I was surprised to find a bag making/craft class here in Sandakan. It is run by a Taiwanese lady who is passionate about Japanese patchwork and bags. There and then I signed up for a short project on Japanese patchwork during the school break mid of March this year. It was quite exciting in the beginning because Japanese patchwork is something new to me. I completed the patchwork quite fast but the completion of the whole bag took quite sometime as I have to go back to my teaching routine. I had to find time in the afternoon to go to the class to complete the project. Sometimes once a week and many a time once in two or three weeks. FINALLY this week, (during another school break) I completed it!
The bag is a ordinary bag with a recessed zipper, we modified the measurement as I want it to be big. The patchwork patterns are from the book by Akemi Shibata. I love all the Sunbonnet Sue patterns in the book. It was quite difficult for me to choose at first, and finally I chose this Sunbonnet Sue with a chapel in the background. On another side of the bag, I chose houses to relate with the cozy feelings of being at home. The houses applique with the windows are more difficult to sew than Sun bonnet Sue because of the many corners. Flowers and the branches are embroidered.
All the fabric used on the outer side of the bag including all the appliques are Japanese dyed yarn which are very good to work with (and costly too). The inner part fabric is made with normal cotton and I made 2 compartments in the bag. Here are some pictures taken during the process of the sewing the appliques.
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| The inner part and the recessed zipper |
I hope to make another one soon, maybe a patchwork backpack.
