Bag Book Reviews

After listening to the tote bag episode of the Quilted Cupcake podcast, I went to the Library and checked out a couple of books on tote bags. They didn’t have the Lexie Barnes books, but they had the title below and another, called Bag Bazaar.
Simply Sublime Bags: 30 No-Sew, Low-Sew Projects Simply Sublime Bags: 30 No-Sew, Low-Sew Projects by Jodi Kahn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really only glanced through this book as it is due at the library, but it was a thorough glance! Sadly, I am not going to have much time to get to know it intimately before I have to bring it back. One of the things I like about it is the tone in which the author writes. Her introduction is really nice in that she tells the story of her sewing life.

As with many project books, there are a few projects that I really like and others that I would never make. Still, Jodi Kahn talks about the project in a conversational way. She tells the reader why he is having them do things and gives tips about the materials. There is an undertone of encouragement in the writing, which I like.

I also like the novel materials that she uses. One thing that I thought was a great idea was the t-shirt bag. She uses Duct tape a interfacing, which I think is ingenious.

Definitely worth a look.

Bag Bazaar: 25 Stylish Bags to Sew in an Afternoon Bag Bazaar: 25 Stylish Bags to Sew in an Afternoon by Megan Avery

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I mentioned the introduction in my review of Simply Sublime Bags 30 No Sew Low Sew Projects as being one of the highlights of that book. In this book, the introduction is perfunctory and fairly generic. However there is a section on basic bag making techniques, which I think I really stellar. I especially like the part on creating zippered pockets and making gussets. These hints are very useful!

My favorite project is the Bailey Baby Tote. I don’t have a baby, but it could be modified very slightly to make the pattern into a nice messenger type bag. I saw a similar bag in Amy Butler‘s Little Stitches, but didn’t want to buy that book for one project. This is a suitable substitute.

I also like the Mooney wine tote. It would be wonderful for gifts of wine. I’ll see about making one of those a well.

There are lovely drawings in this book, but no photographs. One shortcoming, which is common in bag books, is that there are not enough detail shots. I want to see what the inside looks like, what the outside pockets look like, what the back looks like, etc.

Megan Avery has really thought through her projects and I found there to be a lot of useful bag types in this book.

View all my reviews, including non-quilt related reviews

Author: Jaye

Quiltmaker who enjoys writing and frozen chocolate covered bananas.

3 thoughts on “Bag Book Reviews”

    1. Hi Jaye,
      I got your comment that you weren’t able to print the whole tutorial. I wonder why? Did you click on the title of that post and then try to print? I have highlighted the area I wanted and then printed that too. There is a picture in the tutorial where it is open and shows the back flap. I can take a picture and email it to you if you tell me exactly what you want to see.

      Wanda

Comments are closed.