Making an Azuma Bag: From Natural Dyeing to Hand Stitching

This workshop is an invitation to slow down. Over five days, we will gather around plants, cloth, and thread to transform discarded fabrics into a handmade Azuma bag. Traditionally made from reused tenugui (handkerchief) fabrics, the Azuma bag—whose name means “from Edo” or “East”—is a simple, sustainable design used to carry a bento (lunch box), groceries, or small personal items. We will walk the streets to gather dye plants, learning how colour lives inside leaves, flowers, and food scraps. Through eco-printing and traditional natural dyeing techniques, fabrics will be upcycled and coloured with plant-based hues. In the final stage, we will stitch everything together by hand, allowing time, care, and stories to shape the final Azuma bag. A workshop about sustainability, mindfulness, and the beauty of making something from beginning to end with our own hands. For more info go to www.fernandamascarenhas.com. All materials provided. Participants are encouraged to bring their own fabrics.