A double tote bag with Alice

This is the bag I just finished making.  A lady who works full time has requested a bag with a specific design.

1. She likes a tote bag with a second bag to fit inside

2. She likes the second bag with a zipper top

3. She likes a lots of pocket!

4. She likes Alice.

This is the outside tote bag, and the top 4cm can be folded down or up depending on your load.

and, it has lots of Alice on it!

This is the side pocket and it fits a normal 500ml water bottle.

There are also 4 more pockets other than these 2 side pockets.

There are total of 6 gathered pockets inside the bag.

The handle is long enough to swing it on your shoulder.

This is the second bag that fits inside the previous bag.

Obviously it is smaller than the previous bag.

It has a total of 4 pockets outside.

There are 6 gathered pockets inside.

It opens with a double zipper.

This is the two bag in one seen from above.

With the removable strap, you can play with these two bag in many ways as you like.

The bag is on Japan auction from yesterday.

Cool things you can buy from Japan

★Japanese print sticker★

★Colour linen from Europe★

★YUWA fabrics★

Shoulder bag to a back pack

Since the recent movie of the Alice in wonderland, there has been a big popularity of fashion items with prints that has Alice on it.

This bag is my new prototype to my granny boston bag series.

The back side of the bag has a simple pocket and a vertical zipper pocket like the one I showed in my last blog.

It will fit the ID or transport card, etc. 

This pocket proves to be very convenient when it is used as a back pack. 

Yes, this bag can be used as a back pack as well as a shoulder bag!

This is how you normally use the bag,

You can also wear it on your shoulder like this, or

Like this as a back pack! 

It is very easy and simple to change from back pack to a shoulder bag, and every one who has bought this from me have told me that the bag is just perfect on every aspect!

They even come back to buy more,

 but unfortunately,

I only have two hands. ; )

Cool things from Japanese Rakuten net shop.(English page)

★antique colour linens★

★naniIRO fabrics★

★Linen 2m SALE★

★100% linen★

new trend in handmade bag

This is the most recent bag I made, and it may be hard to tell,
but the bag is made by using vinyl coated fabric.
The craft shop in Japan sells all sorts of printed vinyl coated fabrics (from Liberty as well).
I personally don't like the glossy coating, so I chose the fabric with out the gloss.


This is the back side of the bag. There is a simple pocket and a vertical zipper pocket.


The simple pocket will fit the ID or a transport cards (In the case of my Japanese client, it will be the Suica, or Pasmo)


The vertical zipper pocket will fit any valuable items like your purse.
The idea of these back pockets were originally from my other series of my recent creation.
I will introduce them in my next blog.


There are 2 side pockets to fit your own water bottle, or ipod, mobile, etc.

There is a wide lid to this bag so if you fill it in with loads of stuff, you can still hide the content with it.

There is a 16cm zipper pocket on this lid to keep you key, parking ticket etc.

The inside has 4 pockets and one zipper pocket.

There are 2 pen holders in one of the pocket.

The zipper pocket is wide enough to fit A4 documents.

You can fit magazines, documents easily into this pocket.

Since the fabric I used inside is vinyl coated as well, once you zip away the documents inside, you don't need to fear them getting wet from unsuspected rain!

The handle is hand sewn and I used the fake leather.

I normally use leather for the handle, but since the bag is made with a claim of being "water proof", I used the fake leather this time.

A strap can be attached to wear it on your body, and the length can be adjusted to your liking.

Unfortunately, this strap is made of cotton fabric.

The bag was on Japanese auction, and finished yesterday at a satisfying price!

Hand made diary folder

I've been using this diary for 13 years.


Look at this!! It was a leather suede. When you touch it, it crumbles, and this blue crumbled bits will dye anything that gets into contact with it into blue!


SEE!!
I have decided to buy a new one when I was in Japan, but......
They are sooooooooo expensive!!
So, I thought of reusing the metal parts and make a new one myself.


I cut the old thing into bits, and got the part I wanted, but, it's the one you can't reuse. Haha

So, I bought the same parts from Japanese net shop "Tsunoda".

It was 257 Japanese yen (app AU$3.00).

This is how it came out! Looks good doesn't it? ^^

I've used the Liberty fabric for the inside pockets.

And, I put my tag to show I made it!

I've hand sewn the edges using the linen thread. White. Maybe I could have used a thinner thread with different colour, but never mind. Maybe next time.

I have used 1mm thick card inside so it is hard enough to stand on its own.

This is the book I used when I was sewing the edges. It gives you a detailed instruction on how to hand sew leather.

cute eco bag

This little mouse is the new eco bag I designed.


This is how it looks when it is used as a bag.
see the face of the mouse...


It's different from the first one!

The bag is designed as the same way as a normal plastic bag you get at the shop.

You can attach it to your bag, purse, or anything, and it becomes a cute accessary!

linen hooded jamper

It's been a long time since I last updated my English blog.
We have moved the house in Feb, settled down,
had a wild storm, settled down, and I am going for a holiday!

I was making a new trousers last few days, and now
I am making a hooded jamper.
I couldn't find a pattern for the hooded jamper anywhere,
until I found it in the sewing book I bought long time ago
to make my husband's trousers.


Sorry it's all in Japanese, but you can still read the diagram.
The book provided me with the basic pattern,
and you had to develop the pattern from it.


The darker colour part is the base pattern.
It looks quite simple, but it was a bit complicated for me at first, especialy the connected area of front part and the hood.

This is the base pattern the book provided.

Very simple with size range from 1~8.

I have used the size 3.

This is the "almost completed" product.

I have used the pure linen, as I always wanted to have a linen hooded jamper.

organiser small pouch

This is my new small carry bag.
It opens with a double zipper, and has a removable handle.


There is one pocket at the back.

It has 2 zipper pockets, 18 card holders and 3 pockets.

Size: H 15cm, W 23cm, D 6cm

I will put this on to my webpage on 8th Jan.

http://members.iinet.net.au/~hiroko/