UPDATE: The book is out now! Hooray! Wherever you like to buy books! Lots of links for places to buy on our website here. This newsletter has info about preordering and the various perks that one could receive after preordering, but now the preordering time is over so the perk time has come to an end. But the Daily Tote pattern is available to buy here if you’d like to sew it! Thanks so much for all your support and excitement about the book! Yay!
Why we like sewing bags: We (Amy and Amelia) are both huge bag lovers! One of Amelia’s earliest sewing memories is making zip pouches with her friend C. out of pink fabric with tiny polka dots. We used them to carry around our art and stationery supplies and reveled in having matching! zip! pouches! They couldn’t have been more perfect, because we’d designed and sewn them ourselves.
Likewise, for a brief but impactful few months, Amy worked sewing bags in big batches for a marketing firm in Chicago. It was a bit of a weird job, but it was a very fruitful learning experience — learning the mechanics of how different kinds of bags are sewn, exploring various materials, and getting to practice sewing bags over and over again on an industrial sewing machine! It was fun! And rewarding! And made Amy want to sew the kinds of bags she really liked and wanted to carry around in the world. A lot of daydreaming while working that job helped plant the seeds for some of All Well’s bag patterns.
With the patterns in How to Sew Clothes, you can make bags worthy of daily use, that are up to the challenge of whatever you need to carry. To start, there’s a whole chapter that talks about all the little things that go into the process of planning and sewing bags. We’ll tell you about choosing fabric and materials for bags, and how to source sturdy canvas and specialty fabric. There are notes for how to customize bags for you, and pocket ideas for bags, and ideas for how to make your bags fancy! And our best bag tips!
Then, we get into the bags themselves! We designed seven new bag patterns just for the book! Seven! Plus our classic Half Moon Zip is in there too—with a fun new size!
The bags in the book (read on for more on each of them!) include:
You also get the Daily Tote for free if you preorder the book before release day (2/28!! so soon!) and fill out your email address in this quick form!
simple pouches
These simple pouches are good for practicing your sewing skills like sewing in a straight line, pivoting at corners, pressing a double fold hem, and cutting and placing pattern pieces. They don’t need a lot of fabric, and most of the dimensions don’t need to be so exact—very forgiving! Try an Open Top Pouch for things you need quick access to like a phone or notebook or computer, try a Fold Over Pouch for containing soft things, or use the Drawstring Bag Set to keep things secure. A bag for your earbuds inside a bag for your electronics inside your backpack, on your back! So cozy! To some it could seem a little over-the-top to have bags inside bags inside bags, but for us it’s a truly happy feeling to tuck things away just-so. You too?
Making bags yourself makes them that much more satisfying, that much more fine-tuned for exactly what they will hold. The simple pouches are perfect for just that.
totes with straps
Basically a big simple pouch, this Book Bag and 3D Book Bag will showcase beautiful fabric and carry whatever you need to lug around! (In our case, usually books!) Make it 3d to carry a little more with just two extra seams. A quick sew, perfect gift, wardrobe companion (match your tote to your outfit?). The possibilities are endless!
If you preorder, you can get a third tote with straps pattern for free, the Daily Tote! In this pattern, you will get to use rivets (or chicago screws) and add leather straps. You will also learn how to insert a cool hanging interior pocket!
zip pouches
Welcome to zipper town! Zippers everywhere! First, try the Half Moon Zip, a tried-and-true simple zip pouch in our favorite shape, or a Flat Pouch that’s a total classic! Then make a Stand Up Pouch that easily packs a lot of stuff, and stacks flat when you don’t need it.
A note for those of you who are early in learning to sew: It might sound like sewing zippers is hard, but don’t fear! We’ll show you how to make a basic zipper pouch, and the rest will be history! Sewing a zipper can definitely be intimidating the first few times. If your seam is wonky, you can always seam rip; if your needle runs into the zipper teeth and breaks, you can replace it. It’s super normal to be nervous! There’s a whole “no fear zippers” section for advice and encouragement if you need it, and lots on where to source good ones. Zippers in bags are a way in: you’ll be set with skills to use way beyond this book, for making bags of your own design, cushion covers, adding zippers to coats and tops and PANTS, etc!
party purse
The Party Purse is a boxy zip with a shoulder strap and interior pocket: not too big but still surprisingly roomy. We like it in a thick dark canvas. Something sturdy! It also is quite nice made out of an old quilt: a bit softer but still fun and structural. You can leave the strap off to use it for anything else—like toiletries or pencils or keeping small things together within a larger tote!
Yay! A bag for so many different kinds of things to carry — and the chance to make bags you really like to take with you out into the world!
—Amelia & Amy, ALL WELL
Find HOW TO SEW CLOTHES at Amazon, Bookshop, Powells, IndieBound, Books-A-Million, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones, Book Depository, Indigo and bookstores near you. Get a free risograph print with your order from White Whale in Pittsburgh and Elliott Bay in Seattle!
Finding How to Sew Clothes outside of the U.S. is totally possible through Amazon (for example, the UK and Australia) as well as other major retailers with international reach. Book Depository, Waterstones, and Bookshop ship internationally. Or try asking at your local bookstore! They should be able to get a copy for you. (The ISBN is 9781419762024!) Measurements in the book are given in inches and metric.
ALL WELL: allwellworkshop.com, @allwellworkshop, etsy, spotify, pinterest, youtube.
AMY: amybornman.com, @amybornman, her newsletter My Candle Burns.
AMELIA: ameliagreenhall.com, ANEMONE, @anemone.es, the ANEMONE newsletter.