Customer Reviews

Handbag Designer 101: Everything You Need to Know About Designing, Making, and Marketing Handbags

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I admire the author for wanting to share this information. It is very obvious she is passionate about purses! Gotta love that! :)
However, the other aspects of this book were disappointing.

I DID spend a lot of money at Kinko's enlarging the patterns per the books instructions--1st off, I actually spent MORE money at Kinko's than I did on this book! I was annoyed that Full Size patterns weren't included--it is expensive to have them enlarged to the proper size and even worse to try to do it at home on a regular printer!--even if you did try to do it on a regular printer, there are no grid-marks or guidle ines to line up the multitude of pages you would need to print to enlarge them--and now that I know they have to be 400%--most home printers don't enlarge that high!
But nonetheless, I dropped the 5 patterns I wanted enlarged off at Kinkos and left--came back to $3.29 copies EACH and knew immediately that they were WRONG! I was *Steaming!!* mad--But worse-- I feel bad for anyone who would not realize this and then go through the process of trying to use these 200% copies to actually construct something! I am a little perplexed about why full-size patterns were not included ??? You can get them now in Magazines so it surely does not make sense why this book would not have them included.

The written instructions in the book are also not good--I don't think the author actually wrote the project construction instructions so I can't fault her for that- but I wish she would have had several people USE these written instructions and edited before putting them in this book. I have designed my own purses and am a sewer --so have read many instructions for a multitude of things from bags & purses to clothes & housewares and these instructions are some of the worst I've read. I make bags without patterns and can figure it out without the instructions (and I stopped reading them because they verbiage is off and does not make sense in parts), but if you have never sewed or are a newbie--this may be troublesome for you. You may think you don't have what it takes or that you can't read a pattern--but please know that most directions are not written this badly!
There was no new information in this book that I had not heard, learned or read before just a repeat of previous books I've read or classes I've taken.
The concept of this book is a wonderful idea and as mentioned I do admire the authors passion for purses! If you are wanting to learn some info--it may be semi-helpful. But if you are trying to make a bag--save your money!

This book is great for patterns to experiment with or basic info that you can mostly find on the Internet with little time and research. The harder info to come by are things like Italian hardware suppliers, great manufacturers in the US and overseas, and THE places to actually buy leather. I enjoyed reading the book of which took me an hour to read and flip through the pictures. Good book but very basic Information.

I just bought this book and my impression from the first quick read is that this is a really great book, a must for everyone thinking of making their own bags or even starting a line. Very well thought out and executed.
Looking at the instructions i noticed though that with every bag it says you should scale the pattern by 200 percent. Since all the bag pattern pieces are layed out on one page it seems to me this must be a mistake.
Since I love the book and I am almost certain that I will use a pattern or two I will just scale the patterns depending on how big of a bag I will want. It would be much simpler though if the scale factors were written correctly ...
I hope in the next edition this will be corrected ... and i hope that the corrections will be published somewhere (online) so I can insert them in my copy.

I am usually very positive and look for the good in all things, but I am more than a bit disappointed in this book. I wish I had read all the reviews more carefully.

My first impression was that this was a good basic book for a beginning bag maker and that it provided good information about types of bags and the construction. However, when I thought I would stitch up a few of the bags to see if I could learn any new methods I ran into several problems. The patterns in the book are useless due to the reduced size. Full sized patterns should have been included like the other books I have purchased as resources for construction methods. Yes, the mistake in finding out that the enlargement should have been 400% instead of 200% came too late for me and could have been quite costly if I'd had enlargements made at $2.99 each. After cutting a muslin for several styles, I discovered that not only was the size of the bag very small, but that the pieces do not fit together properly. I have designed and made patterns for enough bags that this was apparent before I did any sewing. The directions are very sketchy, not in good order and certainly not for anyone who hasn't constructed many bags.

I bought the book more for the marketing advice than to make bags, but since the patterns and instructions are such a large part of the book, shouldn't they be correct? My advice is to forget the hardcover and include paper patterns.

Handbag Designer 101 is essential for any person looking to become a handbag designer. Emily provides an all-in-one source that takes you through the styles of bags, tips on sewing and creating bags. It also covers important business fundamentals such as production, development, sales and publicity. The book is full of helpful stories and great photography that makes it rich in information, yet easy to read. If you want to be a handbag designer, this book should be the first step in your journey.

Brian Meert, CEO Handbago.com

I think this book is a great graphic representation of some basic silhouettes that are classic, chic, and stylish -- It's a good starting reference point for inspiration. As I bought this book more for the patterns, and teaching myself from some basics, and less for the business advice, I'll shy away from critiquing that part of the book, and stick more to its technical merits as a "101" -- or beginners guide.

Basically, there's no "101" about it. If you think you're going to follow the pattern in the book and make a bag that looks exactly like the picture, that's just not the case. This book is not written for followers of patterns (because if you actually read it and try to follow it, it's insanely wrong.) I'm not really sure who the target audience is, because I assume if you already have some pattern making experience, this book would either be confusing or you wouldn't need to read it, except to look at the pictures for basic inspiration. The written and graphic instructions were done by a complete idiot. The instructions are incongruous with the pattern pieces, and the diagrams are confusing and not at all descriptive of what they are supposed to identify. Also, sizes for things like zippers are not specified.

This book could definitely use a good technical editor to work with the author to make more realistic understandable instructions, and maybe a photography session to illustrate more of the steps in the making process.

I would give it one star based on the way it's written, but the images are nice, and have definitely help me think out my own patterns. Also, it looks good on the coffee table!

This book covers making bags and marketing them. My primary interest is in the making and I'll have to say this book was a big disappointment. The major part of the book is devoted to 15 different bag styles with patterns, instructions and designer versions of each bag type (which are very inspiring). I'm an experienced sewer but have limited handbag making experience. I started the Messenger bag yesterday and immediately found the size of the bottom pattern piece and sides were too long for the bag so had to redraft them. Neither the bag upper back nor the zipper tab pattern pieces were provided although they are referenced in the instructions. It's almost like the person writing the instructions, the person drawing the diagrams and the person drafting the pattern didn't talk to each other and everything was then assembled by someone else. Did anyone even test drive these instructions and patterns? I don't think so.

First, let me start off by saying that I love the idea behind this book. The author has given multiple bag styles and how to make them your own. However, I had alot of issues with the instructions and there are not many illustrations to help clarify (Im working on the wallet). The author also does not list which piece you are actually sewing to what. They are labeled well on the pattern sheet, but in the instructions, words are substituted and you have to figure out which is which. Overall a good book, IF you can figure out the instructions.

This book looked very appealing due to the title EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW... It even included how to tutorials on how to do wallets and clutches so I gave it a shot. I bought an online version, found out I couldn't even print it to get the patterns.... There are no measurements listed besides the seam edges are all a certain size... which in the long run is NOT that helpful if you don't even know how big to cut your fabric!

On the plus side I did learn some new things about fabrics, what type of needles and threads to use, interfacing tips, and some new terms I had never heard of. I enjoyed reading it until page 18 skipped the bad instructions and started reading back up at page 122 about the business of being a handbag designer which I have yet to finish reading...

If you are more interested in learning the business side and a LITTLE bit of making it your self side BUY THIS BOOK.
However if you were like me and was needing more info on the MAKING side, DON'T BUY THIS BOOK.

Emily's story of becoming a handbag designer is interesting, and I found the 2nd part of the book to be an adequate representation of what I know about supply chains, manufacturing, etc. in the handbag manufacturing business. The first part of the book is helping someone become acquainted with the basic shapes of handbags through a series of projects. The first part is not as complete as I hoped it would be, and can only call it 'cryptic'. I have just completed the first project, a tote bag. The instructions call for use of interface and lining, though nowhere does it mention what pieces should have interface, the application of it, etc. Ditto for the lining--the one pattern piece that calls for lining is inadequate to fully line the bag. The pattern itself leaves much to be desired. The instructions say to enlarge the pattern by 200%. In my world, 200% = 2X the current size. If I were to enlarge said pattern 200%, it would be about the size of a Christmas tree ornament. I enlarged it by a factor of 4x, and it is still pretty little, though makes a nice tote for my 2 yr old. Couldn't get the 'bottom' of the bag to fit either. Once again, cryptic instructions, not sure if I was supposed to gather the bag, or cut the bottom down, though I ended up doing the latter. Also no way in heck the straps at 4x original were going to work. Ended up doing a factor of 6x, and about the right size. Long story short, NOT a good book for learning construction. One would be much further ahead practicing the basic shapes with different patterns. Interesting read, and good general knowledge book otherwise. Only other thing I find fault with is wishing that it had a good directory of pattern/prototype makers, suppliers, and manufacturers.