttons or, in some cases, knots.

I could have done with some more red ribbon, but made do with the strong pink I had at hand.

A very satisfactory result for a few hours work.

I really love recycling!

Bag therapy

As I was searching for some pieces of silk to use as lining for my pearl cases recently, I came across some of the sari scraps and Japanese kimono fabrics I did not realise I still had. I purchased these several years ago to make drawstring bags which I use to wrap presents rather than using paper. When I was working I would occasionally take a leave day to stitch the bags - my bag therapy.

Many of the fabrics came from Fabricana's Etsy Shop, and some from a variety of Japan shops. My store of bags for presents was nearly exhausted and I had checked Fabricana's shop a few times but she has been on a break for a couple of years. I was therefore excited to find that I still had a supply of fabric - and set out to use it up!






I try to work with the fabrics as they are, maximising the amount I can use. If they are sheer, as many sari fabrics are, I line them with an appropriate lining - I have a supply of satin linings purchased from a dressmaking friend who gave up her business to study.

Many of the Japanese kimono fabrics have been mended by hand. and I try to incorporate this work into the bag.

It is important, I think, to see the care and economy that went into these recycled fabrics and to maintain the tradition.

I also try to preserve the carefully folded seams and the running stitch used to keep them in place.













Once the bags are stitched, I find ribbon or cord for the drawstring, and buttons or odd earrings to attach to the ribbon ends so they don't disappear into the casing.






















It's a lot of fun finding the right ribbon and fixing.

It's a good way to use up buttons









or shells






























or earrings;

even ribbons from the Vergani Christmas Panetonne!

The bags vary from quite small,













to quite large and everything in between.


















I need a variety of sizes for a variety of presents.






Now the confession.

While checking out whether Fabricana was back in business, I came across RibbonsandSilk -  selling fat quarters from old saris from Byron Bay. To check them out, I bought three packs, which yielded 14 bags. my drive to recycle overrode my desire for economy! The pieces are more regular than Fabricana's were, and most had been nicely edged with an overlocker.

The tally? At last count it was 104 bags. This should get me through at least two or three years of gift giving. Think what I save on wrapping paper!

Mostly red and black gift bags

One of my favourite of the bags I made from the kimono fabric was this one from a long piece of synthetic brocade, shaped with a curve at the top. It lent itself to a long, lined bag that folds up like a pouch.

This piece of red figured silk had a mitred corner and two self-covered buttons. I fastened the piece with velcro, rather than ribbon to form another pouch.


The remainder are mostly conventional drawstrings, some lined, some not and finished off with buttons to stop the drawstring disappearing into the casing.

The $32 kimono fabric pack made 45 bags. I won't use them all at Christmas (or any time soon, given my existing bag stash!).

Gift Bags

When I was working full time, I periodically took a leave day for 'bag therapy' - a day of making drawstring bags from left-over fabric, or from sari scraps or kimono fabric to use in place of gift wrapping. I find it really relaxing, and love having a supply of bags in which to put gifts. In semi-retirement, I no longer need bag therapy days, however, when recently in Melbourne I bought a bag of vintage kimono fabric from the Made in Japan Shop in Australia on Collins.


As I am trying not to keep adding to my stash, and Christmas is coming, I have spent quite a few days playing with the fabric and turning it into bags.

Apart from the fabric itself, I get pleasure from finding the hand-stitching of the original kimono-maker, and evidence of painstaking techniques like reinforced seams, folded linings and mitred corners.

 Wherever possible, I try to keep original shapes and linings. This sleeve piece, for example, could be make into a bag as is, leaving the curve on one corner.

I divided the fabric into three piles based on colour - light, dark and red. This enabled me to use a basic thread for each pile, rather than matching thread to each bag.



Cords are mostly ribbon, but in  a couple of cases I recycled elastic cord with a stopper

 or in one case, the cord I had removed from a blouse I bought.

The photos don't give a sense of size, but the bags vary from roughly 15 inches to a couple of inches.

 




















I'm not sure it is sane to spend days unpicking kimono fabric and remaking it into bags

- it certainly isn't an economic proposition by any conventional standard, but so satisfying.

The bags in this post are the light ones. I will post photos of some of the black and red batches later.