Handmade Leather Bags & Accessories

Handmade Leather Bags & Accessories
Provided by Design Originals
d-originals.com
Reviewed by Mollyhall Seeley

There is something inherently luxurious about a leather handbag. The soft feel, the gentle sheen, and of course that amazing new-leather smell ... the only downside of leather accessories is the price tag they're attached to. 

Clearly Elean Ho understands the agony of loving leather handbags but hating the price tag. Her book, Handmade Leather Bags & Accessories, provides free purse patterns so that you can have a closet full of high-end leather bags and accessories without going broke. 

After the free purse patterns, the best thing about Handmade Leather Handbags & Accessories is the mouth-watering photography, which shows off the bags at every angle, inside and out. The book also holds a good variety of bag and accessories—tutorials cover everything from satchels to coasters. The step-by-step tutorials are simple and easy to follow, and each product has a nice note from Ho explaining the bag or accessory and offering suggestions for use. 

There is a project for everyone in this book, from beginner sewists to old pros, no matter what season you're sewing for. Ho is careful to include incredible style variety among her 28 tutorials. Over-the-shoulder satchels, sturdy briefcases, soft-leather totes, and box-shaped backpacks are just some of the beautiful bags to be made. All leather bags are not created equal, so Handmade Leather Handbags & Accessories provides plenty of options for all occasions.

One of the nicest elements of this book is its overall tone. Ho writes from a position of expertise and authority, but allows space for fun. She includes small anecdotes that go along with the history or creation of the product at hand to remind the reader that sewing these products are meant to be enjoyed from their first stitch to their last day out.