Slow stitching a Modern Japanese Rice Bag

I thought I'd share with you some images of the Japanese Rice Bag I made earlier in the year. This project was one of the most soothing I've worked on as it was such a simple make with beautiful results. 

I carefully chose my favoutite colours and prints, hand stitched in the garden over the summer and let my mind wander as I stitched freely, waiting to see what came next.

The pattern is The Modern Japanese Rice Bag by Karen Stevens and you can buy it on etsy here. I pieced most of the fabric together and then added a few patches of red that were scraps from a dress I'd made. I basted my fabric piece onto some cotton batting as I like the texture you get with the stitches and the bag is sturdy and squishy.

The pattern is easy to follow and it's a super quick make. I keep my current crochet project in it at the moment, I'm going to make another for some embroidery that I have on the go.

I lined mine with a fuchsia pink heavy satin that I have meters of, it's good to use some of it up!

There are some stitches on the bottom too, I like to add little details that are a surprise.

If you want to make one up in my fabrics, you'll need a Sample Pack and a fabric panel to make up the main body of the bag. Choose your favourite colours and then hunt through your scraps for some patches that will coordinate.

I used a variety of threads, linen, silk and some DMC to add different textures to the stitches. Enjoy picking out your fabrics and colours and then the slow process of adding some stitches and details to make your bag personal. 

** If you don't see a fabric panel in the shop in the colour you'd like, please get in touch. I have much more than is listed, let me know the colour you're interested in and I can list some for you.**