I made this bag because I had bought some mother of pearl buttons, and I envisioned a bag that echoed the subtle colors and textures of the beach, and the ocean, and the dreaminess that the materials illicit.

I got to work one day while the children were at play, and I pulled out and assembled pieces from my eco-print collection. These lighter subtle purple prints that I have really strike a precious chord in me. When I look at the light purples, the silhouettes of the willow herb dancing around the scrap of washed cotton cloth it takes my mind to an otherworldly place. Some areas of purple have little bits of blue in them, and it is these variations, and many tones within one, that makes the color from natural dyes feel so living in comparison with other dyes. 

The bottom portion of the bag has a part of the fabric which has the orange-brown organic striping from the ties from the bundle. I carefully stitched around those and I was pleased how nicely that area of the bag echoed the textures of the mother of pearl chip beads on the flap. 

I lined the bag with a natural speckled linen fabric, and decided to sew down all the sides with the raw edges exposed to add to the textural quality of the bag and to minimize bulk.