Kimono silk and denim messenger bag

Description

This bag features a panel of vintage kimono silk in an abstract pattern in black and white, with red, green and blue, which I collaged on to soft, recycled denim. All the designs in these silks are woven in, not printed. I understand this technique- in theory. But when I look at the complexity of the woven designs, and all the colors, I see these are amazing, and exquisite works of textile art.

The silk pieces, and other collage elements are stitiched down with my favorite crazy, meandering stiching, done in black. I added some vintage buttons, and a stamped image of a butterfly in yellow. The back of the bag is a textured cotton fabric with a bit of shine.

The bag is 7 ½ inches square, and closes with a loop and a button. It's lined with handpainted fabric I printed with bubblewrap! There is a small inside pocket. The strap is a cord, twisted from handdyed cotton yarn. I made the strap extra long, at 60 inches, so this bag could be worn across the body, messanger style, by women of all sizes. If the strap is too long for you, just knot it at the correct length, and cut off the excess.

Added on Oct 22, 2009