Sew a Bag: A Beginner's Guide to Hand Sewing

By Amy Karol

Offering easy-to-learn instructions and techniques that will have you sewing your first bag in no time
 
Sewing is a time-honored tradition that’s functional and purposeful, and is the foundation for almost all clothing and accessories as we know them today. While most books dedicated to this topic focus on machine-sewing, there’s a simpler side to this craft, and learning the techniques and skills needed to hand-sew open up a wide world of possibilities from hemming your own garments to sewing on buttons to repairing beloved closet items to making your own new pieces, like the fold-over clutch featured here. Sew a Bag will introduce readers to hand-sewing, focusing on the basics and the techniques most applicable to sewing that can then be extended to a wide variety of projects in the future. Establishing the building blocks here will encourage crafters to try new ideas and develop their own style as they progress, but it all will start with a simple pattern.
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: ABRAMS
• Release date: Mar 24, 2020
• ISBN: 9781683359623

Amy Karol

Amy Karol is a leading voice in the sewing and crafting community. Her first book, Bend-the-Rules Sewing, was an industry favorite for many years.

Book preview

Editor: Meredith A. Clark

Designer: Laura Palese

Production Manager: Denise LaCongo

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019936959

ISBN: 978-1-4197-4063-3

eISBN: 978-1-68335-962-3

Copyright © 2020 Abrams

Photography by Carly Diaz

Cover © 2020 Abrams

Published in 2020 by Abrams, an imprint of ABRAMS. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

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INTRODUCTION

1  Hand-Sewing Basics: Tools and Materials

2  Basic Stitches and Knots

3  How to Sew a Basic Clutch

Making Your Pattern

Pinning Your Pattern

Cutting

Sewing

Adding Your Closure

Embellishments

GLOSSARY

RESOURCES

RECOMMENDATIONS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Sewing!

Sewing a project by hand has so much going for it. Not only is it a perfect way for beginners to get into sewing, it’s a skill that all sewers need to learn and will never stop using. And there are many reasons making crafts by hand is so popular. Sewing by hand is:

Meditative. With so many electronics ever-present in our lives, any craft that can be done without electricity becomes magical and comforting—it connects us to the past.

Durable. When done correctly with the right threads and stitches, hand-sewn projects will last for a really long time.

Precise. Using a machine to sew is fast, but it’s often hard to get the stitches right where you need them. When you sew by hand, you can make your placement perfect.

Mindful. Our world moves fast, and sewing