Читать книгу The Bag Making Bible - Lisa Lam - Страница 5

I love sewing. For me it is an indulgence, my work and a whole lot of fun. Inspired by my Mum, I’ve been sewing since I was a little girl. I have happy memories of the cool ‘70s flares and flowery pinafores that she used to sew for her groovy-looking kids. I’ve been unhealthily obsessed with fabric, haberdashery and sewing gadgets ever since. I’m self-taught, I love to experiment and I (usually) laugh at my mistakes.

Of all the things that I run up on my trusty sewing machine, bags are the thing that I enjoy making the most. Every girl needs a bag (or ten) in her wardrobe and a handmade bag is the perfect present to give at any time of the year. You can’t beat the pleasure you get from owning a truly unique bag and the smug feeling you get from telling your amazed friends, ‘Oh, I made it!’.

As this book will show you, you don’t need to be a sewing whiz or to purchase exotic tools to make bags. You’ll just need a sewing machine and some easy-to-obtain notions. While some of the bag projects in this book are aimed at the slightly more confident bag maker, you’ll find that all of the bag-making techniques are suitable for all levels. So even if you are a beginner, this book will teach you how to add your choice of pockets, or insert a top edge zip to an existing bag pattern, for example. I have purposefully moved away from quick-and-easy bag projects because I believe that when you spend a little more time in creating something special you will cherish the results all the more. Fear not though, readers of my bag-making blog will know that I always try my best to write simple-to-follow instructions and to include plenty of helpful photos in all of my projects and techniques, and this book is no different.

Have you ever eyed-up other women’s handbags and thought to yourself ‘nice shape, but too few pockets’ or ‘too small’ or ‘yukky fabric’ and so on? I thought so! There’s nothing wrong with wanting more pockets, a bigger bag, or even a fabric-matched purse for your glam party dress. But, as the saying goes, if you want a job doing well you have to do it yourself. This book will teach you how to do just that. It covers the basics from interfacings to pattern reading, and it contains eight scrummy bag projects. But best of all (for the first time in any bag making book) it also covers how to make the component parts of a bag, from different styles of pockets to making handles, from various bag closures to attaching linings, and much more.

Armed with the bag-making techniques inside this book, you’ll be able to make the eight fabulous bags featured, but, crucially, you’ll also be able to design and construct your own bags. Why be limited to mass-produced, shop-bought bags? Make your own bag your way and love it! If you fancy stepping up a level from homemade bags to handcrafted arm candy, step this way. All the techniques you’ll need are right here …

Love bags; make bags!

Lisa

Visit me at my bag-making blog and say hello:

www.u-handbag.typepad.com