Customer Reviews

Making Handbags: Retro, Chic, Luxurious

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I love this book, it's loaded with gorgeous pictures of bags that are VERY stylish. It gives you patterns, covers basics of sewing, and is even great for expert Clothing Designers and Seamstresses like me. The book is by teachers at NYC's Fashion Institute and there's a section of very creative and fashionable creations by chosen accessory design students. The patterns are all there and somewhat easy to figure out. Most of all I love the pictures. I'm talking these are REAL designer bags like something you'd find at curvegirldotcom or Betsy Johnson. These aren't your grannies sewing projects! There isn't a single quilting fabric found in this book. They even tell you how to make leather bags. And in the back, you can contact each student that made the designer's gallery bags (to tell them how much you love them, ofcourse! Hope you have as much fun with this one as I did.

This book focuses on creating four styles of bags: the tote, clutch, drawstring, and beach bag - plus variations on these four styles.

The book comes complete with step-by-step illustrated instructions for each type of handbag, which so far, have been pretty clear and easy to follow. Also included are all the necessary patterns, but will have to be enlarged with a copy machine to be of any use.

At the back of the book there is a full-color "gallery" of various students' handbag designs. I found this to be useful as well as interesting.

However, after making some of the bags I was a little disappointed with the results. I'm finding I have to make modifications to the designs to produce something I actually like. But overall, the book is worth purchasing if you are interested in making your own handbags. It will inspire you, at the very least!

I checked this book out from the library and am now going to purchase it. I found the bags in this book creative and inspiring. I have looked into most of the books on making handbags and this is one of the better ones. I am a bit perplexed at some of the negative reviews at Amazon that I have read regarding this book. I think the instructions are easy to follow, and in my opinion, if you know how to sew (and if you have ever sewn the simplest of handbags), the instructions are easy to follow. My only complaint is that the patterns are not easily removed from the book, so unless you want to tear the book apart, they must be transferred to tracing paper. But I don't think this is a reason not to buy this book. Considering that the average handbag pattern is $8.00 (even then they must often be transferred to tracing paper) this book is a bargain. You get many patterns for the price of this book and it doesn't take a lot of effort to make the patterns. There are also a lot of good ideas in this book. Of course the best way to know if you like a book or not is to check it out before you buy it, which I always do.

i am an amateur bagmaker and i have made tons of things with my own patterns (have even sold them at shops), but i thought i needed just one book to improve my bagmaking skills and i really regretted getting this book.

the "inspiring ideas" are single pages showcasing bags made by art graduates (and they weren't that inspiring, if not at all) could have been compiled on one single page instead of acting as fillers.

instructions are very confusing and offer very few illustrations in between. if you want to use the patterns, you will have to enlarge them or rip them out from the book, which means you will have to ruin the binding. it feels like not much love was put into making this book.

this book feels more like a magazine than a sewing book. please do not get this book if you already have existing patterns you have made yourself, (and if you live in a country where book prices are four times the amount in US dollars). if you are looking for inspiration, you won't find much inside. if you are already makng bags, you don't need this at all. try some japanese sewing book for cute ideas, or the one from mary mulari. just trust your own, okay.

The reviews for this book seem to be split between people who love it and people who hate it. Yes, this book is not perfect. It is confusing at times, and it is a little difficult to take their "requirements" and translate it to make a bag that's not EXACTLY like the one that's pictured, especially if you've never done anything particularly crafty before.

However, it has a lot of great pictures and great ideas, and just reading through the "how to" gave me some ideas on how to make my own bag that combined elements of many of the bags that were pictured. What's good about this book is it doesn't try to take too much on: It walks you through how to make bags in 4 specific categories, and then it shows you variations on those four.

At $14 (as of Nov 2003), you're not going to find a good book that's cheaper. It's not perfect, and it does have its limitations, but this is a good place to start for someone trying to figure out what they want to do and wanting to explore some ideas further.

This book is beautiful to look at and inspiring in terms of purse designs. However, the how-to instructions are unclear and incomplete. Granted, some designs offer better explanations than others. I would not recommend this book to a beginner. It is more suited to be a coffee table book or else as inspiration for the more experienced craftsperson.

this peculiar "book" was more like an out of date comedy record than a lesson on crafts. it was a disgracful array of filth that made me laugh aloud. it had disgustingly messy chapters that was sticking with sickening errors. a subtle line of instructions had me dizzy with the continuous suspense. WILL they explain this, or that. it was useless, and made me think. . . then, an unsettelling price. it made me shake with rage. i discourage that you buy this book....

This book is great. It has easy to follow patterns, great pictures and descriptions. They have funky bags and elegant bags but they are all very chic. As a handbag designer i think this is a great bag for professionals, student and even those who have never made a handbag before.

A very poor book in every respect. Designs lacked creativity and polish. Nothing to excite or intrigue the reader.

I bought this book and handmade handbags and handmade handbags cant compare to this. they give you actual patterns,modern and eccentric design ideas and the instructions are much clearer to understand. I love this book!