Patchouli Moon Studio: folding tote bag

Showing posts with label folding tote bag. Show all posts

Saturday, July 1, 2023

Shaputto Bag & Little Wallet

When I sent my Aunt the Opera Fabric Cross Body Bag I made for here (Emma Half Moon Bag), I also included a Shaputto Bag (Japanese style folding bag) and a little card wallet to match the Emma bag.

The Shaputto bag can be folded and rolled up. I used fold-over elastic that I sewed into the bag to wrap around the folded bag to hold it and keep it small until needed. I really like fold-over elastic much better than regular elastic. It comes in lots of colors and widths and is softer and stretchier than regular elastic. I also don't care for how regular elastic rots after a while and loses its elasticity. I even printed off an instruction sheet for my Aunt so she could better understand how to open and fold the bag. I hope she uses it. She didn't mention it or the matching wallet when she wrote.

The Shaputto bag rolled up here.

The bag is opened here and the pleats expand to make quite a roomy bag. It is hard to photograph it well.

Here it is flat before either opening or folding and rolling the bag up. When you grab the short ends and pull in opposite directions the bag automatically will fold like this. The fold-over elastic is at one end, so you would roll from the opposite end and then stretch the elastic over the rolled bag to keep it small like the first photo.

Looking down into the opened bag. I used a batik fabric for this bag, since the bag is not lined and looks the same on both sides.

Here is the wallet I made to match the Emma Half Moon cross body bag that I made for my Aunt.

The opened wallet with 3 card pockets. The last back pocket is deeper and can also hold cash folded in half.

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Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Shupatto Folding Shopping Bag

Hello sweet shoppers. This is a fun and useful shopping bag to have.

I read eSheep's latest blog posting a couple of days ago and found out about a bag that I hadn't heard about before. I was intrigued and had to Google Shupatto to see more. You can buy Japanese style bags online at places like Amazon, etc. (usually made from a nylon material) and there were also some YouTube videos that show you how to make this style bag too.

I found a video (from Owl Be Sewing) for making a lined or unlined version and opted for the lined version since I prefer a more finished looking bag and I have plenty of fabric already. So I chose my fabrics and cut out the pieces according to the video and was going to sew it another day. But I went ahead and watched the video and thought it was easy looking enough to make and wouldn't take me that long, so I decided to start sewing it.

Well it looked easy and was until I tried to follow her pinning the pleats and while it made sense what she was doing, I couldn't quite figure out after the second pin what she was matching the pins to exactly. So my pleats aren't perfect and I struggled with that part of the bag. Still it turned out really nice and I like it a lot! I really like the strap closure with the Kam snap to close the bag. I opted to use webbing for the handles.

Another thing I thought was odd, was that the casing for the handles was too narrow for the size handles she made. I even used 1" webbing which was narrower than her handles, and I had to fold over 1/4" of the webbing and sew it, so that it would fit into the casing. So on my next bag, I will make the casing large enough to fit my handle width.

After my Shupatto Bag was done, I watched a few other DIY videos and found one I prefer better. While I was struggling to make the pleats on this bag because of how complicated it seemed to do, I was thinking to myself, I would have preferred if she showed measurements to mark and fold and press the pleats accordion style instead as that would seem easier to do to me and then lo and behold one of the next videos I watched did the pleats just like that, so I will make that version next, but I will sew the strap closure on with a snap instead of the elastic closure that I have seen on many of these bags.

The reason I don't like the elastic closures is that elastic loses it's elasticity over time and would need to be replaced, so I would rather make a fabric strap with a snap and fold the bag and snap it closed, instead of rolling the bag and putting the elastic over it to close it. And making my bag lined made it thicker and it can't be rolled up. I also prefer to fold it in half twice than to roll it anyhow.

The beauty of this style bag is that you don't have to remember how or where to fold or roll it up. Just grab the ends of the bag and pull and the pleats all come together. Then fold it in half and in half again and wrap the closure strap around the folded bag and snap it closed.

The bag folded with the snap strap closure.

Unsnap the closure and this is how it looks. Grab the handles to use it. Later, you don't have to remember how or where to fold or roll it up. Just grab the ends of the bag and pull and the pleats all come together like in the photo. Fold in half twice and wrap the strap closure around the bag and snap closed.

For a folding shopping bag it is quite large and holds a lot, but looks so stylish at the same time. The strap with the snap gets looped around the handle and snapped to keep it out the way and from dragging, which give it a nice look at the same time.

I lined my bag, which I prefer to an unlined bag, but it does make the bag a bit thicker when folded up.

I grabbed some bears to show you how roomy this bag is. I could fit even more into the bag.

Another view of the roomy inside.

Grab the ends and pull and it becomes flat like this. Then fold the two ends together in half and in half again and wrap the strap around and snap the bag.

Here it is snapped and closed again.

This bag is great for using non-directional fabric. If you used a directional fabric, you would have to cut it in half plus the seam allowance and sew the pieces together so that one side wouldn't have half the fabric upside down. However, that would create a seam in the bottom of the bag putting more stress on the seam, so I wouldn't recommend doing that either for this style of bag. Other bags I have made I add interfacing, and stabilizers and stitch the bottom more to make it sturdy, but this is a lightweight bag to take with you when you shop, so it's best not to put a seam at the bottom where most of the stress of the bag would be. I also used polyester thread for extra strength as cotton thread could break if you carried heavy items for too long.

This bag would make a great beach bag too as it holds a lot. I will make a couple more of these bags for sure next time using the 2 videos combined and what I like best from each bag to create my own version.

Happy bag sewing!

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Tuesday, June 23, 2020

MIY Tote Blue Jeans & a Fold Up Style too

I showed you the MIY (Make it Your) Tote in my last post where I added a typewriter applique pocket on the front of the bag and now here are 2 more MIY Totes. One is made using old blue jeans and the other I made with just fabric so it folds up into a bag to carry in your purse for shopping. All of these MIY Totes are part of the challenge Liz, of Moments by Liz, is having on her Facebook groups right now.

The blue jean tote was entered in the recycled and creative categories.

I quilted the bag and pocket using a variegated gold thread. I added a bit of gold trim to the pocket too.

This is the back side with another pocket and half the front is a dark gray jean.

Location shoot around my yard.

Last photo with these flowers for this year, as the blooms are all spent now.

I added a magnetic snap closure and this bag opens wide. Inside a zippered pocket and a slip pocket divideed with a pen pocket.

Pen pocket with pen.

The next MIY tote is made without any interfacing or stabilizer, it's just 2 fabrics. I used 2 poly/cotton blend fabrics so it would wrinkle less being folded up. The yellow gingham lining is a seersucker fabric.

I entered this into the Creative category.