Komebukuro

Once again my creative energies have been fueled by Instagram posts, this time a charming bag by Karen of kzstevens designs. The more versions I saw online, the more I itched to make my own. Yesterday I finally did.

This is an inexpensive instant download pattern with no taping of pages together. It costs $6. Sometimes I see these seemingly simple patterns and think to myself, I can figure that out. But why would I? Karen has figured it all out and all the pieces fit together perfectly. As a bonus, she has great style. More importantly I want to respect her intellectual property and hard work. See some of her work here.

The $6 provides you with illustrated instructions in PDF to print or just follow on your device. There is no need for pattern pieces since they are all rectangles. Measurements are provided for this 6 inch bag as well as measurements for larger versions. This size is just right for the stuff I carry with me.

I followed the suggestion to create a patchwork piece for the exterior. Starting with white cotton flannel I used a quilt-as-you-go technique by Svetlana Sotak found here. Creating this smallish patchwork was way too much fun. I had a blast using little pieces of red fabric from stash. Many of them served as happy reminders of garments or other projects I've made.

The fabrics were not all of the same weight but quilting them to flannel eliminated any worries there.
I used a canvas print for the interior. The combination has just the right weight IMO.

I did add one step to Karen's instructions. Attaching the sides to the square bottom is the only challenging aspect of this project. I found that by stay-stitching the seam line on the bottom and the sides, I was able to pin them together and stitch the square seam more accurately.

I love this little bag. Now I want to make another. In the meantime I'll be wearing lots of red. Perhaps 2019 is my year to love red.

For more inspiration see other bags made from this clever pattern here.