I made one last July and carried it the rest of the summer and have it back out again! In fact, have been carrying it for about 2 weeks now. First of all...I am hard on my handbags...I stuff all sorts of things in them and set them down all sorts of places from the floor of my classroom to the floor of my car and even in our barn sometimes. I can tell you...my Bow-tuck is holding up exceptionally well. The only thing I will do differently maybe the next time I make one is maybe use some pel-tex along the inside of the top around it. (Does that make any sense?) I get compliments all the time on my bag!