Valerie Van/Arsdale Shrader Creating & Embellishing 40 Great-Looking Bags*m sorry, Marilyn, but | most respectfully disagree. A diamond is nota girl's best friend. What a girl really : complicated as you'd like it, with wants is a fabulous, never- been-seen-before can‘t-even-buy-it handbag. Unless she wants two or three said handbags. If you've got to carry all the important stuff of your life—money, ID, keys, debit card, cell phone, energy bar, sweet- ie’s picture, and favorite lipstick (of course)—you may as well do it with : flair. Your really important stuff should be happily tucked away in the most delightfully perfect pack- age you can find...or can make, in the case of this book. Whether you call it your handbag, your purse, your pocketbook, or your best friend, it should be a reflection of your personality, however cool or sophisticated or quirky or edgy or dramatic. A handbag is the perfect opportunity to express yourself to the world, since it's the one acces- sory you can't do without, and the one you have with you every single day. And if you've got to carry It, it may as well be hip! Making and embellishing handbags is really easy and will keep your collection as stylish as the next runway show Introduction or as hot as the latest club scene. I'll prove it to you. A handbag can be as basic or as only your imagination setting the limits. The key to a really cool bag is an artful design and a wonderful ! fabric, and these principles work well for any shape or size of purse. In this book, you'll learn how to pair a fantastic fabric with a delicious design to create your own artistic statement. Add embellishments like beads, embroidery, appliqué, even © found objects or hardware to com- plete your vision. And then, carry it around with you every day on dis- play! The handbag is the very defini- tion of art-to-wear (well, maybe art- to-carry, at least). You certainly need a variety of purses, too; some days you just feel hipper than others, so you need a collection that reflects | all your moods. Did you ever think about buying a rather—oh, how shall | say it?-—plain purse and using your considerable talents to adorn it? Hip Handbags has more than a dozen examples of prettifying a purchased bag that begs for more decoration. (Most of theseChoose Your Lining Material Generally speaking, you'll want a material that’s a little lighter in weight than the fabric you're using to make the bag. This decision is a personal choice. Do you want a contrasting lining, or one that minds its own business in the background? The lining material you choose ought to be as durable as the bag itself because you want the two to live happily ever after. Your fabric and your lining should have compatible laundering requirements. When you shop for lining, be sure to take a swatch of your fabric so you can truly compare the color, weight, and texture. Don’t trust your Lining fabrics should be considered just : as carefully as the fabric for the exterior memory to gauge the color of the fabric you've got on the shelf at home. ; of your handbag. Word to the wise. Select the Interfacing Yes, you'll likely want to add interfacing, too. There are a billion weights of interfacing, both fusible and sew-in types, to suit every bag. Usually, the more structured the bag, the heavier you'll want your interfacing to be. Buckram (the stiff stuff that keeps the bill of your trucker hat in shape) is very rigid; crinoline, as in the old petticoats, also provides a lot of body. Hair canvas is the traditional interfacing used in tailoring and has some flexibility. (Yes, it's actually made with hair. From a goat.) The fine folk at your fabric store will surely be friendly if you're feeling squirrelly about the selection. Tell them what kind of fabric you're using and a little about the design of your bag and they can help you decide which one is best. It's important you tell them what kind of fabric you're using, because fusible interfacings aren't suitable for all fabrics; follow the manufacturer's instructions when using it. Having the proper interfacing is an important part of creating a handbag that looks the way you want it to, so do consider your choice carefully.