Recently Made Bags

Long time no post! I have a lot of catching up to do on sharing some photos. Recently I've made a couple of bags for yukata and casual kimono. I'll share the most recent first~

I am very proud of this box bag! A while back, a friend sent me a vintage Japanese craft book from 1953 (Showa 28). This book has a variety of crafts, including purses, hats, woodworking, and kids hand puppets. The first craft in the book was of a box purse made of bamboo bark basket-woven around a box, with a wooden bead handle that passes through grommets in the lid of the box.

I had been looking for bamboo bark ever since I received the book, however I haven't been able to figure out where to get it, so I started looking for alternatives. I finally decided I could get a nice looking woven basket style look using woodgrain vinyl contact paper, the stuff that is used to line drawers. It actually worked nicely!

I actually quite like the vinyl, it is light and smooth, and I don't have to worry about it chipping or catching on my clothing. I used glass and porcelain beads for the handle, because I liked the look much better, however it is more expensive than wood beads.

The box lid slides up the bead handle to open. 

Pretty cotton lining! I like a surprising pop of color. 

I'm very happy with it. I devoted a few days to the box-bag project (and a small hammer-to-finger incident, heh..) and it was worth the effort, I think!

The second bag I made is a more simple cotton purse with bamboo handles and dark purple lining:

I hope to get some time soon to start making more yukata items! Spring and Summer are always busy festival seasons in Seattle!