I just finished this gorgeous bag! I like this bag so much I decided to call it "Liebling's bag". Liebling - as part of my label name - means "darling" in German but as an adjective it also has the meaning "favorite". That pretty much sums it up: this is my new favorite bag! And it is now available in my charmed Liebling Etsy shop.

This medium sized bag comes with a lot of hardware, which makes it look super stylish and professional:
The strap ends are connected to gate rings, which are then hooked into grommets on either top corner of the bag (gate rings are rings that you can snap open). The flap closes with a magnetic snap.

There is a zip pocket on the back as well as a slip pocket and an elasticized pocket on the inside of the bag.

I interfaced the bag with By Annie's Soft and Stable which gives it a really nice shape. All fabrics are 100 % cotton.

I decided to keep the strap simple, it is approx. 29 inches long. I made it thinner than you might expect it to be (it is about 0.75") which makes a nice contrast to the big gate rings.

Best thing about the bag: I am working on the pattern which will be released in my pattern store on September 4, so come back to my blog for updates!

I am happy to announce a new sewing pattern, now available for instant download, in my pattern store: The all-purpose wallet!

This trifold wallet is as versatile as can be: it not only provides enough space for your money and credit cards, there is also a pocket for your phone and the option to add a clear ID pocket. In addition to the zip pocket for coins there are six card slots as well as a large pocket for bills, receipts and your checkbook. It closes with an anorak snap on the trapezoidal shaped flap.

There are two different options to make the phone pocket: you can choose to make a flat version, which fits an iPhone 5 without protective case. If your phone is bigger, you might want to go with version II, which is a 3D-shaped pocket and therefore fits bigger phones, or your iPhone with its protective case.
The pdf pattern includes 17 pages of sewing instructions with 40 pictures and 1 pattern piece.
The finished size of this wallet is 9 x 18 cm (3.5 x 7 in) when closed and 35 x 18 cm (13.75 x 7 in) when opened.

Supplies needed:
- Cotton fabric: ½ m or ½ yd
- Fusible fleece e.g. Pellon 987F or heavy stabilizer e.g. Pellon Peltex 71F: 18 cm (7”)
- Fusible interfacing, e. g. Pellon 931 TD: 35 cm (55 cm wide) or 3/8 yd (22” wide)
- 1 zipper, 14 cm (5.5”) à can be longer, will be shortened to the right size later!
- 1 piece of elastic string, 13 cm (5“) long
- 1 button
- 2 pieces of ribbon 1 cm (3/8”) wide: 20 cm (8”) each
- 1 anorak snap
- optional: 1 piece of clear vinyl, 6,5 x 10 cm (2.5 x 4“) for the ID pocket

Thanks to my testers who turned in great work! But see for yourself:

Ree finished her wallet in no time! I think I got her feedback four days after sending out the pattern. Well done Ree! Check out her blog at "Sincerely, Ree" as well. I have seen some really nice projects on her site!

Don't you just love the red and green combo of Becky's wallet? I think it looks gorgeous and her wallet also looks so well finished!

Kim changed the closure of her wallet which gives it a whole different style! Nice job Kim!

This is Nancy's version of the all-purpose wallet. The rose pattern of the fabric looks so pretty!

Denise used some hook and loop tape for the closure. Great idea!

Another fabric with a rose pattern! This one is Janet's wallet. She decided to make a tab closure for the phone pocket instead of elastic.

Patti used different kinds of batik fabric for her wallet which all match very nicely!

Sue's wallet is a real eyecatcher! The black red and white combo goes well with this wallet design!

This is Sandra's wallet! She used a tab closure for the phone pocket as well.

Tonya's wallet comes in gray and blue colors and looks gorgeous!

Alyssa made this colorful version of the all-purpose wallet! She also added a little strap to it, so that she can carry it as a wristlet!

Erin used a summer weight wool suiting for the exterior and a cotton Micheal Miller print for the interior of her wallet. She says she loves the wallet because of its size - it may as well be used as a clutch!

Thanks again to all my testers, your wallets all turned out so nicely!
If you like what you see and want to make this wallet yourself, head over to my pattern store where the pattern is available for instant download!

I already posted about this bag before (read all about it here), so here's the post about the acutal pattern! I am really excited about this one! I think it is an adorable bag and the pictures of all my testers confirm it :)
This is my new bag pattern #3, now available for instant download in my pattern store:
The Rose Petal Bag!

If you are looking for a casual yet sophisticated design, a bag that you can carry everyday but that is also posh enough to be used as an evening bag when going out, then this is the bag for you! The flap has an asymmetric shape with a beautiful fabric rose attached. The strap is wider at the top and tapers towards the ends, which are connected to the bag with rectangular rings. There is a zippered pocket as well as a slip pocket on the inside, to keep your things organized.

The pdf pattern includes 11 pages of sewing instructions with 27 pictures and 4 pattern pieces.
The finished size of this bag is 17 x 27 x 5 cm / 6.75 x 10.5 x 2 in (height x width x depth)

Supplies needed:
- Exterior fabric: ½ m or ½ yd
- Lining fabric: ½ m or ½ yd
- Fusible fleece e.g. Pellon 987F (114 cm/45” wide): ¼ m or ¼ yd
   or heavy stabilizer, e. g. Pellon Peltex #71F (55 cm/22” wide): ½ m or ½ yd
- Fusible interfacing, e. g. Pellon 931 TD (55 cm/22” wide): ¾ m or ¾ yd
- 1 zipper 18 cm (7”)
- 1 magnetic snap
- 2 rectangular rings 2 cm (3/4”) width each

The pdf sewing pattern is now available for instant download in my pattern store. Or would you rather have the gorgeous sample bag? Then head over to my charmed Liebling Etsy shop!

Thanks to all my pattern testers! They gave me really helpful feedback to make this pattern even better and their Rose petal bags all look fabulous! But see for yourself!

Deanna used denim for the bag and added a pink rose! She already picked the perfect shoes to got with the bag!

What you can see here, hanging in the chokecherry tree of her backyard, is Sarah's Rose petal bag! Sarah blogs at "Prairie Girl knits", so make sure to check out her other projects!

Another red Rose petal bag in the wilderness :-) This one's Maria's lovely version! Maria also has a shop on Etsy, "Beautiful blooms", where she sells quilts, accessories and lots of other nice things!

I love Stacey's polka dot version! Stacey blogs at "Bakercourt", so make sure to stop by!

The first chevron version of the Rose petal bag! This one is Marcia's bag. Marcia teaches sewing classes and also blogs at "Sew Inspired".

Alyson made this beautiful version: a Rose Petal bag with a rose pattern, how wonderful is that!

This is Dee's version which looks so sophisticated! This one makes a really nice evening bag! Dee also has a blog "Dee-Tales", so make sure to stop by.

Debi made this wonderful bag! She says the teenagers next door totally fell in love with it. I can definitely see why :)

Thanks to all of you again! Your feedback helped a lot and I am glad to hear that you had fun making this bag!

If you would like to make a Rose Petal Bag yourself, the pattern is now available in my charmed Liebling pattern store.
Happy sewing :)

Day two with my second new pattern which is now available in my pattern store:
the Girl's cross-body bag!

I first designed it because I was looking for a nice little gift to bring back to Germany for my niece. In the end I decided on something else but still made two of these lovely handbags and created a sewing pattern for them. I would say this bag my be for girl's ages 5 to...? The bag has some nice features like a front zipper pocket and a divided front pocket as well as an additional inner slip pocket.

The pdf pattern includes 14 pages of sewing instructions with 33 pictures and three pattern pieces.
The finished size of this bag is 28 x 22 cm / 11 x 8.5 in

Supplies needed:
-       Exterior fabric no. 1: 1 fat quarter (46 x 56 cm/ 18 x 22”)
-       Exterior fabric no. 2: ½ m or ½ yd
-       Lining fabric: ½ m or ½ yd
-       Fusible interfacing (e. g. Pellon 931 TD): 1/3 m or 1/3 yd
-       Fusible fleece (e.g. Pellon 987F): ¼ m or ¼ yd
-       1 zip 18 cm (7”)
-       1 magnetic snap

The pdf sewing pattern is now available for instant download in my pattern store. If you'd rather purchase one of the cute sample bags of the pictures above? Then head over to my charmed Liebling Etsy shop for either the denim and pink Girl's cross-body bag or the yellow and brown Girl's cross-body bag!

And finally the most fun part: check out the bags of my pattern testers!

Tracy finished her bag in no time! She also makes a lot of cool baby items which you can check out at her Etsy shop "Sew Chubby Cheeks"!

Darlis chose a blue and green combo for her Girl's cross-body bag! It looks fabulous!

Take a closer look at the cute apple pattern which Jamie used for her bag! Adorable!

Jenny had her granddaughter pick the fabric for the bag. Now this really is a Girl's cross-body bag! I bet her granddaughter will enjoy it a lot :)

I really like the contrasting patterns of Heidi's bag! And her fuzzy cutting was so perfect, you can't even see the front slip pocket!

This bag was made by Natalie who blogs at "Carry hers By Natalie". Not only does her bag look extremely well-finished, she also took the time to walk down to the waterfront to take this gorgeous picture with Lake Ontario in the background! Yes, turns out we both live at the same lake, just in different countries :)


Thanks to all my testers for your feedback and help with this pattern. It was very helpful and I am so glad that you had fun making this cute little bag!

If you would like to try making this bag yourself, head over to my charmed Liebling pattern store!
Happy sewing! :)

The last couple of weeks were all about pattern making for me. I had three of my new patterns out to be tested and parallel to that I edited the five wallet patterns that were already in my pattern store. They all look really cool now with my own personalized design. It was a ton of work but I just love the result!
I am really happy I can finally anounce my three new patterns, all of which are bag patterns. I decided to present one of them to you during the next three days.
So here it is, my first new pattern which is now available in my pattern store:
The smart messenger bag!

I originally designed this bag for one of my choir colleagues. She approached me and told me she needed a bag that would be perfect for our choir rehearsals: the big music folder had to fit in there, it should have an extra pocket for her phone and keys and it should have a water bottle holder attached to it.

So, here's the design I came up with. The water bottle holder is being attached to one of the side panels and has a piece of elastic inserted, to make sure the bottle stays in place.
The bag has an adjustable strap for more convenience.

I also added another feature to my pattern: a padded inner slip pocket for your iPad. It is interfaced with heavy stabilizer to make sure your iPad is well secured.
For smaller items like keys and change, there is a zip pocket on the outside front of the bag, with a 18 cm (7") zipper.

The pdf pattern includes 15 pages of sewing instructions with 34 pictures and three pattern pieces.
The finished size of this bag is 31 x 37 x 10 cm / 12.5 x 14.5 x 4 in (height x width x depth)

Supplies needed:
- Exterior fabric:  0,80 m or 1 yd
- Lining fabric: 3/4 m or 1 yd
- Fusible fleece e.g. Pellon 987F for a slouchy look: 3/4 m or 3/4 yd
  OR heavy stabilizer, e. g. Pellon Peltex #71F (55 cm/ 22” wide): 115 cm or 1 ¼ yd
- Fusible interfacing, e. g. Pellon 931 TD (55 cm/22” wide): 115 cm or 1 ¼ yd
- Heavy stabilizer for the iPad pocket, e. g. Pellon Peltex #70: 30 x 30 cm (12 x 12“)
- 1 zipper 18 cm (7”)
- 1 magnetic snap
- 4 cm (1 ½”) metal rectangle and metal slider for the strap
- Elastic, 1cm (3/8”) wide: approx. 20 cm (7.75”)

The pdf sewing pattern is now available for instant download in my pattern store. Or would you rather have the colorful sample bag? Then head over to my charmed Liebling Etsy shop!

Special thanks go to my pattern testers! Their feedback was extremely helpful for me, I cannot stress that enough! They all handed in exceptional work, check out their beautiful bags below:

Pat made this bag. She used home upholstery fabric which should make her bag sturdy enough for everyday use!

This is Nerissa's Smart Messenger Bag! Love the circle pattern! Nerissa has her own blog "Nissa made stuff" where I spotted some really beautiful projects, so make sure to head over there and check it out!

Elizabeth chose a dark green color for her Smart Messenger Bag. How nicely her water bottle fits into the water bottle holder!

Rachel made this colorful bag! I like that her lining fabric takes up the floral pattern of the exterior. Head over to her blog "Seamingly Beautiful Quilts" as well!

This is PJ's Smart Messenger Bag! Isn't that a lovely leaf pattern? PJ has her own shop on Etsy, so make sure to stop by!

Sally used oilcloth for her Smart Messenger Bag, just like I did! Sally is a teacher and says she can't wait for school to start again, so she can use the bag for her materials. Head over to her blog "Life in Sally's world"!

This is Ann's bag. Her dark brown lining makes a really nice contrast to the exterior fabric!

DeeAnn use fabric from IKEA for her Smart Messenger Bag. The big pattern is perfect for it!

Becki made a "male version" of the Smart Messenger Bag: she is giving her bag to her husband, how generous! Make sure to check out her blog as well!

Renae made this version, which I think looks really fabulous!

Thanks again to all of you lovely ladies, for putting all your time and effort into making these wonderful bags! I appreciate it a lot and I am still thrilled to see how each of these bags turned out!

If you like to make your very own Smart Messenger Bag, the pattern is now available in my pattern store for instant download!

Happy sewing! :)

I decided to write a short post about this matter since I recently had been affected by this: I sell my sewing patterns on Craftsy, where people can download them immediately upon purchase. It all goes through my paypal account. If you do the same thing, make sure to change your settings to NOT accepting e-checks. The money takes longer to be payed into your account plus if the checks bounce you end up not getting your money after all - but due to instant download the customer gets your pattern anyway... (and there may be various reasons for the customers bank to not process the e-check, I am not even necessarily assuming fraud by the customer).
Here is how to change those setting (you have to have a business paypal account for this):

Log into your paypal account and go to "profile" in the upper right hand corner.





You will see a gray box, click on "My selling tools"








Go to "Block payments" and click on "update" on the right hand side

A new window will open with your "Payment receiving preferences". Scroll down until you find the section "Block the following payments".
Make sure to check the following:
"Pay with eCheck or German bank transfer for all website payments except eBay. NOTE: You may not block eCheck payments on eBay."


Make sure to click "Save" on the bottom of the page.

And that's it! The really helpful support team at Craftsy adviced me to do so and I think it is very helpful!