Bag Bazaar: 25 Stylish Bags to Sew in an Afternoon

by Megan Avery

Handbags are hotter than ever— but so are their designer price tags. There’s never been a better time to sew your own fashionable bags, and it has never been easier with designer Megan Avery as your teacher. In Bag Bazaar , Avery presents 25 bags that even a sewing newbie can handle, in a variety of styles sure to match any look.

For years, Avery has hosted bag-making workshops in her boutique. Here she shares her expert advice as well as the blueprints for her most popular designs. Beginning with a guide to basic sewing techniques, Avery then features patterns for bags that range from funky to sophisticated, from a roomy backpack and an adjustable-strap messenger bag to an evening wristlet and a pleated clutch. Also included are patterns for specialty bags such as an eco-friendly grocery tote, a laptop sleeve, and a garment bag. Need extra pockets or longer handles? All of the patterns are completely customizable. Every design is accompanied by a hip, modern illustration, and—best of all—Avery offers all the encouragement and know-how you need to invent your own unique creations.

With patterns for everything from clutches and hobos to cosmetic bags and beach totes, Bag Bazaar shows you how to create the perfect, custom accessory—in less time than it would take to shop for one.

Genres: Crafts, Sewing

128 pages, Paperback

First published November 18, 2008

Reviews

[Trena · Rating 2 out of 5]

I do not give a high rating to this book. The biggest issue is that I don't think the author spent much time thinking about who the audience would be. It seems aimed at beginners and includes *fairly* good introductory information on basic techniques, if sparse (particularly for a welted zipper).

But the instructions for the actual projects are almost entirely written, and contain very few diagrams. No matter how good your technical writing is, it is difficult to convey sewing instructions without copious illustrations. So I think beginners would find the instructions difficult to understand and follow. There is only one pattern included in the book (which must be massively enlarged on a copy machine). The other projects are self-drafted rectangles. An intermediate sewist who would be able to follow the instructions wouldn't really need a book to tell him or her how to combine rectangles to make purses.

Also in the graphics area, there are drawings of each completed project, but no photographs. This makes me suspect, rightly or wrongly, that you can't make a really cute, professional-looking piece using the instructions.

I also didn't like the patternmaking technique, which involved cutting your rectangles out of interfacing and then fusing the interfacing to the fashion fabric and cutting out the fused interfacing from the fashion fabric. Placing the interfacing on grain on the fabric and then fusing it perfectly would be annoying for an intermediate sewist and incomprehensible for a beginner.

[JayeL · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mentioned the introduction in my review of Simply Sublime Bags 30 No Sew Low Sew Projects as being one of the highlights of that book. In this book, the introduction is perfunctory and fairly generic. However there is a section on basic bag making techniques, which I think I really stellar. I especially like the part on creating zippered pockets and making gussets. These hints are very useful!

My favorite project is the Bailey Baby Tote. I don't have a baby, but it could be modified very slightly to make the pattern into a nice messenger type bag. I saw a similar bag in Amy Butler's Little Stitches, but didn't want to buy that book for one project. This is a suitable substitute.

I also like the Mooney wine tote. It would be wonderful for gifts of wine. I'll see about making one of those a well.

There are lovely drawings in this book, but no photographs. One shortcoming, which is common in bag books, is that there are not enough detail shots. I want to see what the inside looks like, what the outside pockets look like, what the back looks like, etc.

Megan Avery has really thought through her projects and I found there to be a lot of useful bag types in this book.

[Marjanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have I mentioned that I've been sewing a lot lately? I checked this out for some more inspiration. There are some good patterns and instructions here. I have not read the instructions in detail yet, so even though the author notated the skill level for each pattern, I'm not sure how they translate to me yet. A lot of the bags are basics, which is nice and there are instructions on how to make custom bags as well. The biggest thing I didn't like it that there were no actually pictures of the bags. There are line drawings done on top of illustrated fabric swatches. I didn't feel like I could really see what the bag was supposed to look like.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love love this book. I got it from the library, and have to keep checking it out because it is so convenient. I'm not an experienced sewer, but was able to make a few tote bags and a clutch using these easy to follow instructions. I love the style of the bags too :) Now I just need to buy the darn book!

[Kerry · Rating 1 out of 5]

One thing a book like this needs is excellent photographs. To me, craft books are like cook books - if the images are terrible or non-existent then the book is not helpful for me. They are what sell the book more than anything. The images in this book are so terrible that I didn't even begin to read the instructions to decide if they were any good or not!

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

adult nonfiction; sewing. Avery does a good job of teaching the basics to bag-making and provides plenty of lovely projects to sew. If you are inclined to making your own bags and purses, this is a excellent place to start.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had a lot of potential but the cartoon drawings didn't help on the appeal of making these bags.

[Ashlee Ward · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cute bags, but the lack of templates and actual pictures leaves me less than impressed

[Jocelynne Broderick · Rating 1 out of 5]

Found a bag finally! I'm annoyed by the photos of the bags cuz they aren't actual photos, more like ink drawings with the fabric photos placed inside. So we shall see how it goes.

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

My daughter liked this one more than I did.

[Lesli · Rating 2 out of 5]

19 projects. In book templates instead of pull out patterns. No photos -- sketches instead. Very little in the way of instructions.