charmed Liebling
  • home
  • pattern shop
    • wallet patterns
    • bag patterns
    • laptop and messenger bag pattern
  • items for sale
    • custom orders
  • free tutorials
  • contact
  • about

Blog Hop

8/25/2014

8 Comments

 
Hi everybody!
This post is part of a blog hop, to which I was invited by Christine of ChrisW Designs. Christine is a gifted bag pattern designer and I was very flattered when she invited me to join this blog hop. Thanks Christine!

1. What am I working on right now?

As some of you may know my passion is bag making – designing bag sewing patterns to be exact. I started my sewing pattern shop in early 2013 and as of now have 17 patterns for sale - as downloadable PDF patterns.
I am actually working on two projects right now, two bag pattern designs which will be released end of August and end of September:
The Hobo pictured below (I still haven't named this pattern) is a large, spacious bag with lots of pockets, eight to be exact. This pattern is ready to go up in my shop next week as soon as our move to our new home is done… yeah, I admit, things got delayed a little bit because of that.
Bild
Summer Moves On Hobo
Bild
Bild
The second bag pattern will be out end of September and is called Miss Miracle Bag. It is a shoulder bag embracing the 1950s style - I tried to incorporate a retro design into this bag. It has two zipper pockets, and closes with a flap. My inspirations for this design came from the Kelly purse. I used polka dots for my sample bag to give it even more of a retro flair.
Bild
Bild
"Miss Miracle Bag"
Bild

2. How does my work differ from others in its genre?


This is a question hard to answer but ever since I started making patterns I tried to write them in a way that everybody would be able to follow them. I had always had trouble with commercial sewing patterns in the past, because there were not enough illustrations, or bad quality illustrations or no illustrations at all. I found myself many times wondering about what the instructions are asking me to do and at the end just trying something out and hoping for the best. This did get frustrating at times and when I started making patterns myself one of my main goals was to prevent the sewer from exactly this frustration when working on my designs. That's why I use lots and lots step-by-step color photographs in my patterns. I think that a good photograph can make such a big difference when reading and trying to understand instructions. When in doubt I even label parts in the photographs as well, e. g. a stitch line or a cutting line to be absolutely sure the reader understands what he or she is supposed to do.
Bild
The California Sunshine Bag
Bild
The Rhine Valley Bag

3. Why do I write/create what I do?


There are two answers to this question.
Number 1: I love sewing! When I started sewing about 7 years ago I had no idea that it would become such a passion of mine. At first I only made clothing and home accessories but then I got totally hooked on making bags after reading Lisa Lam’s fabulous book “The Bag Making Bible”. And I couldn’t stop making bags ever since.
Number 2: After moving to the States I knew I was going to try to start my own business. I love creating and designing so I thought I might as well sell all the bags and wallets I was making. When my Trifold Wallet became the bestselling item in my Etsy shop I thought, if there are so many people loving this design there might be a lot of sewers out there who would maybe love to make one of those wallets themselves? And so I created a pattern for the Trifold Wallet. That’s when I realized how much fun pattern writing is! I slowly shifted the focus of my business onto my patterns and added more and more patterns to my shop over time. As of now I have five wallet patterns and 11 bag patterns available.

Bild
The Trifold Wallet, the first sewing pattern I made
Bild
This fun pattern is available for free in my Craftsy store
Bild
4. How does my writing/creative process work?

I usually start with a sketch of the design I have in mind. I am really bad at sketching but my little drawings are good enough for me to visualize my design and all its key elements. Then I sew up the prototype for this bag design. I used to do this with old fabric or muslin but recently started to use “nice” fabric for this step immediately since I now feel confident enough to not screw up even though at this point I might have to adjust measurements of the single pattern pieces :) I also make sure to take a picture of every step while sewing up the bag. Going through my pictures I then write the instructions and create the pattern pieces in Illustrator. After that the test pattern goes out to my testers for about three weeks. They are all very lovely and helpful people and I am really glad for everything they do for me. They all seem to have a lot of fun working with my patterns and I always anxiously wait for feedback and – even more exciting – pictures of their finished items. It is so fascinating to see all the different versions of bags! Their feedback helps me to get rid the last errors and after a final layout editing the pattern is ready to be released and go up in my shop. The whole process usually takes four to five weeks.

Bild
From the sketch to the final product: The "Liebling's Bag"
And now I am happy to share three other bloggers and their blogs with you:
First up is Vicky of Vicky Myers Creations. Vicky is one of my dear testers and focuses on upcycling. I am always amazed by her creativity and how she turns old materials into something new and trendy. Vicky also has an Etsy shop so make sure to check it out :)

Next up is Ree with her blog Sincerely Ree. Another one of my reliable patterns testers and the fastest sewer on this planet :) Seriously, she whips up new projects non-stop and the way she embellishes and alters existing designs always blows me away. So hop on over to her blog and enjoy the show :)

And finally there is Sarah from Prairie Girl Knits. She has also tested quite a few patterns for me and regularly posts about her current projects on her blog, which include not only sewing projects but also knitting, cooking and crafting for/with her five kids.

I hope you are enjoying this blog hop. Have a great week everyone, with lots of sewing :)
Bild
8 Comments

My patterns at QuiltWoman.com

8/14/2014

0 Comments

 
Hello everyone! I hope you are all enjoying the summer. Today I would like to let you know that some of my patterns are now available as print versions via QuiltWoman.com!
I first learned about QuiltWoman a couple of months ago, when two of my friends (who don't know each other) introduced me to Nancy and her website: QuiltWoman is a distributor for sewing patterns and offers different options for pattern designers, e. g. sellling e-patterns and/or print-on-demand, which is what I am doing. The nice thing is that she is based in Holley, NY, a small town which is just 25 miles west of Rochester, NY. She works with a lot of local designers and I think that is really cool!

As of now I am selling three of my sewing patterns over at QuiltWoman, but I am currently working on getting more patterns into print. The three patterns featured at QuiltWoman are the following:
Bild
California Sunshine Bag

Bild
Rhine Valley Bag

Bild
The Tech Travel Bag
AAllAll  All my print-on-demand patterns retail for $ 11 each and you can order them by clicking on the pictures above. After placing your order your pattern will normally be shipped within two days.

QuiltWoman features a lot of great designers and I encourage you to head over and take a look at all the great patterns.
I will keep you updated as I get more of my designs ready as print-on-demand patterns. Do you prefer PDF versions or do you like printed patterns? Does it make a difference if you make a quilt, clothing or a bag? I would love to get your feedback :)
Thanks and I hope you're all enjoying this warm weather!
Bild
0 Comments

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner


    Follow on Bloglovin

    RSS Feed

    Anna

    anna's blog -

    Welcome to my blog! I am a designer for bag and wallet sewing patterns with love for everything creative! Other things I like: singing, the smell of books, the sun, my cats... Take a look around and if you like what you see you are welcome to subscribe to my blog, so you won't miss out on my current sewing projects. Happy sewing :)

    Categories

    All
    Bags
    Bargains
    Dresses
    Fabric
    Fashion
    Germany
    Giveaway
    Home Dec
    Interfacing
    Review
    Sale
    Seasonal
    Sewing Patterns
    Sewing Tips
    Smartphone Cases
    Special Occasions
    Treasury
    Trips
    Tutorial
    Vacation Projects
    Wallets

    Threading My Way_Featured
    Pattern Spot dot com
    This page contains affiliate links. See my disclosure policy.
    Online Sewing Class
    Craftsy

    Archives

    April 2020
    January 2020
    January 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.