Layla

A sling bag for Layla. Found this vintage printed cotton at Corine's pondok and I could already imagine a design to make. This design was inspired by Fossil collection.

Dark brown leather trimmings and 1 1/4" cotton strap.

My reluctant Layla modeling her bag in a sling manner.

Worn cross - body
Bag measures L 13" x H 10" x W 3"

Mono fabric - Ayu

Having made 5 Ayu bags with the patchwork fabric,...I am curious to see one in a mono fabric.
These 2 Ayus was done by mid-February.

Turquoise background with woven patterns. Material has a slight sheen which contributes a little luxury look.

Dark brown base with oval motif all over.

Both mono Ayus side by side.

Charming.

Early years in Penang,... I got myself busy into making little boxes as small gifts, for any special occasions. My boxes were well received and I started making new friends. I even started to get request for boxes of bigger sizes and various dimensions. I also get to experiment the cladding with different type of materials. I am happy and thinking,.... life won't be so bad here after all.

Below are the first few boxes that I made. These boxes are small but they make charming little gifts.

5 different colors of my favourite material, which I used again later for my handbags.

Close-up view,.... nice eh!
Made this for teacher's day. I fill it up with yummy chocolate.
Measures - 7 cm x 15 cm x 4.5 cm.

I came across these beautiful velvet material in Kamdar. Made them into these square boxes,..10 cm x 10 cm x 4. 5 cm.
Lovely idea for wedding favours,... with a thick slice of delicious fruit cake inside.

Thru' the years my crafts have help to keep me busy and happy. :)

Indian Cotton

I'm taking a break from bag making this week,....I'm going to make some tops and dresses for me and the girls.
Till now,.. I still cut out and save images that inspires from all sources. I will then paste them in a scrap book or on my mood board, so that I can view them at any time conveniently.

I've got labels like LV, Tracy Reese, Hugo Boss, Peter Lim, Escada on this mood board. I like to pick up the lovely details and apply them on my own creation.The decorative details such as pin-tucks, applique and embroidery are very interesting and they could easily be applied on.


Recently I acquired a few pieces of lovely Indian Cotton. Alin, took us to this home boutique in PJ and ohh.... wow what a collection there is before my eyes. Every pieces are unique and beautiful and they cover the walls and floor. We spend hours to choose,.. luckily there are 4 of us to discuss and vote on which to take home. These pieces may not be suitable for the ideas on the mood board but I like to share them with you,...anyway.

Lovely Indian motifs in vibrant colors on bronze background

Rather simple modern floral motif in a dreamy subtle color combination. Pastel turquoise with brown outlines on off-white background.

Instinctively Indian floral motifs and colors on bright azure blue.

Clashes of strong colors of Indian motifs on ambiguous background.

Sparsely spaced bright print on fresh light green, with interval weave of metallic silver thread


Each piece comes in 4 meters,....enough to share among us,... me and the girls.

Wedding Gifts

On February 14th, I went to my friend, Jun, wedding reception for her two elder sons. It was a simple yet lovely ceremony, at the new Naza hotel , Tangjung Bungah. I went with my whole family,-- managed to persuade Omar to come along.

After making the Yasin covers for Alin, gave me the idea how to present my gifts for wedding couples. I used the same velvet material for the gifts.

A lovely book of guidance, befitting a new couple starting a new chapter of life together. I made a beautiful book cover of embroidered velvet with organza ribbon and tassel.

The pink wrapped book is put inside a dark green box. The contrast is lovely.
The dark green wrapped book is put inside a pink box.

I make this arrangement purposely so that which ever they choose to be theirs, they will still get both colors to enjoy.

The book is suitable for bedside reading or for the coffee table. The box is multi-purpose. My hope is that, they will enjoy and benefit from my gifts.

Surah Yasin Covers

Alin requested a set of Surah Yasin covers for her khenduri activities. She also requested the color ,...green. An opportunity for me go shopping,...yeah. I came across these 2 beautiful material. Bought myself a meter each, went home and start to work on them and I came out with these.

This first choice of material is velvet piece embroidered with flowy leaves and floral motif. I then decorated it with velvet ribbon with a tassle at the end. This will act as a marking tool, for the pages.

It took quite a while for me to figure out how to do this considering the thickness of the material. Honestly, I would like to avoid unnecessary bumps at the corners and foldings, so I decided to use a thinner material for the lining inside.

This is the second material. Pleasant combination of green and mustard stripes.

I hope I can get some ready for Alin. She need 30 pieces for a khenduri, she planned at the end of January. InsyaAllah.

Ayu

On the last week of December, Alia's friend,... Ayu came for a visit. She was carrying an interesting looking handbag. Caught my attention,... must make one,... but with a Brown Garden twist. After much thought, research and some sketches I came out with this design,.... thus I name it Ayu.

A big spacious bag measuring :
L 18" x H 10 1/2" x W 5"

Ayu can be worn over the arm


or

over the shoulder.


The leather trimmings and hardwares are very interesting and creatively used in the whole ensemble.
It was quite a job but I was happy with the results

I really enjoy the making of Ayu and I want to share it with you.

First I work on some sketches and figure out the best proportion in terms of length, width and height.


After I was satisfy with the proportion, I prepare the paper patterns


















I was still in the mood of patchwork, so I decided to use all my remnants from the previous projects. No rules here, both warm and cold colors are patched together but I am still careful with the balance and distribution of colors.

I prepared the patchwork first. There's 3 different combination of colors.









Here I am tracing the patterns onto the leather.













Cutting was done with a sharp knife, along the traced markings.









All cut leather trimmings are prepared for stitching.
Ends of strap to be skived to avoid lumps and difficulties when sewing.










Straps are stitched with my faithful old machine. (Love it so much)



All required straps edges are stiched.
All together there are 33 straps long and short
The sling strap is the longest - 62" long.

A big piece of leather for the base.














Here I'm inking the raw edges for better finishing.











Preparing the leather trimmings and the hardwares for stitching.









.
Strap holders are riveted in position.

















Straps sewn in position

Both sides of the bag are not the same. It was a bit messy sewing and unpicking, but I had fun. This color combination is for Alia.










Sewing the sides of the bag together.







.







Riveting the side strap in position











There are parts the can not fit on the machine, so these are to be sewn by hand.






Handles strap are done. Here I'm fixing it to the strap holder and buckle.














Ayu bag for Alia. Alia's color combination have a little dash of red.













This Ayu is the warmest,...with lots of red all over













This one is mine. This the first Ayu bag. It has all my favourite swatches.

Here I present all three Ayu that I have completed.
All three are similar but they are not the same.

Thanks Ayu.