Calgary Crossbody Bag - Pattern Release!

Can't even begin to tell you how excited I am about this bag!! I'm so pleased with how my crazy "flip over pocket" idea turned out! But I'm even more excited that my testers liked it!  Now I just sincerely hope you'll like it as much as we do! 

The pattern is available in both English and Swedish and has both inch and centimeter measurements, find it HERE.

The Calgary Crossbody Bag is a medium sized bag with more room than one would think based on it's measurements: 

~11 ½” (29cm) high, ~9” (20cm) wide at the base, while ~12” (30cm) wide at the top and ~5” (13cm) deep at the base. I can fit my laptop and a thin sweater on top of the regular stuff like wallet and basics. 

The panel on the front extends over the edge of the bag and into the lining, there you have a small snap button pocket attached which allows you to use the small snap pocket, but you can also choose to fold it out of the way to the outside of the bag when you want to find something in the bag, like so: 

On the opposite side you have a big zipper pocket, a number of open slip pockets and a key lanyard.

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My amazing pattern testers has sewn a number of beautiful Calgary Crossbody Bags naturally and here they all are! Thanks a million each end every one of you, I couldn't do this without you! <3

Sadly a number of my testers this time around has had health issues, moves and other problems resulting in their bags not being finished for photos despite having tested the pattern, and I want to thank you all too and say that we look forward to seeing your creations down the line.

Pia Jestin -  Who can be found here on Instagram made not one but two stunning bags! The first red cork version is just absolutely beautiful! Can't stop admiring it!

But her second, black faux leather and Marilyn Monroe one might possibly be even more fantastic! She replaced the cross body strap with shoulder straps with a smashing result! I have to make one for myself like this too now!

The straps are 27" (68cm) long each raw, and are placed a scant 2 3/4" (7cm) from the middle of each exterior piece (so just outside the flap and front panel) - if you should wish to make the same edit to your Calgary.

Becky McCoy - of Simply Memorable Bags made this gorgeous sloth and brown suede version!! <3 Look at those little cuties climbing all across the front panel! Absolutely stunning!

Lori Peoples - whom can be found here on Instagram made this absolutely adorable cork combined with 80ies cartoons (can you say - straight up my alley!). Lovely!

Eva Arthursson - made this absolutely lovely all cotton version, love how classic looking it is, while still fun with the front panel, beautiful work!

A clever use of staples

When sewing curves or any other tricky seams which are troublesome to get to stay in place, make your seam allowance 1/2" and instead of pinning or clipping with wonder clips or similar - STAPLE! 😍 Your seam allowance will stay dead put throughout the curve or seam, minimising the risk for folds or unevenness!

First wonder clip the section, to make sure everything is where you want it, and then replace the clips with staples.

Beautiful, smooth curves and seams is the result! After I've sewn the seam I just cut down the seam allowance and with it the staples which I've placed at the edge - making the process of removing them a breeze!

Reno Rounded Makeup Bag - Pattern Update!

Sewn by Tania Chanroux of Smartmade Designs.  

I'm very happy to announce that my Reno Rounded Makeup Bag pattern has received an update and does now offer both CENTIMETER and INCH measurements!! And the style of the cutting instructions and pattern now reflects my newer patterns, as well as offering three different methods to finish the sides

Hand-stitched, like these ones I made for my mother in law:

Machine-stitched like the original:

And with rivets like this super cool version by Aafke Jongsma:

If you've bought the Reno Rounded Makeup Bag pattern previously, you will naturally get the new PDF pattern version for free! 

Just drop me a line with your payment confirmation email forwarded or just attach the old pattern file with your email, and I'll send you the new version. If you bought the pattern on craftsy.com, the new version was sent out a few days ago.

These gorgeous, quilted (such a great move!) Reno Rounded Makeup Bags (including the first one in the post) were made by my awesome pattern tester Tania Chanroux - of Smart Made Designs on Instagram during the test of the new version of this pattern. Aren't they just gorgeous with the cork? Thank you Tania! <3

Mediterraneo by Katarina Roccella

I'm super proud to have been one of the lucky to get to work on projects for the look book for one of my favourite designers latest line, Katarina Roccella's Mediterraneo! This gorgeous line was inspired by her childhood summers spent on the Mediterranean coast. As someone who's lived the past 11 years in the Mediterranean, this line spoke to me right away! The stunning bouganvilla, the beautiful fruits, the gorgeous shades of navy and magenta went straight to my heart!

I made a Paris Purse in the beautiful "Frutteria Bleu" print, it lends itself stunningly to purses! The photo above is directly from the look book, which can be found HERE, make sure you check it out for tons of inspiration!

This bag had quite an extensive photo shoot in Portugal, I had way too much fun with this! The Pattern for the Paris Purse is available here, and if you want to know where to buy the frames, please take a look at this blogpost.

This Paris Purse was such a blast to make, and I'm super excited to share that the lining fabric, which is the gorgeous "Cartographe" print, was signed by Katarina herself (look at the pocket, right hand side)! It might be some time before I dare use this bag ;) But I LOVE it!!

Found a lovely little gated garden with a beautiful green fence, it had to be photographed!

The pool was a lovely backdrop I thought!

And this orange blossom smelled sooo delicious, and fit the bag so nicely!

The bottom is pretty cute too.

The making of this bag was so much fun! I had a great time deciding where I wanted the prints for front and back (this process took two days, I kid you not! So many awesome options!!), I did as I always do and cut out the pattern piece and use the leftover "paper frame" to decide on placement. 

Backside. Sorry for the poor image quality, but they where taken with my phone as reference for myself only originally. Here I was also trying to decide on fram color, I leaned towards the silver for quite some time, but in the end, the brass was the right way to go!

Thank you Katarina and Art Gallery Fabrics for letting me be a part of this! It was a pleasure and an honour!

Loule Bag Pattern Release!

I'm super excited to be able to release the Loule Bag pattern today! The Loule Bag is the perfect little shoulder or crossbody bag for every occasion! With the beautiful and classic, while still a little edgy look thanks to the zipper piping, it's sure to find a place in every woman's handbag collection!

The pattern is available in both English and Swedish and has both inch and centimeter measurements, you can find it HERE.

It's a super fun and quick bag to sew, you'll for sure like me and many of my pattern testers, not only want to make one!  

Thanks to the small but convenient size of ~11” (28cm) long, ~6” (15cm) high and ~1” (2.5cm) wide/deep at the base it allows you to bring a standard size wallet. But should you wish not to do so, it also offers 8 card slots for the occasions you wish to leave your wallet at home. There's naturally slip pockets for your cellphone and a few other necessities.

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My amazing pattern testers has sewn a number of beautiful Loule Bags naturally and here they all are! Thanks a million each end every one of you, I couldn't do this without you! <3

Noor Rats - Whom can be found here on instagram made this absolutely beautiful pink version! The lovely flower cotton fabric is perfectly paired with the pink vinyl. She chose to use regular piping instead of the zipper piping. And look at that lovely, two sided strap and those details of the many rivets, gorgeous! 

Katrien - The talent of www.katrienette.be whom can be found on Instagram here and Facebook here made this absolutely stunning faux leather version! Such a classic and classy looking bag! Absolutely stunning! 

Cheryl Wright Simmerman - of Adarra Handmade made FIVE (I told you they're addictive, she's not the only one making more than one ;) ), absolutely gorgeous Loule Bags!! She made one to match her stunning, yellow Fresno, aren't they just the perfect pair? And that shiny blue vinyl version makes me think of mermaids, it's just so alluring! Beautiful! And those THREE, amazing nail polish ones are just OUTSTANDING! So delish!

Dee Brasher - of Paisley Cherry Mercantile made this romantic, drop dead gorgeous light pink and version! The postage stamp cotton fabric combined with those gold details are just perfection! So beautiful and right up my alley in those soft pinks!

Alison Heath - of Bobbin Girl (she has fantastic bag making supplies, check them out!) made two beautiful Loule Bags! One tweed version that is just to die for, so classy! And one in a beautiful, gold faux leather and batik fabric. Stunning both of them!

Pia Jestin -  Who can be found here on Instagram made this stunning cork version! Love the tweed top and those details, like the embroidery and that two sided strap, just absolutely gorgeous! She chose to replace the card pockets with a zipper pocket. 

Tania Chanroux - of Smart Made Designs on Instagram made two beautiful versions. One lovely dark denim one combined with a summer meadow cotton fabric, and one black and red with perfect gold details!

Barbara Dörig - Whom can be found here on instagram made this beautiful cork and Tula PInk version! Such a beautiful combination with the brass coloured hardware, just lovely!

Annette - Made this absolutely lovely gold flecked cork and rainbow one! The dark blue piping just shines and the gold hardware is just the crowning jewel! Such a happy, yet classy bag! 

Thanks again everyone!