****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I really enjoyed this book. It is full of "crazy" but fun ideas and is written for the person who wants a unique handbag. The other major idea, that of recycling old items into new handbags is a timely idea that deserves more attention than it has gotten. Kudos to the sisters for this fun, enjoyable book! I've shown my copy to many of my friends who are into sewing and they all really enjoyed and got a kick out of the many unique ideas presented in the book! I especially liked the purse made from old plastic bags (See "Garbology" for why we need to cut back on using plastic bags), and the purse that was made out of bath mats really made me smile! That took the recycling idea to it's zenith!!!This contained some great ways to upcycle items into useable handbags. I gave it four stars because some of the handbags weren't ones I would want to make for myself, but the recycling techniques are great ones to learn and apply to not only handbags but other items as well. I am all for recycling or upcycling. Good instructions.I really liked this book as quite a few people are looking more for the simple life, to recycle, reuse and reduce their consumption of raw materials. With so many recyclables available this is a great little book to give you some ideas of what project you can start with and then work up to. I shall be using this book.The book offered very creative use of unusual materials, but I would not consider the bags "high style". The photographed items were poorly sewn, and looked thrown together. The creativity gets high marks, sparking all sorts of ideas for new ways to use recycled materials. The quick tips, fun facts and designer features were a nice addition, but I probably would not have purchased the book if I had looked through it first.I was kind of disappointed with this book. I can understand the concept of recycling items but some of these fell short of what I expected for this book. I enjoy this type of crafting as it is easy to use old items for new designs. This is just one book I will not get much joy from. I am hoping to use the concepts for varying purposes and change some to my liking better.I purchased this book as a birthday present for my 16 year old niece in July, and she loved it! The instructions are well laid out and easy to follow with great pictures of each finished bag. Considering she had not used a sewing machine much and she has already completed two bags and on to her third, I'd say the success of the book speaks for itself. I would highly recommend this book, it is filled with some very clever ideas and unique designs using a variety of recycled materials, including jeans, jumpers, and even a tuxedo!Maybe I didn't read the description closely enough, but the bags are pretty complicated and my very able and crafty kid finds them a bit too hard to do on her own. However I hope to do some of them with her one of these days, as they are pretty great looking.Some are a little more than I would want to put into a bag but most of the designs are really neat. Great for the hobbying seamstress. :D And heck, might even be able to sell them at a craft fair, they really are that fun.Not a bad book but not the best one I have ever bought. It does have some ideas in it that could be broadened out into other things.non è un libro particolarmente ispirante. I modelli sono brutti e mal spiegati.Meglio le alte pubblicazioni di queste autrici, in particolare i 99 ways jeans
