Hey there everyone!
Today I am excited to introduce another free bag making sewing pattern to you!
The Flip Flap Purse is a cute little handbag that I designed for Seams and Scissors, the new blog of AllFreeSewing. We are celebrating National Sewing Month 2014 and they currently have daily giveaways going on with awesome prizes, so please do check out their website.

This fun bag sewing pattern is perfect for an advanced beginner. The asymmetric shape of the fold over flap makes this bag a real eye catcher! There is an additional zipper pocket on the back of the purse. This project will also teach you how to install a top zipper closure.

If you are interested in giving this pattern a try please hop over to my guest blog post over at Seams and Scissors.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 :)

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:

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!

I am thrilled to show you my first pattern to be featured in a sewing magazine!
Sew-it...today is a fairly new magazine which is published bi-monthly and features easy and quick sewing projects. My project will be featured in the August/September 2014 issue which will hit newsstands on June 24. 
I have had the idea of making a bike bag for a long time and I submitted my suggestion back in February. Perhaps I shouldn't have been so shy about contacting magazines in the first place because they picked it up immediately, how exciting!

I was even more excited when I saw that my Pedal Purse is the first project in the magazine, starting on page 8, woohoo! There are four pages of instructions and lots of helpful illustrations. As you can see there are also tons of other interesting projects in this issue: a book cover, photo frames, a table runner and a cute lunch bag just to mention a few.

I got to choose the fabrics for this project and decided to go with this happy canvas from the Fabric Loft Escape Collection (by Fabric Editions). I like the spring/summer feel of this fabric and thought it would be perfect for the bike bag. It has a spacious main compartment, two small pockets on the sides and a zip pocket on the flap.
My favorite feature: You can attach it to your bike with two attachment straps or simply clip on the long strap to convert it to a handbag!
This project is rated as intermediate. I would say if you have made a bag before you will enjoy making this project.

This is the prototype of the Pedal Purse. There was a foot of snow on the ground when I took these pictures and I was freezing my butt off :)

Sew-it...today sells for only $ 3.99 and will be available on June 24 at most Joann's, Hancock's and Barnes and Nobles or you can order it from their website.

I am so glad I can share this with you! I hope you like this bike bag and the other amazing projects of the magazine. I am off to a short bike trip now... with my Pedal Purse of course :)

I am happy to introduce you to my latest sewing pattern which is now available in my pattern store: the Tech Travel Bag!*
*Congratulations Patti! You are the winner of the contest in which I asked you to suggest a fitting name for my new pattern! There were so many good suggestions but in the end I had to make a decision... it was hard enough, believe me! Patti, I will be in touch with you shortly :)

This is a medium-sized shoulder bag with two handles and a flap. The bag has a zipper pocket and two slip pockets on the inside and another special feature:
a removable tablet sleeve!
This sleeve closes with a zipper and it is padded for more protection for your tablet. It can be attached to the inside of the handbag with two buttons (or snaps). Or you can use the sleeve separately as well. The sleeve measures 8.25” x 13” (21 x 33 cm) so it should fit most common tablets. The idea behind my new design? I usually carry my iPad with me wherever I go and although I keep it in a case it bothers me that it is thrown loosely into the bag and there isn’t a designated compartment for it in my handbags. 

The pdf file comes with 17 pages of instructions, 43 color photographs and 2 pattern pieces. All measurements are given in centimeters and inches.
The finished size of this bag is 9 x 13 1/2 x 6 in / 23 x 34 x 15 cm  (height x width x depth).

Supplies needed:

- Exterior fabric: 11/4 yd or 1.20 m
- Lining fabric: 1 yd or 1 m
- Fusible fleece e.g. Pellon 987F: 3/4  yd 2/3 m
- Fusible interfacing, e. g. Pellon 931 TD:  1 2/3 yd or 1.5 m
- 1 zipper 12" (30 cm)
- 1 zipper 9" (22 cm)
- 1 magnetic snap
- 4 rectangular rings 1 1/4 yd (3 cm) width
- 2 buttons (or 2 snaps)

My pattern testers all did a great job as always! Check out their versions of the Tech Travel Bag:

The first one of my testers to finish the project was Cara. I like the color combo of her bag, contrast colors always work for me! Cara also has a shop on Etsy where she sells beautiful things!

Jenniffer used piping for her bag and attached the handles with rivets instead of stitching them. The colors of her bag are totally my thing :)

Susan picked a taupe colored fabric with a pretty swirl pattern for her Tech Travel Bag.

Pat picked this awesome green fabric for her Tech Travel Bag! I love how vibrant the color is!

Vicky from Vicky Myers Creations made this gorgeous version of the Tech Travel Bag. Vicky especially loves upcycling and always has lots of interesting stuff going on on her blog!

This is Rachel's Tech Travel Bag. Rachel also blogs at Seamingly Beautiful Quilts, so hop over and check it out!

Marcia says her daughters like her new bag so much, they are trying to put their Kindles in :) It is a beautiful bag, I agree! Marcia also teaches sewing classes and blogs over at Sew Inspired!

Check out the colors of Renae's bag! Not only is the exterior fabric really pretty but look at how that pink lining pops! Love it!

Check out the fussy cut on Janet's bag! Isn't it perfect? Janet says she used Velcro to attach the tablet sleeve inside the bag, which is a great alternative to buttons or snaps.

Silvia also used two very different prints for her Tech Travel Bag. They really go well together, don't you think?

If you like this pattern and would like to make a Tech Travel Bag yourself you can now purchase the pattern in my pattern store. How do you like my new design? I would love to hear your opinion so please leave me a comment below :)
Happy sewing!

UPDATE: the original link to the tutorial is no longer valid. But you can download the pattern for free by clicking here.

Hello friends!
Today I am very happy to announce the release of my new sewing pattern:
The Pink Peony Bag! One of the really nice features of this pattern: it comes for free! It is scheduled to be posted tomorrow, Thursday May 8, on the fabulous blog of Sew Mama Sew. Simply head over there tomorrow morning to get the complete pattern for instant download!

This is a beginner friendly pattern so especially if you are new to bag making I would like to encourage you to try this pattern. The Pink Peony Bag is a small and simple bag, yet has a lot of interesting features and a fun design.
It measures approximately 5 1/2“ x 9 1/2“ x 1“ / 14 x 24 x 2.5 cm (height x width x depth).
There are three ways to use this purse: It has a long strap so you can wear it over the shoulder. Simply tuck in and hide the strap and you will be able to carry this little purse as a clutch. Or you may use it as a wristlet by simply clipping on the short strap to a D-ring on the flap.

Supplies needed:
- Exterior fabric: 1/4 yd or 25 cm
- Lining fabric: 1/3 yd or 30 cm
- Heavy fusible stabilizer e.g. Pellon Peltex 71F: 1/2 yd or 0.5 m
- Fusible interfacing (mid-weight), e. g. Pellon 931 TD: 1/2 yd or 0.5 m
- 1 magnetic snap
- 1 D-ring (1/2”/1.5 cm)
- 1 swivel clip

The PDF file comes with 12 pages of instructions, 41 step-by-step color photographs and 3 pattern pieces. In addition the complete instructions will also be posted in the blog post over at Sew Mama Sew.
In order to shorten the waiting time until tomorrow a bit I thought I'd show show you all the gorgeous bags that my testers made. They did an incredible job as always and it is really fun to see how different all their Pink Peony Bags turned out:

Cara from Early Bird Stitches made this one. Hop on over to her Etsy shop to check out more of the wonderful things she makes! 

Kim made two different versions of the bag. She even hand dyed the lining fabric herself and this vibrant color works for both of the bags.  Especially the contrast between pink and green is awesome!

This is Susan's bag. Susan used a fabric with a pretty rose print. And look, the background of her pictures has roses too!

Vicky from Vicky Myers Creations made several versions of the bag. I like the blue fabric with the leaf print that she had already used to make the Rhine Valley Bag.
The pink purses are awesome as well. Vicky made them as Barbie purses for her daughter!

These two versions of the bag were made by Jenniffer. I especially like how she added piping made of the lining fabric to the flap of the blue bag.

Carol says she likes this pattern so much, she could makes hundreds of these bags :) Well, here are several versions to start with! I like the way Carol embellished each of them in a different way.

Nancy made this cute Pink Peony Bag, which comes in happy spring colors. Just what we need right now :)

Marcia from Sew Inspired made this bag! I love the combo of the different prints. Marcia teaches sewing classes and says that she can see this pattern very well for a sewing beginner.

Margaret used a light blue fabric with embroidered flowers. Very pretty!

Dee made these two gorgeous versions of the Pink Peony Bag. Those will make great evening bags. Dee blogs about her sewing adventures at Dee-Zines, so make sure to hop over and check out her site!

This is Alyssa's version of the bag! A happy light blue batik print, wonderful!

Margaret made two versions of the bag, one of them as a wristlet and the other one as a clutch. I like how they both came out and as you can see they both go very well with her favorite coat!

Heidi always creates a nice collage of her bag pictures when she tests for me. As you can see even a large scale print will work with this pattern. Heidi also has a Facebook page where she shares her sewing projects.

I hope you like all the different versions as much as I do! If you want to make a Pink Peony Bag yourself make sure to click here and download your free pattern! If you have any questions about this pattern and/or if you like what you see please leave me a comment below :)
Happy sewing everybody!

Hello friends!
As promised in my last blog post I would like to show you the new bag I made for my husband Chris. He actually sketched the design himself (!) and told me exactly what he wanted in terms of pockets, compartments and the shape of the bag.

The fabric: I was pleasantly surprised that he actually picked something that is NOT black. Not that I don't like black but his wardrobe is dominated by black and the last bag I made for him was black and I just find black fabric incredibly boring and difficult to work with - have you ever tried to sew black fabric in the evening without natural light? Not fun at all...
So, he picked a dark brown vinyl for the exterior and matched it with a cotton fabric for the lining.
As for sewing the vinyl: I have to say it was easier than I thought and I didn't have any problems with the fabric at all. I used a leather needle (14/90) and Coats & Clark Extra Strong Nylon Thread. And yes, this thread IS strong: at some point this thick thread cut into the plastic of my sewing machine and I will have to get it fixed soon since it is not working properly any more... I suppose this project was a little bit too ambitious for my poor machine after all (I have to admit I still sew on a pretty simple model - maybe it is just time to upgrade?).

There is a zip pocket on the back of the bag which I extra sewed in a way that the cotton fabric used for the pocket pieces would show a bit. It kind of looks like piping and again I was so surprised how easy it was to sew the zipper into the vinyl!

As you can see Chris wanted an asymmetric shape for the flap. The funny thing is that he is still convinced that he came up with this feature even though I am pretty sure he "copied" the flap of my Rose Petal Bag, haha! Oh, well, I let him have his moment :) The strip of lining fabric on top of the flap was my idea and he liked it, since it brings a little diversion to the exterior which otherwise would only be dark brown.
I think it looks really funny when the flap is up to see the positioning of the magnetic snap closures.

Inside there are several compartments:
There is a divider in the center of the bag. It is the first time I made a divider that reaches across the whole width of the bag and is attached to the sides and the bottom panel (meaning the two parts of the bag are entirely seperated and there is no opening at the bottom like you would sometimes find it with dividers in sewing patterns).
The divider is padded with Annie's Soft and Stable to protect a MacBook.
On the one side of the divider I added two slip pockets. These are the perfect size to hold a notepad and a NOOK.
I also added three pen holders and two compartments for a bunch of business cards, Chris' and mine - he always carries my business cards around and passes them on to people whenever he can. I find that very sweet of him.

That is Chris carrying his new bag. He did not want me to show his face :( He's usually never shy like that but oh well.. I respect his wish for privacy of course. At least you can see the proportions of the bag.

I hope you like this bag. Chris took it to a business trip to Germany and told me that he is getting a lot of compliments for it. I don't know if he is making this up but I am happy that he is enjoying it so much. He has always been so supportive of my business and I like the fact that he comes to me when he wants a new bag or wallet :)

I may turn this bag into a sewing pattern some time soon. Would you be interested in a pattern for this bag? Do you have other features that would be important to you for this kind of office/messenger/laptop bag? Just let me know and I'd be happy to include this in my design.

I hope you all have a lovely Sunday!

Hi there!
Today I would like to show you some purses I made recently. They are all gifts for my lovely Mom. She likes to sew as well and some time in January she actually sent me a package with seven (yes, that is 7!!) skirts she made for me. I thought that was very sweet and it was about time to make some things for her. I already made a small purse for her last year before I went home for a visit and she liked it a lot- well, both of it, the purse as well as me visiting :)
So I decided to make two more of these, but I changed them a little bit:

I basically used my Mini travel sleeve tutorial, but made these purses a little wider. The front pocket is divided, so that she can fit credit cards into either compartment. The main compartment is for her smartphone and bank notes.

I also added a zipper pocket to the back of both purses since in Germany people use a lot more cash and you always end up with lots of coins (also because there are 1-Euro and 2-Euro coins, not bank notes... I always disliked how all those coins added weight to my wallet). One of the purses is made of gray, black and white colored fabrics, so I added a little color to it with the turquoise zipper.

Mama also mentioned some time ago that she would like to have a small to medium-sized handbag in green shades. So I came up with this one:

She told me that she would love for the bag to have a zipper pocket on the inside, a compartment for her phone and an adjustable strap. Easily done :)

I also added a swivel clip to the inside, so she can clip on her wallet, her keys or her foldable shopping tote.
I hope my mom is going to like her new purses. And as luck would have it my husband is going to Germany tomorrow for business, but he will be able to stop by at my parents' place for one day and bring my mum her purses.

I am glad I was able to finish everything in time. In my next blogpost I will show you the new bag I made for my husband. He had the crazy, last-minute idea that it would be nice to travel to Germany with a new bag (that sounds so much like me! I think my behavior is rubbing off on him - ALWAYS travel with a new bag LOL!), so I had a make-it-work moment on the weekend.
I hope you all had a nice Easter weekend and found some spare time for sewing :)

Hi everybody!
Today I would like to introduce my new bag design to you, which will be released shortly as a PDF sewing pattern. But first I need a little help from you: I am looking for a fun and fitting name for this new pattern.

It is a medium-sized bag with two handles and a flap. The bag has a zipper pocket and two slip pockets on the inside.
My favorite feature however is this: a removable tablet sleeve!

This sleeve closes with a zipper and it is padded for more protection for your tablet. It can be attached to the inside of the handbag with two buttons (or snaps). The sleeve measures 8.25” x 11.25” (21 x 28.5 cm) so it should fit most common tablets. I usually carry my iPad mini with me wherever I go and although I keep it in a (handmade) case it bothers me that it is thrown loosely into the bag and there isn’t a designated compartment for it in my handbags. That was the idea behind my new design. And you can use the sleeve separately as well.

I hope you like this design. Please have a look at the bag and all its features and if you can come up with a nice name you are welcome to leave me a comment. I will pick one winner, choose the name they suggested for my new bag design AND as a thank you she (or he?) will get the new pattern for free! You can either leave me a comment, send me a message or email me to anna(at)charmed-liebling(dot)com.
Please leave your name suggestion for the bag pattern, your name and your email address, so that I can contact you in case you win! I am looking forward to your suggestions. I will leave this contest open until April 27 and then pick a winner :) The pattern will be available in my pattern store in late April.

Today I would like to show you one of my custom orders that I just finished a few days ago. A friend of mine asked me for a handmade handbag for her sister-in-law. Her only two specifications were the color - the bag would have to be blue - and the size: big!

I love orders like these since I can let my creativity run free :) First thing I did was check online for lots of samples of nice (blue) fabrics to show my friend. We started out looking for floral patterns but I found this really gorgeous and a little abstract pattern and just thought I'd put it on the list as well. In the end she went with exactly this print and I was really thrilled about it! To me it looks like a fairytale forest. I see a print like that and my imagination takes over...

As for the design: She saw my Rhine-Valley-Bag a couple of times and really liked the size and the style of it. She decided to go with an adjustable strap instead of two handles so I slightly altered the shape of the original bag pattern, making it a little more rounded at the top edges.
With 19 " the bag is also slightly wider. When using a recessed top zipper as a closure I always want to make sure the bag has a certain width (at least 12 "), otherwise it will be less comfortable to reach inside or take things out.

Inside there is a 9" zipper pocket and two large 3D-shaped slip pockets. I use them in the original pattern and love them in my bag! They keep everything so organized and I don't have to waste time looking for my stuff any more. I have a free tutorial lined up to be posted the first week of April which will show you how to simply add these kind of slip pockets to any bag pattern, so stay tuned!

I am really happy how the bag turned out and had a lot of fun making it. I like this altered version of the original pattern and might even make some more bags with it :)
Thanks for reading and I hope you all have a great week with lots of sewing ahead!