This stylish shopping bag is designed to be cute enough to hold and look classy when folded. The featured fabric is the “Gauze” pattern from “tayutou”. This is the textile brand by Ayumi Toda, who creates her craftwork under “fabrica uka” brand. Knowing the ins and outs of the fabric, this shopping bag was designed by Ms. Toda herself.
Fabric shown for this sample:tayutou EKX-5120-4A
Materials:
□ Fabric: 40cm x 103cm
□ Acrylic Twilled Tape: 72cm (3.8cm wide)
□ Cotton Twilled Tape: 2m (1.5cm wide)
□ Rectangle Rings: Two pieces (4cm inner diameter)
Size: 35cm (l) 38cm (w–at opening) 28cm (bottom) 10cm (d)
We interviewed Ayumi about her creation:
Kokka Fabric (KF): What did you think of the fabric you used for this project?
This “gauze” design was originally a standard pattern for my craft brand “fabrica uka.” At the request of Kokka, I redesigned it for the “tayutou” line by making the entire pattern smaller. The embroidered dots in the fabrica uka design are also reproduced. It adds a delicate look and light feel that were not present in the larger scale version, and I think it works very well with the texture of the cotton linen sheeting fabric used this time.
KF: Can you tell us any special elements or ideas that you incorporated into this creation?
I think that shopping bags are now daily articles that everyone has, not just one, but two or four.
There are four things that I look for in a shopping bag: light weight, bottom gusset, shoulder strap, and foldable to be compact. These four points are what I consider to be the bare minimum. If that’s all you need, the bag you already have is probably sufficient. What I wanted to add to this bag was “cute enough so that I would want to carry it other than going to the supermarket” and “stylish enough even when it’s folded.”
KF: What are some tips for making this bag?
This is a quick sewing project that requires no pattern and can be completed with simple straight stitching. If you already have a bag of a size that is easy for you to use, you may want to arrange it to be the same dimensions.
KF:How should we use this bag in everyday situations?
This time, I used a natural color tape for the handles. You can choose a more colorful tape to match the fabric. The material of the drawstring is not limited to cotton tape. It is also interesting to try matching ribbons of various materials and changing the color on the left and right.
KF:Thank you very much, Ayumi! Here are sewing instructions along with step by step photos from her. Enjoy crafting!
◎Sewing Instructions (PDF format / A4 size)
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