Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I adore the projects listed in this book. A notebook cover with a place to put all of my pens and scrap pieces of paper? I'm sold! Only... this and Barden's other projects are at their best after a bit of tweaking. Her ideas are fabulous, but (like many craft books, I suppose) I've found that the projects really do take a bit of re-designing to make practical.

Take the composition notebook cover I mentioned before (and pictured above): great idea and a fantastic way to make use of lots of different pieces of fabric, but have you ever tried to close a notebook with pens tucked inside? Yeah, not so great. Re-design and put the pens and pockets on the outside cover and.. voila! Truly useful.

The bird-watcher messenger bag was another project that inspired this purchase. I love messenger bags and have always wanted to make one. But in reality? EVERYTHING falls out of the enormous main pocket! I'm not exactly swinging this around my head either. I was horrified to find that on a typical day out-and-about, my wallet fell out twice. And the strap is ridiculously long, but doesn't call for a notion to correct this.

Now, I'm being a bit harsh, especially having rated the book four stars, but I mention these things because I wasn't an experienced sewer when I bought the book so re-designing a project was a bit intimidating for me. That said, her reading list tote and grocery bag are fabulous. I've made several. The zippered kit bags.. I've made dozens as gifts of all sizes. I've made the iPod case and pretty crafty apron as gifts as well. As the sewing has proven, the projects are incredibly useful and invite your good taste in fabrics to help them shine. I could make her projects over and over again and, unlike other craft books, I've made nearly all of the projects in this book. (How many craft books can you say that about?) The book is well worth the price in terms of usability and lasting appeal. I've returned to it many many times over. From beginner to intermediate sewer, this book should satisfy!

Over 100 pages of useable everyday items such as shopping bags, cell phone holders, placemats, aprons and even a laptop cover, just to name a few. There are 23 projects in all.

I have read and reviewed many kinds of instruction books but this one is EXCEPTIONALLY well written. All the instructions are extremely clear and I didn't need to re-read them to follow what was being said. My one pet peeve is instructions that are hard to follow BUT NOT THESE! Five gold stars on well-written instructions!

Each project has a skill level and finished size. The materials and cutting lists are detailed and graphics are included to help explain the written word (not that it is necessary but it is an excellent added touch). A color photo of the finished project is provided.

Ms. Barden has her own web site and encourages the readers to post their projects for how and tell. What is the web site called? Why www.thenewhandmade.com of course! So, grab a copy of Ms. Barden's book, make up one or two of the items as she has shown or do what she suggests and add/change something as you sew and then go to her web site and show off your talents.

I know I shouldn't, but as a graphic designer, I always judge a book by its cover. When I got this book, I glanced at the cover and wondered why I ordered it- not very 'pretty' at first glance. Then I started thumbing through the pages. The instructions are, quite simply, amazing.

Barden is thorough yet concise. No detail is overlooked with the clearest illustrations I have ever seen in a sewing book at every critical juncture. As a visual learner, I cannot overemphasize the value of these illustrations. The projects are explained in detail for the basic size or model with fun sidebars for modifications and instructions for different sizes. She also explains why she choose certain materials like velcro vs. snaps and the weight of batting, enabling the sewer to modify the project however she would like. As an advanced beginner sewer (yes, I made that classification up), I am confident that I can complete every project in the book with reasonable success. I will be looking into more books by Cassie Barden!

I received this book as a gift and was immediately captivated by the premise: that one does not have to be capable of terribly intricate and tortuous sewing skills to make cool stuff. With clear, encouraging instructions and helpful illustrations (not to mention entertaining and effective photos of the potential results of one's work), it is easy to be led right into one fun project after another. The author's eye for design, and for styles that bridge several generations, contribute to the usefulness of this book. I could easily see my teenage daughter using this (if she only had some spare time!), or my mother-in-law using it. In other words, this is neither my grandmother's book exclusively, nor my daughter's book exclusively. It's OUR book, collectively. It makes an excellent gift, as well. Kudos to the publisher for getting this one out there, and to the author for considering her potential readership beyond her age group, in both directions! A must-have!

I have made numerous projects from this book; all but one as gifts for others. The Birdwatcher Messenger bag is a wonderful purse that works well for everyone from tweens to seniors. The Dinner Party tote bag is great, too, particularly if you add pockets. I adapted the instructions for the Cell Phone Case to make a slipcase for my Kindle. Everyone who sees it asks, "Where did you get that?"

Other reviewers have mentioned the well-written instructions and I just have to add that even if you have very little sewing experience, you will not have any problem following the directions for these projects. If you already sew and/or quilt you can easily work out of your fabric stash for most of the projects in this book.

Buy this book and make something fun for yourself, or for someone else. Another bonus is that the projects take relatively little time. With a little experience you can knock out a tote bag in an hour or so and even the Messenger bag (now that I've made a half dozen of them) can be created in an afternoon. A helpful hint for the Messenger bag: buy the required plastic quick release clip at REI.

In less than a year I've used this book so much that I took it to Kinko's for a coil binding - much easier to follow the instructions when the book can be opened flat on the cutting table.

I really hope Cassie Barden has another book in the works. Until then, buy this one and enjoy making your own creative versions of her cool projects.

I am a VERY beginning sewer and have been absolutely delighted with the concise illustrations and written directions contained in this book. The author leaves little to chance; everything is explained and explained extremely well. The designs are simple but fun and can easily be modified once you get the hang of the techniques, something I thought I was a far cry from as a beginner, but this book has given me the confidence to try some of my own ideas. Wonderful, wonderful book! Now if only she'd write a quilting book for beginners...

So many of the sewing books currently on the market are filled with beautifully styled photos and cute fabrics, but just how many of the projects will you actually make? 1,...2? Maybe? And that's if the instructions are accurate. Cassie Barden's book, The New Handmade, is the exception. Filled with 23 unique, practical, and stylish projects, you just might want to make them all. The instructions are clear (and accurate!), techniques are explained clearly for all skill levels, and there is a wide variety of projects ranging from purses and bags, to kitchen accessories and wearables. Her fabric and color choices are modern and inspiring, and the book is colorful and fun to read. I have made the Bird Watcher messenger bag, Victorian Cameo bag, multiple Novella Composition book covers, and a whole handful of the Dinner Party Grocery bags. As an intermediate sewer, familiar with designing my own patterns, I can attest to the quality of Ms Barden's designs, and I even learned a few new tricks/ techniques myself. If you want a modern stylish sewing book that does more than just sit on your shelf looking "cute", then this is the book for you.