Hacking the Drop Style Shupatto Bag

A roomy, self-folding bag anyone can use!

I wish crafters were more upfront about where their inspiration comes from. Sure would make it a lot easier to find things.

I recently had quite a time trying to hunt down a DIY for the "drop" version of the Japanese Shupatto eco bags. The whole search would have been a lot quicker had people described their projects as Shupatto hacks, but nooo.... none of the ones I eventually found used the name in their videos.

It's like they don't want you to know that they got the basic idea from somewhere, as if somehow they came up with it all on their own. I mean, who are they fooling?

Well, not me, mainly because I have been aware of this different take on the Shupatto from way back when. (Over four years ago, around the time I posted about my own project.)

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The Shupatto drop style bag upends the original design and locates the straps at the top, instead of the middle; like so:

A different version of the Shupatto style...

Like the original, this one is very much open to being DIY'd. As soon as you understand the essential parts of the bag and how they work, you can make it in whatever size you want, without a pattern. (I gathered most of my "how to" info from a YouTube channel called tatarapattern2756, from a video that was uploaded October 7, 2020. It's mostly Japanese, but includes pertinent data in English.)

She gives fabric measurements for a large and medium version, but if you're like me and usually work within the confines of what's available in your stash, it's perfectly fine to deviate from them. Generally speaking, a long rectangle of fabric is required, with the bag's finished dimensions being roughly width of fabric x half length of fabric. My fabric was about 55" long x 22" wide.

If you want to know the basics of how to make this bag, read on; I will provide some high level instructions.

Cutting & Prepping Fabric

As I said, you'll need a long rectangular piece of fabric, the thinner the better. Why? It will need to be folded accordion-style and it's easier to sew layers of thin fabric than thick. (I used a polyester microfiber; a rip stop nylon would be great.) Oh, and an important FYI to consider: don't choose a fabric with a directional print or it will be upside down on one side of the bag!

Fold fabric piece in half and find the halfway point along the folded edge. Draw a horizontal line there, about 40% of the length of the folded fabric. (That is, if the fabric was 55" long to begin with, folded in half, its length would be 27.5", and 40% of 27.5" is 11" — so the line drawn should be 11" long.)

At the same time, make marks along the two open edges on both sides; i.e., four marks in total (as shown by the red arrows above) corresponding to the endpoints of that line. With the fabric still folded, cut along the line, thereby creating a "hole" in the middle of the fabric.

Binding the Raw Edge of the Handles

The opening that was just created will be the inside edges of the bag handles. In all of the tutorials that I saw, the crafters used two strips of 1" grosgrain ribbon sewn together to "bind" these raw edges. I sort of did the same, but since my ribbon was 1.25" wide, I just folded it in half and wrapped it around the raw edge of the fabric instead of sewing two ribbons together. Saved me some ribbon and the end result is the same: the raw edges are hidden.

Hide the raw edges of fabric with grosgrain ribbon...

To provide reinforcement and to create a clean looking finish on the outside, two more pieces of ribbon are sewn in at the ends of this opening. (In case you're wondering, the raw edge ends of all ribbon pieces are turned under before sewing.)

Sew Side Seams

Folded with wrong side out, use a wide seam allowance (between 1/2" and 3/4") to sew up the side seams from the bottom to the marks.

Sew side seams...

Press (or finger press) the seams open. 

Because the bag is unlined, the next step is to eliminate the raw edges by seaming again. (This is why the original seam allowance was relatively large.) I don't know what this particular technique is called, but you can see it here and it's just each side of the seam being folded under and then sewn in place.

Hide raw seams and extend up along outside of handles...

Note that this "folding and sewing" will extend all the way up into that area that was previously left open, creating a seam for the outside of the bag handles.

Create the Accordion Folds

This step may or may not be difficult. Some people – like me – will happily take this and run with it (without measuring) while others will insist on having some guidelines to proceed. You do you. If you need to measure out intervals to make the folds, by all means.

Create accordion folds and press...

The thing is, there is no hard and fast rule as to how many accordion folds you need to have. (I ended up making three; in my opinion that's enough, although actual Shupattos feature more and narrower pleats.) The objective is to have the same number on both sides and both halves and for them to be more or less even. Perfection, however, is not required! In the end, it will function even if the folds are not exactly the same.

Once you're done folding, a trip to the ironing board is recommended, to give the pleats a good press to set them. (Be careful with the iron if the fabric is prone to scorching — now is not the time to ruin your project!)

Secure Bottom of Bag and Top of Handles

Once the bottom has been sewn together and trimmed, another piece of ribbon is attached – along with an elastic – to finish off the bag. The layers at the very top of each handle are also sewn together for ease of use, particularly to effect that famous Shupatto snap.

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For the original Shupatto, you'd yank on the two bound ends to snap the bag back into its accordion folds. For this one, you pull on the bottom and the top handles to do the same. Then you just fold a few times along its length until you can wrap the elastic around the whole thing.

Folds into a 4" x 4" square...

This is a fun and functional bag. And really, I know we all have those hefty totes that we take to the grocery store, but having something light like this that can fold away and be handy for "emergency" shopping — you can't beat it.

For something that folds down easily into a small square, it holds a lot!

In the size that I made, it can hold a lot; there are a couple of folded bath towels inside the bag in the photos here. (Depending on what you make it out of, it can also be quite strong.) I will say that loading the bag is not the same as the original Shupatto, which had the advantage of being able to be spread out absolutely flat. Not like it's hard to put things in this, but the switched up orientation of the bag means that the opening is narrower.

But hey, it's got a style and purpose (it was developed to hold vertical items more securely) of its own and is a noteworthy companion for the original. It's also a wonderful rainy day project – which it was for me and explains the questionable lighting in some of the photos – and any you make would be great stocking stuffers.

By the way, I rarely offer up external links these days, but the actual Shupatto site is quite an entertaining destination; check it out. 

'Til next... 🇨🇦🍁