2 More Japanese Rice Bags for Holding Sewing Machine Foot Pedals

Two more Japanese Rice Bags finished. I used the last of this sewing theme print to make these rice bags, but I needed a different fabric for the bottom of one of them as I only had 4 squares left of the fabric for the 4 sides. Each have different lining fabrics. 

The squares were cut 7 1/2" square on the smaller bag and 8" square on the larger bag. Just a slight difference in size as you can see.

These are the last ones I will make for holding sewing machine foot pedals. Since I have the clear window pockets, I can place other foot pedals inside by changing the machine card in the pocket if I want to switch machine or if I sell or give any machine away in the future.

I forgot about adding the clear vinyl pocket to hold the sewing machine names, so I hand sewed these on afterwards.

Drawstring Kumihimo cords I made to close the bags. I also used only 4 cord casings on these bags and made them wider. I had used 8 narrow casings on the other bags I made. I think either work well for bags of this size, but I prefer the narrow casings for larger size bags.

Thread spool fabric lining for this bag.

Pink wavy checkered lining fabric for this bag. Sewing machine foot pedal inside.

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2 More Japanese Rice Bags

I made a couple more Rice Bags to hold sewing machine foot pedals and cords. This has been a useful and fun project to make these bags and I am using up some sewing theme fabrics too. I have been experimenting with the sizes of these bags and tweaking how they are sewn as I try new things with the construction of the bags. 

The bag on the left I quilted with a serpentine stitch and the bag on the right a straight stitch. I used fusible fleece for the bag exterior and fusible interfacing for both linings of the bags to provide a bit of structure. Each bag has a total of 8 total casing tab loops for the drawstring to go through; 2 on each side. The cording was made using a Kumihimo disk and various yarns I already had to create each cording for the bag. Two cords were made for each bag so when you pull the cords, it closes the bag. Kumihimo is a Japanese braiding technique and goes perfectly with these Komebukuro (Japanese Rice Bags), plus I love how the cording looks too!

I cut the 5 exterior squares slightly oversize and then quilt each exterior square, square to size and then assemble into the bag. The bag on the left was squared to 8 1/2" for each square, while the bag on the right was 7 3/4". The bag on the right shrunk up a bit more with the quilting, so I trimmed to the largest size I could after quilting and you can see the bag on the right is slightly smaller.

2 Komebukuro or Japanese Rice bags to hold foot pedals and cords for 2 sewing machines. I made clear vinyl windows to hold a paper saying which machine the foot pedals are for. I can easily change the paper names to hold a different machine or even put a name in the window for using the bag as a project bag by slipping in the project name in the clear window instead. 

The Kumihimo cording cinched the bags closed.

This is the slightly smaller bag, but still roomy.

This bottom I used this fabric as I didn't have enough of the fabric I used for the sides.

Looking into empty bag you can see how roomy it is.

Sewing machine foot pedal and cord for Kenmore inside bag.

Foot pedal and cord for Pfaff sewing machine inside bag.

After placing the foot pedal into each bag, I saw the Pfaff was a larger foot pedal, so I later switched the foot pedals and machine labels and placed them in the opposite bags, which worked out better.

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Japanese Rice Bag (large size)

I have been making some Japanese Rice Bags for holding my various sewing machine foot pedals and cords, etc. That way those items stay together when I switch machines, which I do from time to time. I needed an extra large bag to hold the large foot pedal for my Elnita machine. It came with a small foot pedal, but that foot pedal that came with the machine seemed too tall and it was hard to sew for long. This extra wide and lower foot pedal cost extra to buy, but was worth it as I can sew more comfortably using it. 

I don't understand why some sewing machine brands nickel and dime you on certain items instead of just including them with the machine in the first place. This machine is a made with the quilter in mind, yet it only came with free motion quilting feet (3 different ones) and no walking foot. I had to buy the larger foot pedal, a knee lift, a walking foot, a button sewing foot, an open toe foot for appliqué. It did come with an appliqué foot, but it has a bar across it, which makes seeing more difficult when doing appliqué. (Who designs these machines? Certainly not someone who appliqués)! So while the machine itself cost less than other machines that came with all those things and more, the price was still a lot less than the machines with more bells and whistles that I wouldn't use. I suppose by not including those extras, it appears to be an even better deal at first look? Sorry, I got carried away. On to the bag!

I quilted the bag with narrow vertical quilting lines. I made 2 Kumihimo cords for the drawstrings. Kumihimo is a Japanese braiding technique and I thought it not only looked good with these rice bags, but I got to use up some ribbon and other miscellaneous yarn I had on hand in the process of making the cords too. Yay!

Sure looks like a deep bag looking down into it empty.

Inside the bag I placed the foot pedal, cord, knee lift and plastic stitch chart that fits onto the machine showing what number and mode to select for each stitch. I cut a pool noodle to slip over the end of the knee lift so that it is more comfortable to use. Don't you love all the stuff you can do with a cheap pool noodle? I do, and I don't even have a pool! 😄

In the photo above, you couldn't see the extra large foot pedal, so here it is. Now you can see why I needed a large bag to fit it.

Drawstring here is cinched closed.

I added a clear vinyl window and inserted the name of my sewing machine in the window. I could insert a different machine name in the window if I ever wanted to use this bag with a different sewing machine.

Here is the pretty bag bottom. I only had enough of the exterior fabric to cut 4 squares, but 5 squares are needed to make a rice bag for the exterior and 5 for the interior lining too. So, since the bottom is rarely seen, I chose to use this print for the bottom, which really is perfect as if you look closely at the cute exterior print of the bias tape packages, one of them has a red check just like this. I also repeated this print by using it for the drawstring tabs.

You can make each of the 4 sides of the bag in different fabrics, or make each side artsy using hand or machine stitches, appliqué, patchwork, etc. I have seen lots of great looking rice bags out there online. But for my purposes, I didn't need anything fancy to hold my sewing machine pedal and cord.

I still have a few more of these rice bags to make for some of my other machines too. I have mostly vintage machines and I wanted a bag for each of them too. I just need to cut out the material and quilt them. I have been using my sewing theme fabrics for these bags, if you have been following my other post I shared for 2 rice bags I had shared a while back. 

Happy Sewing in the New Year!!!

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Japanese Rice Bags to Hold Sewing Machine Foot Pedals & Cords

I have a few sewing machines, mostly vintage machines and I needed some bags to hold the foot pedal and cord in so the pedals don't get lost or misplaced. I made a clear vinyl window for each bag and printed out the name of the machine to slip into the clear pocket so that I make sure that I have the correct pedal and cord for each machine to make it easier to find. 

The style of these bags are called Komebukuro or Japanese Rice Bag. Since this was a Japanese design bag, I decided to make my own drawstring cording using another Japanese technique called, Kumihimo, which is a braiding/cording technique done on a foam disk or traditionally with tools like the marudai & takadai that were developed to create intricate braids with greater efficiency. Marudai tool makes round braid, whereas the takadai tool makes a flat braid. You can go to this site to see some photos of the various tools, including the simple portable ones they have today, which is what I use.

Kumihimo are braided silk cords that have been made in Japan for over fourteen hundred years! 

I made Kumihimo cording for my Rice Bags by using up what I already had on hand. I am trying my best to not buy anything and to use what is available in my supplies. I used ribbon yarn in a variegated black/gray color along with a green yarn. I ran out of the one green yarn and grabbed another green yarn that was close. So the bag that holds the Brother pedal has one different green in one of the cords I was making, while the Pfaff cording was all the same green. 

These were quick to make once the quilting was done. The quilting took the most time, but you don't have to quilt the bags or quilt them so close like I did. I cut my fabric and batting oversized when I quilt as the fabric/batting squares do shrink up quite a bit. The 5 squares were squared up after quilting to 7.5" square and another 5 squares were cut for the lining, along with interfacing for the lining as well. 

Some people get artsy with each square side of their bags and do hand stitching, appliqué, piecing, embroidery, etc. You can certainly make a very unique bag by making each of the 4 side different. I didn't need such a fancy bag to hold my machine pedals in, so this was a quicker bag to make for that purpose.

My bags are happy holding the pedals and cords for my sewing machines. I recently made a large one for a newer machine that has a much larger foot pedal. I will share that one soon.

I made a clear vinyl window for each bag so I could slip in the name of the sewing machine. 

Inside each bag is my foot pedal, cord, and for the Brother machine on the left is my clip on stitch chart too.

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Adorable Size Round Japanese Rice Bag (Free Pattern & YouTube Tutorial by Liz)

Last month I made a traditional square Japanese Rice bag that I shared here. Shortly after I made it, Liz (of Moments by Liz), came out with a round Rice Bag in 4 sizes. She named the sizes: Too Cute, Adorable, Just Right & Kitchen Sink. The round bottom templates are free and the Video YouTube tutorial is free too (scroll down to very end for link). When you click on Liz's YouTube at the end of this post, you will find the link to her free pattern for the round bottoms and the rest is cut from measurements using a ruler and rotary cutter. 

Here is my Adorable size round rice bag. It is a pretty cute size, but Too Cute is even smaller. Also, Liz has measurements for making the accent base or using just one fabric, so they are both in her pdf. And, she shows you how to make the tulips ends to cover the knots in the cording if you want to do that. I did not do that with mine though.

The traditional square Rice Bag I made recently, I chose some sewing theme fabric in a different print and color. So I decided to stay with the sewing theme and chose this print for the round bag. I quilted the exterior and the bottom of the bag.

The lining fabric is also  sewing theme print with scissors, needle and thread.

Here she is with the drawstrings closed. I again made my drawstrings in Kumihimo (Japanese braiding) for this bag as I did for the square rice bag.

This time I made the tabs for the drawstring out of the same cotton pink fabric as the accent and bottom

 of the bag.

Quilted bottom of the bag.

Closed view from above.

I made my cord stops out of vinyl. You can buy plastic cord stops or use beads, but both of those need to have large enough openings to fit the cording. Or you could knot the 2 cords together if your cords are long enough to do that. I chose to use wrap my cords together with an elastic hair tie.

Have you ever made a square or a round Rice Bag? Do you have a preference as to round or square? I think I am more partial to the square traditional rice bags, but the round ones are fun too. I suppose it depends on what you will put inside the bag that really matters and the size of bag that you need for your item(s) that you are carrying. I doubt anyone is carrying rice anymore, but you never know. I think I will make some more square rice bags to put my machine pedal and cords in. I will make a name for each bag too so I know which pedal and cord goes to which machine. Now to decide on the right size bag to make. I need one a bit smaller than the last square rice bag I made. 

Happy Rice Bag Making!

Free YouTube tutorial from Moments by Liz~

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Japanese Rice Bag ( Komebukuro) with Kumihimo Cording

I wanted to make another Komebukuro, or Japanese Rice Bag, but try making a larger size this time. I had enough of both the outer fabric and the lining fabric to make the sides of the bag, so I chose another fabric for the bag bottom. You can use all one fabric for the outer (or lining), or each side could be a different fabric or a different quilt block or embroidery or appliqué. I might try making another bag using appliqué or pieced blocks for each side. That might be a fun way to make this bag unique and use up scraps and try new quilt blocks too.

You can make this bag in any size that you want. The exterior is made up of 5 square blocks and so is the lining. So choose what size you want to cut or what fabric that you have enough of that you can cut 5 squares (or 4 as I did with a different bottom). You don't want to go too small or too large, so I would say 6" cut squares as the smallest up to 10" squares as the largest size. I suppose you could go larger, but it might result in a more floppy bag if you go too large? Adding interfacing or stabilizer might make it harder to close the drawstring? I am not positive, so experiment with size and materials to see what you prefer.

My bag was cut with 9" squares and is a nice size. I used 1/4" seam allowance. The lining I quilted to batting using a walking foot in straight lines. I did add a woven fusible interfacing to the exterior fabric pieces too, so it wouldn't be too floppy. It stands up nicely and is not too floppy or too rigid, so I like this combination of this structure. 

I made the drawstring cording with another Japanese method, called Kumihimo, which is a braided cord using a round disk and string or yarn. I used 4 different colors and 2 types of ribbon yarn that I had already. I used vinyl pieces for the little loops that the cording passes through for the drawstring.

This Sewing Theme fabric is fun as each side looks a little different.

I used this red and white check fabric for the exterior bottom.

Another Sewing Theme print for the lining. This print was depicting cards of buttons and snaps from long ago. I quilted the lining in straight lines.

Here is the bag closed with the drawstrings

Another lining view.

View inside the bag from the top. Pretty roomy bag.

Top view of bag drawstring closed.

Another side of the exterior.

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Emma Cross Body Bag with Pieced & Applique Flap

I wrote another tutorial that you can find over on ChrisW Designs blog. I show you how to make a pieced flap (or bag) and a pieced flap with applique and embellishments. I made the Emma bag, which is a fun, quick sew that is perfect for little girls, teens or for someone that doesn't need to carry a ton of stuff with them.

I actually made 2 Emma Bags, but the first one here is what I use in the tutorial. The second Emma I pieced the entire bag and quilted it and added an applique on the flap. The tutorial is just a guide to get you going so you can do your own thing.

I pieced the background, added an applique heart, quilting and crystals on the flap for bling. I also made Kumihimo strap (Japanese Braiding).

On this Emma, I pieced the entire bag and added a heart applique on the flap. (I Donated this bag to raise funds for Alzheimer's Disease 2022)

I made a Kumihimo strap for this bag too.

Inside Emma is a slip pocket and a zipper pocket.

Check out my tutorial over at ChrisW Designs blog. 

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Clutch Me Tight Bag

This is the Clutch Me Tight Bag by Daywalker Customs. I enjoyed testing this bag recently and the pdf and video version is now for sale.

The pattern calls for a chain strap, but I didn't have a chain so I decided to make a Kumihimo strap. Kumihimo is the art of Japanese braiding. I used a variegated yarn that went with the colors in the bag.

I have some fabric with Mandala Circles and I thought this would be a perfect place to show one off on this bag flap and it was! I love the flap. The bag was easy to put together and I even made a second one, only I enlarged the second one to 120%, which I will show you in a day or so.

This is a perfect minimalist style bag as it's not too large, but still has pockets inside to keep smaller items in. 

Bag measures 8" wide x 6 1/2" high x 2" deep.

I am a sucker for Mandala designs and I just love this one on the flap.

Back of bag.

Inside the bag is a slip pocket as well as a zippered pocket.

Closer look at the Kumihimo strap.

This Clutch Me Tight Bag is for sale $45.00 + $7 shipping (total cost $52). SOLD!

Email me if interested and I will invoice you through PayPal.

Shipping USA only. Cannot ship to other countries at this time.

Payment through PayPal.

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