Obi bags by......... ME!!

Obi Tote Bag by Melanie Gray-Augustin of Kimono Reincarnate

As I said in my last post, I finally got around to playing with my own stash of Japanese textiles. My very first bag was a tote. While the tote seemed a little casual for this stunning fabric, I think it does allow a lot more of the design to be seen. I made this one for a Japanese friend's birthday. I hope she'll like it.

My second attempt, which isn't totally finished yet, was a smaller, more elegant handbag for my sister's birthday. Again, I hope she will like hers too!

I found the wooded handles and just loved them! I want to keep some black fabric showing between the bag and the handle, but at the moment I'm having trouble getting the machine in close enough to sew the hem for that facing. I'm just using a standard foot on the machine. I went to the craft shop to ask for some advice and I think there may be another foot, but they didn't seem totally convinced, plus the language barrier was a bit of a problem. Does anyone have any advice? At the moment I'm finding I'm having to hand sew it.

For both, I used a bag pattern from Nicole Mallalieu as a base to work from. Thanks Nicole your instructions were very clear and easy to understand!

I found that obi's lend themselves really well to making bags. On both bags the front and back are made from the obi fabric. On the tote, the handles have been made from the obi as well. I'm thinking, that if the interest is there, we might start cutting some obi pieces so that they are almost ready-to-go pieces for different bags. Drop me a line in the comments section if you are interested and any colour preferences you have.

Next I'm going to work on a couple of satchels. I personally love satchels. I'm going to do one for another friend's birthday (so many birthdays in May!) and I've promised my husband I'd make him one. I found a really funky black obi with red dragons on it. He's a huge dragon fan and like me, loves red and black, so it's perfect.

I'm thinking of playing around and getting the hang of these for a while. I think a number of people might be getting some in different fabrics for birthday or Christmas presents this year. Hehehe... if you're hoping to score one, let me know colour and style preferences.

Then, I'm planning to make a range to sell.

I'd love some feedback from people... what do you think of them??

Obi Handbag by Melanie Gray-Augustin of Kimono Reincarnate