Heavy Duty Sewing: Making Backpacks and Other Stuff Hardcover – May 10, 2018

I am a guy in my 50's who like to buy and fix up old sewing machines, the older, vintage style machines are works of art and just a delight to get running well. I have always intended to learn enough to sewing my own small bags and backpacks. This book is exactly what I have been looking for casually over the past few years. I finally found it :)This book does an excellent job of quickly bringing you up to speed on sewing machines and just what you need to know to sew these projects or your own projects. It is about sewing with heavy fabrics, how to select those fabrics and the techniques for sewing them into useful things.Most of the example projects are exactly the kind of simple, useful, utility, sturdy bags of various types, sizes and shapes that I have always wanted make + a few other example projects that are great learning projects that you are happy to do because you end up with something nice and useful, like the heavy work apron or wood carrier.There are excellent instructions and techniques for using a "vintage" domestic sewing machine, the kind that were all metal. The book is all done using a nice 1962 industrial machine, but the author really only focuses on very specific techniques to achieve the similar results using an older domestic machine. Great. really nicely done, answered a lot of questions I had about the best way to work with heavy materials, including leather.I have not looked extensively, but in some looking at other books about sewing bags, they are not these kind of utility bags.You will have to practice a bit on your own and might need to watch a youtube video or two if you have never used a sewing machine before. I had put thread to fabric as part of testing machines I was working on and had to test out stitches, zigzag and play with stitch width and length, but this book will also just sort of suggest what you should start at and go from there, as well as the common rules of thumb for those settings.And I think the example projects look great as well.Edited to Add: All the measurements are in centimeters as I believe the author is in Europe. No big deal, but surprised me when I saw it. I actually find it easier than fractions of an inch.

uh oh metric, i'll get over it

Wish it had more information.

Got my projects lined up and ready to go. Great book.

Exactly what I needed! I have an old Morse machine and always wanted to use it for heavy projects, so what a great reference this is. I got a pattern for a small backpack, and will use this book as a guide for putting that together. The fact that this book expresses most measurements in metric isn't a problem, because all my tapes and metal rules have cm on one side and in on the other.

I found the book to be very light on actual plans and procedures, with very skimpy patterns on the projects that are included. Also, considering the author’s business, I would have expected the projects to be more outdoor-equipment oriented. Hanging flower pots? The text is more of the “here’s what you could try” variety rather than “follow these steps to achieve this result”. Very little here for someone wanting to make or repair gear as opposed to someone wanting to craft with heavier fabrics. This will be be headed for the used book store to be traded.

I thought this was a good introduction to sewing bags. Good tips on thread and construction. The sewing machine they used in the book is a Pfaff from the 60s or 70s. I was able to find one used and it's been the best machine for making bags. For it to be comprehensive guide it would need to be about 2 or 3 times as long. This is more of an idea book rather than detailed steps.

I sew as a hobby and found this book a great inspiration. I enjoyed how it was written and it took a lot of brain power to figure out how he put his bags together. Fun book and I recommend it. You have to make your own patterns, but that was half the fun.

Great read... And makes it simple and accessable to approach sewing

Fantastic book very detailed

Really nice book in terms of aesthetics, but the other reviews are right, the sewing instructions are next to impossible to follow! That said, I did manage to make a rucksack, it looks nothing like the picture on the front of the book, but it’s a bag nonetheless! Definitely not ideal for beginners though.

I love everything about this book. The storytelling, the type of paper, the in depth explanation and choice of projects.

Good book with clear instructions.