A treasured Japanese fabric pouch undergoing a remake to create a more practical item yet still preserve the beauty of the original fabric.
My student came to class yesterday to work on her shirt and she had a request from her daughter- to add a zipper to this gathered bag. A drawstring bag that she had purchased in Japan a number of years ago.
I found a red zipper to match the flowers in the fabric design and some red thread and then went looking for some lining, as of course I couldn't just add a zipper to the pouch, I decided to create a lined zippered pouch.
The Japanese fabric is somewhat fragile and deserves to have a lining to help to preserve it and give extra strength to the zippered pouch.
I found an orange sheet in the perfect shade of the fabric which would serve as the lining. Unpicked the drawstring bag and cut off the the drawstring tunnel of the floral fabric which I then used to create the zipper tabs ensuring a visual harmony with the fabric of the pouch.
I resewed the Japanese label into the side seam of the pouch and also the curved corners.
The zipper tabs give a smooth professional look to the ends of the zipper and prevent the formation of bulky seams.
Using the same floral fabric creates a visually pleasing finish to the top of the fabric pouch.
The finished, lined, zippered pouch which is almost the same size as the original drawstring bag. The red zipper adds that special touch and the zipper pull has a large enough opening so that a fabric tassel can be added to it.
The original fabric now has a lining which ensures less stress on the fabric and the piece is now much stronger and the beauty of the flowers are enhanced by the addition of the red zipper.
This is The Beauty of the Art of Repair in Mindful Reuse.
Find a 59 page very detailed tutorial for creating different zippered pouches and bags here on Etsy
and here on the site
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