Carry Alongs: 15 Crochet Handbags & Purses for Every Occasion

Carry Alongs: 15 Crochet Handbags & Purses for Every Occasion is a step-by-step guide to crafting contemporary carryalls, drawstring designs, shoulder bags, and evening purses. Featuring projects ranging in required skill from beginner to advanced, as well as schematics and measurements for each handbag, Carry Alongs is a solid guide for crafting professional-quality projects. Full color illustrations and diagrams throughout make Carry Alongs easy to use. Highly recommended for any needlecrafter interested in creating beautiful and practical gifts.

This book has an amazing selection of crocheted handbags and purses in many sizes, styles, and colors. The beginning of this book has a refresher of the types of crochet stitches and 4 pages of purse lining basics including adding a pocket and how to put in magnetic snaps. Each purse is rated as being beginner, easy, or intermediate. Every project has a photo at the beginning of of the handles used, the linings, any beads, buttons or other embellishments, and its rating. The only thing is that I have never heard of some of the yarns used, but I usually make substitutions when it comes to yarn anyway. For anyone who loves crochet and also loves their purses, this is a beautiful book on making your own.

This is one of the best crochet books for handbags I have seen in a long time. The author has some really cool (and different) ideas. I love the format and how detailed everything is. All the handles are different and she even shows the pretty linings and gives easy instructions if you are not used to sewing in a lining. There are lots of different hardware options. One thing I was so impressed with is the variety in style and size of these purses. My absolute favorite is the textured "Petals Purse". My second favorite is the shoulder bag on the front cover. I LOVE the strap. I can't forget to mention the detailed schematics and very clear instructions. This author has such unique ideas and I predict it will be a best seller.

One of the reasons crochet is special to me is the wide range of stitches and techniques available, maybe because I've been crocheting for decades and that's what keeps crochet new for me. It's like language-- there are high-frequency words, and then there are the words that are seldom used except by those with true command of the language, such as poets. The author and designer of these 15 handbags and purses, Carrie Sullivan, knows how to showcase distinctive stitches and techniques! My three favorites in this category are the 2-color long-dc V-stitch satchel in a suri alpaca & fine merino blend, a messenger bag in a big woolly tunisian knit stitch, and a unique bobbly-looking "Petals Purse" in a subtle color-changing yarn. This alone is not why I give the book 5 stars. There is also a solid range of materials, skill levels, and gauges. I'd say most designs call for a G or H hook (4mm-5mm), with the smallest a D (3.25mm, for some surface crochet) and the largest a P (10mm). The designs are arranged by the seasons, which organizes the breadth of designs smoothly. For example, a striking little bag featuring clear Jelly Yarn(R) combines nicely with the fresh beachy and pastel-colored bags of Spring and Summer. A Fall-Winter beauty features rich metallic surface-crochet. The clear lining instructions and diagrams cause me to also recommend this book as a reference. You will learn how to line barrel bags, oval and trapezoidal bags, see-through, gussetted, zippered canteens, to name a few. You are guided through adding interior pockets and magnetic snaps. I wish I had this book when I lined a series of my own fancy-shaped bags.

Stylish and fashionable hadbags. The instrucions are clear and well written. I also enjoyed the section on linning your handbags. I plan on making several of the designs in the book. Very informative for all levels of crocheters. Nicely done.