craftgrrl | kinchaku and sewing kit

Hey everybody! I thought I'd post some of my projects from over the past few months. Sorry that I'm posting links rather than pictures!

I've worked out a sort of pattern to make a pleated kinchaku (Japanese drawstring bag). So far I've made two and am working on the third.
First bag. I was working without a pattern, so I ended up making this bag much taller than is typical to Japanese proportions. But I like it! In this picture I'm carrying it with my kimono. I don't know if you can tell, but I used leftover material to make a han-eri (the innermost kimono collar.)
Second bag. This bag is a present for a friend (and I haven't sent it to her yet! Ugh, I'm a bad friend.) I got the proportions more correct this time. It also helped that I actually, er, measured everything instead of just winging it.
The third bag will be the opposite of these two--plain on the outside, with patterned fabric for the pleats. I'll post a picture as soon as I'm done. Does anyone have any brainstorms about how I could line these bags without losing the increased capacity the pleats allow?

I also made a little sewing kit out of chirimen-esque fabric (it's actually polyester.) The pattern for the fabric is really beautiful. Chirimen crafts are perfect for small scraps of cloth. I made this kit for a older friend of mine who made me some charms out of sea shells.
The front of the kit.
The inside of the kit, including some small accessories.
You can see some of the glue spots where it soaked through the cotton fabric I used for the inside. Fortunately, it's not as noticable in real life. The flash makes it more prominent.

Thanks for looking!
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