Koalas have rich, thick grey fur and eat select eucalypt leaves. They are found on the east coast and the Australian Government declared them endangered in 2022.
Description: This bag is unique. It is a small cross-body bag showing a Koala looking straight ahead. It is suitable for carrying a tablet, phone, wallet and keys. For a younger person or to act as a shoulder bag for an adult, the strap can be tied (as in the photograph). The white highlights in the eyes are painted. The bag is quilted front and back, and fully lined, for strength and texture. The back fabric features ants in a maze or ant-nest, some carrying leaves. The lining is blue and there is an internal pocket of strong blue and more ants. The blue straps are padded and quilted, with a decorative embroidery stitch along the centre - again for strength but also for comfort.
Technique: The koala was stitched using a technique called Foundation Paper Piecing. It is a patchwork technique that lends itself to sharp corners, but can be very fiddly eg adding little grey triangles to turn the square eyes into ones that look round. To avoid further fiddliness, the highlights in the eyes were painted on, using pearlescent fabric paint. The koala, and the ant nest fabric were backed by a layer of padding, sewn then lining was added. The bag was constructed from cotton fabrics, with cotton padding and thread.
Bag Details: The bag is 24 x 24 cm, and the handles are 97 x 3.5 cm. The koala design is developed from a koala by Quiet Play. The bag can be washed in cold water, and dried in the shade. It can be ironed. If I've missed any threads, just snip them off flat with the surface.
