One of my favorite classes to teach is this komebukuro bag. Considered an offering bag or at times a treasure bag in Japan, originally made of collected and scrap fabrics, it reminds us that cloth is precious.

It also serves the spirit of “mottainai” which is a Japanese word expressing that one shouldn’t waste precious resources.
The first one I saw-even before I knew what they were, was at a temple sale with my friend Carola’s husband Makoto in 2012. It was just so interesting. After buying it out of the bottom of a box of very dirty textiles, I studied and researched what this actually was. I just knew it was old and precious.
Years later, I prepared a workshop inspired by this piece to make these, combining used & collected Japanese textiles, sashiko, boro-esque stitching, indigo dyeing, and a moon.
You can see a couple of my old blog posts on this at the links below:
The beauty of teaching post
Komebukuro sample from Meiji era found at a temple sale in 2012

Workshop price includes all the necessary materials, but feel free to bring along any scrap fabric you may want to include in your piece.

When: April 12 & 13th 11:00 AM -4:00PM
Where: Nichiren Shu Buddhist Temple, 2801 East 4th Street, Los Angeles

On day one we will prepare the panels for the bag and on day two we will assemble the bags. We will do a little indigo dyeing, some sashiko stitching, and some boro scrap work to make the four side panels. I will have two sewing machines available on day two to assemble the bags. You can use the machines yourself or I can stitch them for you on the machine.

Bring a snack or lunch with you. If you have your own personal sewing tools feel free to bring them although I will also have everything you need to borrow.

As additional inspiration, you may want to look at the work of Ayako Miyawaki who was famous for her applique work using scrap fabrics. It’s delightful and you can view a video of her and her work here.

If you have any questions about joining the workshop, feel free to contact me.
View blog post on this workshop.