Komebukuro Bag

Pattern/Kit: MDK Summer Camp 2026

Designer: Paige Sato

Kit: Signing up for MDK Summer Camp means you also get the Camp Kit, which included the bag and lining (which were conveniently pre-sewn!), vintage materials (fabric and antique quilt pieces) from Paige’s collection, Sashiko thread and needle, Sashiko stitching guide, and cording for the drawstrings. (Also an official Camp Patch, which is a really fun memento.) The kit was all put together in a neat little bundle – all ready for the workshop session.

Started/Completed: August 2026

What am I going to do with it? Use it as a project bag.

Notes:

I know I’ve said this before, but . . . MDK classes and workshops are EXCELLENT; always worth the cost of admission. This Summer Camp/komebukuro-bag-making session was great. Lots of fun, great teacher, great materials. And . . . you get a recording of the session so you can refer back to something or watch it at a more leisurely pace. I always learn something new – and come away inspired – when I take part in an MDK workshop.
What I liked best about this particular class . . . While there was a project to complete during the session (and it was structured so that the entire bag could be completed during the 3-hour gathering), it could also just serve as a springboard for inspiration. And that’s what happened for me. The fabric and quilt pieces included in my kit were beautiful — but not really to my taste. There was a big green quilt piece, plus a mix of orange hexagonal pieces that, for me, didn’t really work together or spark joy. There was also a lovely – but extremely delicate – quilt square that I just didn’t want to cut up or incorporate into a bag that I planned to really use (it was just too fragile a piece), so I spent much of the workshop watching and listening while also digging into my scrap stash.
So, back to the scrap stash. Last year, I completed a Sashiko sampler . . . that I had yet to do anything with. (It was just sitting in my Drawer of Completed Stitching Projects . . . waiting for An Idea or Purpose.) So, inspired by Paige Sato and her willingness to cut up other projects (including quilts) to use in new projects, I decided to cut up my Sashiko sampler and incorporate some of the squares into my bag “design.” (Horrors! I’m sure many of you are gasping just reading this. . . and I did hesitate before diving in with my shears.) Anyway, that worked like a charm! Four of the squares served as the inspiration for my bag.
I also stitched on some “selvedge edges” and used various tags I had laying around in my stash. And in the end, I decided to use some “measuring tape” ribbon (also from deep in my stash of crap-I-save-for-no-real-reason) for the drawstring handles.
About the “selvedge edges” . . . I love fabric selvedge edges, and often cut them off in strips to use in other projects. You can buy them at some specialty fabric stores (I have bought some from Brooklyn Haberdashery before), but it’s easy to make them yourself if you find interesting selvedges.) Anyway, they were perfect for this bag project because they already have one woven edge and were simple to stitch on the bag.
I was totally inspired once I had the notion to use my previously-stitched Sashiko squares, and I did most of the stitching over a couple of days when I was up north. (I waited until I was back home to give it good press before finishing it all up.) I’m really happy with the way it turned out.