Finishing the Bachi Bag

Once I had an idea of what size the outer circumference and height of the bag should be I cut a rectangular piece of fabric to fit those dimensions and finished three of the edges, then folded over about an inch and a half and sewed it again to strengthen all the fastening surfaces.

Next, I cut out a circular bottom and affixed a two inch tall side to the bottom panel. When that was finished, I attached it along one side to the body of the bag. I also sewed a casing along the top of the body piece so I could put in a draw string

Now I wanted to see how the bachi pouches were actually going to work, but I knew I might have to attach things to the outer side of the bag body and I was having a difficult time visualizing how that would all go together. To get a better idea of what needed to be done I pinned it all together to see how it would all fit. (you can see the draw string casing along the top)

Once I had it all pinned together I could flip it over and see how the bachi pouches on one side would line up with the strap rings on the other and adjust it all so they wouldn't interfere with each other. I went ahead and sewed on the rings. (you can see a small part of the pins holding the bachi pouches to the other side of the fabric)

It's not always clear what order the steps of constructing something should be done in. Taking time to visualize the steps helps, but you can still (and I often do) get it wrong. I just take my best guess and proceed hoping I don't have to redo things too many times on any given project. I also write the steps down, making corrections to what I've written when I have to reorder steps, so in the future when making a similar thing I can learn from my prior experience.

Next I sewed inch and a half velcro along the sides of the bottom panel and the bottom and opposing sides of the front opening of the body. When the velcro was pressed together it made a fabric cylinder. I should note that in the sketch the bag is held together with straps and buckles. That may have made more of a fashion statement, but I decided that velcro would not only fasten more securely, but it would ultimately be easier to use.

Finally I went ahead and sewed in the bachi pouches, put in a few extra pockets with flaps and velcro closures and the body was complete.

I made a sort of lid, or top flap and sewed it to the body on the same side I had sewn the bottom panel, only on the top of the body this time. I'm still not quite happy with the attachment of the top flap, but I can fix it later when a better design comes to me. It will work in the mean time. Once I affixed a shoulder strap to the rings, the bag was done.

The bag can be used in the manner of any shoulder satchel, loading things in from the top and pulling them out the same way, or the velcro along it's primary seams can be opened and it can be laid flat, giving easy access to all the bachi at once.

That's Gerald, a stuffed giraffe helping me with construction. Pretend he's my happi and tabi and other taiko gear filling the interior of the bag.



It's always difficult to judge how much detail is too much or not enough. If anyone keeping up with me has an opinion, please leave a comment indicating what level of detail you'd be interested in seeing. More, less, or I'm getting it about right, etc. Thanks!