vintage – VillaMaker

We’re halfway through Soctober and I’ve been toting my current sock wip in the first Japanese knot bag that I made at the start of the Pandemic.

Making these little project bags were a perfect stashbuster, using up cotton fabrics from sewing cloth facemasks.

Last year, I went to a party and needed an evening bag .

So, I whipped up one, out of a vintage art deco style damask fabric and lined it with gold silk satin.

I had no pockets and this Japanese knot bag was the perfect little carry all for my essentials – phone, money, lipstick, hotel keycard and my salbutamol inhaler.

Since the summer, I’ve been popping the Japanese knot bags via The Murphy Leaf MarketPlace.

The Damask Collection

I really enjoyed curating the The Damask Collection from our silk and cotton textiles.

Dress up your sock wip with these Japanese knot bags made with vintage damask drapery and interior fabrics.

Sugar Skulls in a Knot

Last week, I paid a “re-homing fee” for Sugar Skull fabric and made three funky reversible bags with jacquard textiles.

The Art Collection

My latest collection of Japanese Knot Bags will only be available by made to order soon.

This Kandinsky inspired knot bag is a work of art . The abstract artist and colour theorist was well known with his bold and brilliantly coloured paintings.

Kandinsky saw the dot, or point, as a small circle. He argued that this was the most basic, fundamental element of painting, observing “everything starts from a dot.” From this basic dot, one could go on to create any variation of line or shape.

Circles were a recurring feature in his abstract art, and he painted them in a huge range of variations, from planet-like orbs to repetitive concentric designs.

Made from a Kandinsky inspired tapestry textile and lined with re-homed drapery fabric.

And knot forgetting one of the famous Impressionists, Van Gogh

This knot bag is inspired by Van Gogh’s colour palette. The post-impressionist artist became well known for his techniques in passionate brush strokes in symbolic and intense color, in surface tension, and in the movement and vibration of form and line.

*this blogpost has a couple of words from the Filipino language (Tagalog).

pambahay: clothing intended to wear around the house

Lolo: grandfather

Lola: grandmother

This cardigan once belonged to my Lolo. My earliest recollection of this classic cardigan was in 1970’s during our childhood visits to the Philippines.

He wore this same cardigan when Lola and Lolo came visit to Canada in the early 80’s. It was his cardigan of choice when going out.

The last time I recall seeing Lolo in this cardigan was in 1983, by then it became his sweater for pambahay only. He was always feeling cold due to his poor circulation.

The garment tag tells me that it’s a Jaegar, All cashmere and made in Scotland. Definitely a natural fibre to keep one warm. Lolo was a connoisseur of fine clothing and accessories.

After, Lolo passed away, my Mum brought this cardigan back from the Philippines.

I really don’t remember how I ended up with this cardigan, however, for the past 30 years or so I’ve always reached for it whenever I got a chill.

On this cool Sunday morning, I went to put on my pambahay cardigan.

I noticed the tiny hole that I’ve been ignoring for months has exponentially increased in size.

One hour later, a mending repair job and sewing on two missing buttons, it good for a couple more decades.

Tag: vintage

Signature Socktober Accessory – The Japanese Knot Bag

VillaMender a Cardigan