nani iro month: summer bags
July 2nd, 2014
Nani Iro month just ended, but I’m going to post about my projects anyway. It’s not like Nani Iro stops being awesome on June 30! The spring line of Nani IRO is so gorgeous it was extremely hard to choose what fabrics I wanted.
I loved the painted polka dots, but the fabric was called canvas and I was worried it would be too stiff for the skirt I had in mind. So I ordered enough fabric for a few summer bags. I had always wanted to make the bags in the Nani Iro pattern book. It couldn’t have been a more perfect time to make them! (turns out the fabric would have worked for a skirt too–it is a very lightweight canvas).
The first bag is a funny pattern where almost nothing is hemmed, the selvage is kept raw, and you are finished in 20 minutes flat. There is a very thin line between super chic and super sloppy. This bag could very well be sloppy, but the understated chic of nani iro fabric saves it. There is some fabric from an older line, Muji I think it’s called, that would also be perfect for this bag. This fabric, the Pierre Poncho Metallic Canvas, is stunning: the white polka shimmer slightly in contrast with the neutral canvas.
And a hot pink selvage?! Come on! How awesome is that?!
Turns out this bag is perfect for going to the library. We can check out tons of books, shoved them all in this super sturdy bag, and look chic doing it. And if we are not going to the library in the summer, we are going to…
The pool! With 3 kids, 5 towels, 6 dive sticks, goggles, sunscreen, water bottles, snacks, sunglasses, and a book I’ll never get to read, this giant bag is always full to the top. I made it with the Pierre Poncho canvas and lined it with dark denim and I absolutely love it.
This is another super simple pattern, but that’s what Naomi Ito does best. It is supposed to have leather handles and I really, really loved how this fabric looked with leather. But I knew the bag was going to get super dirty (sand, sunscreen, sand, drippy popsicles, sand, wet towels, sandy book I’ll never get to read) and I would want to throw it in the wash.
So I made some sturdy, quilted handles. And now we are set for summer. I had a hard time photographing these bags because ever since I made them, they have been full of stuff! So grab so gorgeous fabric from Frances’ shop and make yourself some super simple, super chic summer bags. You won’t regret it!
Oooo, that Pierre Poncho bag is very want-y! Was it fairly straightforward to make and line?
I think easy as pie would be a pretty good description. Only the quilting was a little fussy, but that’s because I don’t really know anything about quilting :)
They are both beautiful!! Thank you for sharing.
Wow, the Pierre Poncho canvas is gorgeous!
I LOVE THEM! And Nani Iro! I love the pool bag fabric :) So playful.
Sarah M
These bags are wonderful. I think the unfinished edges on the first bag works well. A raw edge on a T-shirt always strikes me as lazy, but a whole lot of raw edges like this can be called a design feature! The fabrics are beautiful and you’ve put them to great use here.
Love the bags! Of course the lovely fabric helps. Do you have any idea where can I purchase the pattern book?
I don’t see it on etsy (that’s where I got mine) but it looks like she came out with a new book on double gauze: https://www.etsy.com/listing/59356393/nani-iro-soft-gauze-japanese-craft-book
oh these are great, meg! love the raw edges and the selvedge on the one. and really, if you’re sewing with nani iro, you want it on something you’ll use/wear a lot! learned my lesson sewing that blouse for Em a couple years back that she never wore. :/
PS – i pulled a you yesterday and checked out a japanese pattern book from the library. score!
Both of these bags are lovely, I rather like the raw edges. It look….well…edgy! Great pool bag too. Love that you take a book you never read too! Thought that was just me.
Love the rawness of the top bag! very cool.
Oh if only I looked so stylish going to the library or beach! Both are gorgeous