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| Shupatto styled bag... |
Apparently, the folks at Shupatto had the same problem when they
turned their energy towards developing an eco shopping bag that would be easy
to fold and carry.
How many of you can identify with this situation: you're going grocery
shopping and before entering the store, you do your part and grab a bunch of
reusable shopping bags to take along. This action has become second nature.
However, when out for a day of non grocery shopping or just browsing at the mall, do you have a
reusable bag with you? If you do carry a bag, is it easy to store?
It's been almost two years since YouTubers began putting up tutorials showing how to DIY a basic Shupatto bag. I must admit I mostly missed the original deluge and have only recently discovered the numerous renditions of how to make one of these "auto fold" shopping bags.
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By the way, it's necessary to work with a hot iron to set those creases. And depending on one's fabric of choice — in my case, a polyester — it might have to be protected with a pressing cloth.
The Shupatto snap has to be experienced to be believed. You really can just grab the ends and "snap" the whole contraption back into its folded form.
Another advantage of the bag's style is how easy it is to use. It opens up flat and wide and doesn't require you to have an extra hand to load stuff. It would be a perfect beach tote.
Shupatto has another version of this design in a "drop" style. Essentially it's the same bag, but on its side. (I've also seen a YouTube video with a DIY for it.)
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In 2017, I posted about Canada losing its Sears. Up until then, they had a line of clothing called Together. The style was so identifiable that while flipping through their catalogs, I would come across the pages dedicated to Together and know that that was what I was looking at, without even seeing the name.
The clothing line was decidedly free-spirited and feminine, with pieces featuring fancy tone on tone embroidery, floral lace overlays and crocheted accents. While I managed to collect several items, I always had to wait for them to go on sale because they were priced a little on the high side for Sears.
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| The secret behind the Shupatto bag... (image courtesy of shupatto.com) |
The designers at Shupatto noticed that with most existing eco bags, people
were continually looking for the original crease lines when putting away
their bags after use. Obviously, what was needed was a design that
incorporates permanent fold lines. And what does that bring to mind?
Well, as you may have surmised, this is a Japanese company and of course,
their solution involves origami.
It's been almost two years since YouTubers began putting up tutorials showing how to DIY a basic Shupatto bag. I must admit I mostly missed the original deluge and have only recently discovered the numerous renditions of how to make one of these "auto fold" shopping bags.
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| My finished (still folded) bag made from an old skirt... |
The bag is amazingly simple and can actually have a fashion forward vibe to it depending
on what material is used. Convenience level is also dependent on
material used. If you go for a thin poly or nylon, it will roll up into a
tiny bundle, enabling it to be secured with a self tie elastic and tossed into your purse.
The choice that I made — by returning to my closet and digging out a midi
skirt — results in a lovely bag, but it doesn't exactly roll up into
something small and inconspicuous.
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| A bag for my bag... |
Which meant — of course — that I had to sew a little storage bag for it,
out of the remains of the fabric. (The tag came from the skirt and has
special meaning to me.) Done on the fly, it's just a boxed bottom slip case
with a single seam, which I oriented down the middle on top.
There are just three basic parts to a Shupatto inspired bag: the
accordion folded body, the straps, and the side "bindings" that hold the
folds in place. In the numerous YouTube videos that I've seen, body
sizes vary quite a bit; I think I ultimately cut my fabric to 28" x 43"
(about 71cm x 109cm).
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| Button down placket serves as the underpinning of the bag's straps... |
For the straps, I harvested both sides of the buttoned front placket of
the skirt. With the addition of some of the suede like material from the
waist band — mainly to cover up the button holes — I was able to fashion a
couple of sturdy straps.
After seaming the fabric at both short ends, the next step was to encase
the straps. There are a couple of ways to do this, with the method that
I used being the simpler one, since it doesn't involve cutting and
sewing additional pieces of fabric. I merely folded the edge of the fabric up
over the strap and then sewed it down where you see the white pins and
left a gap between the orange pins.
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| Installing the straps... |
For the folding part, if you don't go by someone's pattern, it has to be
"trialed and errored". I marked the middle and worked my way in from both
ends, using clips to hold the folds in place along the sides as I
progressed. When that was finally done to my liking, I went back to the
yoke of the skirt for more of the faux suede fabric to use for the side
bindings.
By the way, it's necessary to work with a hot iron to set those creases. And depending on one's fabric of choice — in my case, a polyester — it might have to be protected with a pressing cloth.
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| For an idea of scale... |
The Shupatto snap has to be experienced to be believed. You really can just grab the ends and "snap" the whole contraption back into its folded form.
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| Pulling out the strap handles... |
Another advantage of the bag's style is how easy it is to use. It opens up flat and wide and doesn't require you to have an extra hand to load stuff. It would be a perfect beach tote.
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| An easy to load bag... |
One wouldn't assume that a design based on accordion folds would look
anything other than utilitarian, but this bag has true style.
It's certainly not hard to look at and can be used as an everyday purse by those who prefer simplicity. (This one fits over my shoulder.) As a shopping bag, I like that it's an upscale option compared to the standard boxy totes.
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| Side view... |
It's certainly not hard to look at and can be used as an everyday purse by those who prefer simplicity. (This one fits over my shoulder.) As a shopping bag, I like that it's an upscale option compared to the standard boxy totes.
Like the Bouquet Bag from AGF Studios that I posted about last week, this is a good one to leave in your car for unexpected shopping excursions.
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| Front/back view... |
Shupatto has another version of this design in a "drop" style. Essentially it's the same bag, but on its side. (I've also seen a YouTube video with a DIY for it.)
Variations on this bag include adding a zippered closure and of course,
incorporating an elastic of some kind for self tying. (While it's not as elegant, you can always just use an elastic band to keep the folded bag together too.) I wouldn't worry too much about adding a zipper; once the bag is cinched up, the opening is pretty narrow.
In 2017, I posted about Canada losing its Sears. Up until then, they had a line of clothing called Together. The style was so identifiable that while flipping through their catalogs, I would come across the pages dedicated to Together and know that that was what I was looking at, without even seeing the name.
|
| Another memory filled recycle... |
The clothing line was decidedly free-spirited and feminine, with pieces featuring fancy tone on tone embroidery, floral lace overlays and crocheted accents. While I managed to collect several items, I always had to wait for them to go on sale because they were priced a little on the high side for Sears.
This skirt was one of my favourites back in the 1990s. It hasn't been worn
in a long time, but now instead of taking up space in my closet or being
pitched into my donation bag, it has new life as a useful item.
I'm glad I saved it.
'Til next...
'Til next...
I've never heard of this style bag. Yours looks great!! Wanna make me one? lol
ReplyDeleteI'm going to an artisan craft fair tomorrow. Wonder if I'll find a booth with someone selling this style bag.
Kathleen -- kakingsbury at verizon dot net
Well this is a new bag to me and I will need to check it out for sure. When I carry a larger purse/bag, I do carry a bag with me, whether it folds up and snaps or is stuffed into a corner to look like a strawberry (I wrote a pattern how to make the strawberry one) or one of my hot air balloon ripstop nylon scrappy bags. But now I am intrigued about the Shupatto style and I am sure will give it a go making myself at least one. Thanks Rochelle. It does have a nice style to it. And another great upcycled project for you!
ReplyDeleteI missed this style too!
ReplyDeleteIn NY State you need to bring your own bag. There are no more plastic bags (except some take-out) and all paper bags are 5 cents. (Yea environment!)
Yeah, here I thought I was the only one who had missed out on this... apparently I'm not alone. We still have (plastic) bags here. In grocery stores, they do charge for them, but I believe that most other types of shops will still give you a bag for your purchase.
Delete