Book Review – 20 Floral Bags To Make

Textile Art Book Reviews

At Mr X Stitch we love to review textile art and embroidery books for you. There are so many great books to discover, packed with needlework inspiration and textile techniques, so we dive into each book to find out what’s good, what’s bad and let you know why you should pick it up.

20 Floral Bags To Make by Susan Cariello is published by Search Press

Introduction

Who is it for?

Are you a keen bag maker?  Bored of just the usual templates and styles?  Maybe it is time to branch out and start giving your pieces a bit of decoration.  This book might just inspire you……….

About the author

Susan Cariello is known predominantly as a textile artist, specialising in the production of limited-edition handmade, hand-embroidered and hand-embellished bags and accessories. She is a graduate of Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design in London, and has worked in New York and London as a textile and embroidery designer.

Content

This book has an unusual twist, instead of the contents list showcasing a variety of chapters divided into skills, this book divides itself via seasons.  I.E.  Styles of bags made to evoke the titled season are all grouped together.

There are twenty variations of bags to make, so plenty of choice.  This sounds complicated, but there are only six simple patterns to learn, which are adapted for the twenty bags!

What season will you begin with?

Cariello not only gives us the bag embroidery ideas, but also explains each stitch, so that we can get the most out of the designs:

Book Review - 20 Floral Bags To Make
Even the simple stitches are explained, with clear diagrams.

What makes it special?

We loved all the zoomed in floral images. They not only look good, but help the aspiring embroider to understand how the stitches have been done:

Book Review - 20 Floral Bags To Make
A good old colour pop, these illustrations are educational as well as beautiful.

We mentioned some of the diagrams to explain the stitches .  Some are set out in clear step by step layouts:

Book Review - 20 Floral Bags To Make
Less chance to make a mistake thanks to Cariello’s clear diagrams!

Lastly, this idea was a little bit new to us.  It is so easy to get the sewing machine out and make a bag without thinking about what could inspire us.  Maybe we need to stop and plan before we begin!

Book Review - 20 Floral Bags To Make
Hands up who’s made a mood board before they began to make a bag? Maybe it is time to start…….

Photography

Each bag project has a full sized image printed of the final design, so we can visualise the end result:

Book Review - 20 Floral Bags To Make
There is a well styled full sized image attached to every bag project.

The concept of seasonal bags is a real novelty, but one we think can inspire.  Looking at the bags, most really sing their season, take this as an example:

Book Review - 20 Floral Bags To Make
We are not going to let on the season……you will just have to get your copy!

What is wrong with the book?

If you are not into bags, then this will not interest you.  It will also have less appeal if you don’t like flowers. However it is a great buy for many skill levels who are keen to try out bag making.

Conclusion

So, if you are obsessed with having the right bag for every occasion (yes season too) then give this a go!

20 Floral Bags To Make by Susan Cariello published by Search Press is available to purchase right here!

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