Japanese sewing and origami

Today we head off on a family holiday to Japan, so I thought this would be a good time to showcase the 'Japanese' crafting I've done over the years - from Japanese style bags, to fabric and paper origami and some Japanese fabric too! Hope you like them!

Fabric Origami bag - photo tutorial

This is still one of my most popular tutorials. These bags are fairly easy to make and super cute.  

I also made a few of them from upcycled old nighties:

And I also tried out a giant version of this bag.

Some Fabric Origami Boxes, square and triangular.

Some Fabric Origami Gift Bags

A Traditional Japanese Rice Bag - Komebukuro, with tutorial.

A Handibag made with Japanese Fabric. (made using this tutorial)

Paper Origami Flowers I made for a friend's daughter.

And finally what I recently learned about Origami and 

how good it can be for you!

I hope you enjoyed these Japanese themed features!

If you're interested in seeing some pictures from our trip - I shall be posting some on Instagram and my Facebook page - so please do take a look!

Giant fabric origami bag

One of my most popular tutorials is for this fabric origami bag:

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a lot of pageviews on my blog coming to view this tutorial from a forum in Holland.  When I went to look at the forum, I found a picture of a larger version of this bag.  Unfortunately, although I bookmarked the page, it now won't show up in my browser, so I can't credit the inspiration behind my own larger version of this bag!

I used some pretty fabric that my girls chose.

Then I simply followed my own tutorial for this bag, but cut the fabric 80cm (approx 31.5") square.  Then instead of drawstring ribbon, I cut 2 strips of the outer fabric, 118 x 10cm (46.5 x 4"); double folded them lengthwise and top-stitched to hide any raw edges; then threaded one through each side of the bag casing and stitched each strap together in a loop.

I'm really pleased with the result:

I think it would make a great beach bag, or just general tote!

I also had some fun playing around with the effects I can use on my new birthday camera...

I've only had my camera for 2 days, but haven't had a chance to explore all it can do yet!  Looks like it might save me some time editing the photos on the computer, with all these cool effects on the camera itself! Can't wait to get snapping!

Have you ever tried any fabric origami?  This bag is very simple to make - equally easy large or small.

For the tutorial so you can make one for yourself - go here!

Fabric origami box

I mentioned earlier this week that I'm experimenting with fabric origami.

Well yesterday I made this little box.  

To make the fabric stiff enough to fold and hold it's shape better, I used fusible webbing to stick two pieces of fabric together, then cut out a square using a paper template:

I then followed my origami instruction book, and used my iron to help keep the creases in the fabric:

Then I secured the final folds with a couple of handstitches!

I made a paper box and a fabric one to compare:

Quite neat!

And perfect for a little button storage..

Of course as soon as my girls came home from school they claimed the little box, and I'm sure they'll find all sorts of little trinkets to keep in it! 

I can see more of these being made - and more exploration of fabric origami!

Any suggestions of what to try next?

Fabric origami experimenting

After making a couple of fabric origami bags,

and also these:

 and then some paper origami flowers..

 it got me to wondering if you can do any kind of origami using fabric instead of paper?

My initial attempts haven't been too successful..

I suspect that I need to use stiffer fabric, or add interfacing or similar. But I figure I should be able to do it using the iron, and a few stitches here and there!

Have you ever tried fabric origami?

If you google images for fabric origami - there are some amazing things around.

Just as I'm writing this - I've found a great little tutorial for 

making little origami gift bags.  This lady used fusible webbing to add pretty paper to the back of fabric, which also stiffened it, then folded origami style! Brilliant!

Ok - watch this space, and I'm going to experiment some more!

If anyone has any ideas, tutorials and tips for me on exploring fabric origami, I'd love to hear them!

I'll be sure to post what I discover and make!!

Origami Flowers

A few days ago, a good friend of my daughters had a nasty bike accident.

We went to visit her yesterday, and wanted to take something special for her.  So together, my daughters and I made her a nice bunch of origami flowers!

The quick photos I snapped before we took them over to her house were a little out of focus - but thanks to Picmonkey, I fancied them up a bit so you can see the pretty flowers!

We then poked kebab sticks through the centre and taped the flowers to them - and down the stick to make the stems pretty, before arranging them all in a pretty box we had!

They were well appreciated - and have spurred me on to try some more origami!!

Any recommendations?