We made a gorgeous handbag from vintage obi which is used around 1960. Fukuro Obi is worn at top formal occasion and therefore it has very splendid needlework. We tried to keep original appearance as much as possible. The handbag is recommended for various formal occasion like as wedding party, graduation or entrance ceremony.
The handbag is H17 x W24 cm and rather compact. But the most beautiful part of textile is fully used. Brocade is very classic method of Japanese Fukuro Obi. Fukuro Obi is 4.2 m long while general Obi (ex. Nagoya Obi) is 3.6 m long. The longer the Obi is, the more elaborate Obi knot is possible. That's the reason why Fukuro Obi for top formal is longer than plain Obi. We processed the liner of Obi with considerable care. (We introduced our work at atelier here.) We choose the liner properly based of the thickness of Obi itself. We padded the liner to soften and firm of the textile.
Phoenix and chrysanthemum are motif of embroidery. We used the chrysanthemum's pattern for the body and put the the phoenix in the center of the flap. We emphasize the stillness and motion by comparing phoenix and chrysanthemum's beautiful embroidery.
Moreover, the design pattern we used for the handbag is the same as Juxtaposition tie dyeing handbag with black depth. The handbag looks completely different with the Fukuro Obi even the design patten is exactly the same. We reuse the original liner of the Fukuro Obi for the bottom gusset. The combination of the white depth and the body in gold and silver is just perfect. We wrapped the single handle with the white liner of the Fukuro Obi. The textile with the embroidery isn't always suitable for the handle since it can be hooked to the edge of sharp object like as wrist watch or rings you wear. The color of the bottom gusset matches very well to the body.
You can see the Sukiyabukuro which is made from the same Fukuro Obi. Please check it out here. if you like.