The New Handmade: Simple Sewing for Contemporary Style (That Patchwork Place) [Paperback]

Cassie Barden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 11, 2008

In an age of mass-produced fashion, express your individual style! Create handmade projects for your wardrobe and home with only a small time commitment and basic sewing skills. Now you can make fun, useful accessories and gifts with the contemporary fabrics you love.

* Choose from totes and bags, cases and covers, fashion accents, and home decor projects

* Learn techniques you'll use again and again, such as installing zippers, using fusible applique, and basic machine quilting

* Mix and match the elements to make each design a one-of-a-kind masterpiece

It's fresh. It's unique. It's handmade!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Cassie Barden has been involved in making art her whole life, from cartooning, filmmaking, and painting to making odd stuffed animals and creating costumes for Burning Man and Halloween. An interest in both sewing and fashion inspired her to start creating her own one-of-a-kind bags and accessories that appeal to both her utilitarian and style-conscious natures. She lives and works in a charming and rickety studio apartment in Capitol Hill, an eclectic, vibrant neighborhood of Seattle with its own unique fashion sense. When she s not sewing, Cassie enjoys two Seattle institutions: live music and drinking coffee. A graphic designer for Martingale & Company, she is inspired by contemporary art and design, anything retro or old-fashioned, and Seattle's urban culture.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: That Patchwork Place (November 11, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564778770
• ISBN-13: 978-1564778772
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #59,787 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is GREAT!, December 9, 2008

By 

S. R. macdonald (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The New Handmade: Simple Sewing for Contemporary Style (That Patchwork Place) (Paperback)

I absolutely adore this book. I like to take it out to just look through it repeatedly--it inspires me and puts me in a good mood! I made the little field bag and want to make more! The projects have great pictures and clear instructions. The fabrics used are inspiring, but the projects are cool enough to be desireable in regular fabrics (not just awesome Japanese prints!) I also like the way the patterns do not need to be enlarged. In the instructions, the cutting measurements are also assigned a label, so I know which piece will BE what and can choose my fabrics accordingly.
If you like to sew gifts or just stuff for yourself, you will be very pleased with this book!
I have also made several large market bags with vinyl lining to give as gifts. I really appreciate the accurate instructions and useful illustrations. The projects are fairly simple, really useful and will appeal to a variety of people with varying skill levels.

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE book for sewing bags big and small, April 6, 2009

By 

booktrout "booktrout" (Upstate NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New Handmade: Simple Sewing for Contemporary Style (That Patchwork Place) (Paperback)

I've been on a bag sewing binge, and have been buying a number of popular current books on the topic. HANDS DOWN this is the very best of the books currently available. Instructions are superb with illustrations that make sense, the examples shown are gorgeous, and the styles range from small coin purses to more complex messenger bags that are easy to put together.

You know a book is good when you can just read along and understand the instructions without having the materials in front of you. Now I know bag construction from the ground up, and feel much more confident about my sewing skills (and I was fairly decent to begin with).

DON'T buy any other book before you buy this one. I can't recommend it enough.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun stuff to make with GREAT instructions, January 22, 2009

By 

C. Gauger (Everett, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The New Handmade: Simple Sewing for Contemporary Style (That Patchwork Place) (Paperback)

Love, love, love! While the designs are young and fresh, they are easily made (and still look great with) more traditional fabrics and prints. I made the Bird-Watcher Messenger Bag out of a black corduroy with red cherries for my BFF for Christmas. It turned out beautifully! She gets compliments wherever she goes. I found the instructions to be very easy to follow. My only "objection" is that I don't know what to make next. I do know that I want to make several Market Bags and get a jump on next years' Christmas list.