3-pocket bag with silk, vintage, thrifted fabrics and a hand-knit strap

I worked on this bag the most and recently finished putting on the last touches. It started with the soft silken front; working to create texture and flow by bunching and sewing techniques. Although I am still limited on my repertoire of these techniques, I am experimenting to create my own.

I added pieces of old soft blouses at the bottom as tasseled hanging pieces. I strung a few beads on cords that already hung from the attached blouses.

I decided I wanted to test what I had already self taught and try to make a 3 pocket bag with another small pocket sown into one of them. For the pockets I used fabric from a recycling center, white cotton sheets, and an old 70's green bed sheet that I purchased for cheap from Goodwill back in high school. The inside flap is from the vintage fabric lot I acquired in New Hampshire. The hidden pocket is in the innermost enclave, unable to be seen from the pictures I have here.

I fastened a snap at the corner of the triangular flap. The snap is on cotton and not the silk portion--so it will not rip the fabric when opening and closing the bag.

I did a great deal of beading on this project. I started working with the delicate green silk on the front of the bag that you can see in more detail in one of the pictures. I was working to try to create texture and dimension in the silk by painting with the (mostly) glass beads in the shadows. Next, I beaded the flap with a mix of glass, E Bead, and seed beads flowing across the fabric. I liked the feeling of adding the stitched lines and beads flowing organically across a striped and rigid fabric pattern.

I decided that a knit strap would be better for this bag rather than a strap of braided ripped strips. I have been knitting since I was twelve but only recently delved outside the realm of scarves and blankets. So, knitting for this purpose was a great change. Something I will do different next time: make the strap before sewing in the seams around the corners of the pockets so that the strap is held within the bag rather on the outside of it. I had to be creative to find a way to knit the strap so that it looked right sewn (and sewn well-- so it WILL hold up!) on the outside edges on top of the existing enclosure. So, there are a few extra stitches that you would not see on a machine made item, but I like feel okay with it since I am a human and made this by hand. I also shortened the strap where it would fall on the shoulder once I was done because I felt that it was a little long. It actuallys adds a little cushion to that part of the strap.

I love the colors in this bag! I'm excited that it is finally finished.

I'll be putting this one up for sale on Etsy soon.