Handbag Workshop: A Book Review

When I first requested this book on Net Galley, I thought it would be fun to make my own purse. That way I could customize it exactly how I wanted it. Then I read Clutter Free. One of the things Clutter Free discussed was hobbies and the fact that for every hobby you have, you need to have all of the paraphernalia associated with it - and a place to store it. And you need to evaluate whether or not you are actually going to pursue that hobby seriously before purchasing all the requirements for said hobby. And having to figure out where to put it all. And how many hobbies does one woman need? Especially one that works full time outside of the home. I crochet, I knit, I quilt, I read. Sometimes I garden and occasionally I blog about my hobbies and books. I do like to cook as well. And then there are all those acrylic painting supplies...
I generally like to make at least one project from every hobby book review I complete, but when I looked at the basic toolkit required for making handbags and the specialty items that I wasn't even sure where to purchase (zipper tape?), and thought about all that new clutter I would have to accumulate, I decided to forgo the attempt. I did, however, give the book a good "look through" in order to review it.
This book has an introductory section which includes a list of basic tools and supplies required for making handbags. The rest of the book is divided into beginner, intermediate and advanced bags, so you know where to start. There are detailed instructions and lots of photos for each bag, plus patterns to copy. I think for anyone determined to make handbags, this book would be a great place to start.
My one complaint: As an animal lover, I'm not too impressed with the liberal use of leather and definitely not with the use of rabbit fur - BOO! However, it would be very simple to replace this with fake, animal-friendly stuff. After all, why else would you make your own bag?
I received a free advanced digital copy of this book to review from Net Galley. I borrowed the hard copy from the library for a better look at the pictures and patterns.