Pink Pony Design - 5 years old!

5 years ago, I was more nervous than I'd ever been in my life I think. I launched my baby, my brand new little company that was all ME - Pink Pony Design! In five years it has slowly grown, 23 patterns have seen the light of day in this time, and I'm so proud of each one. I have so many more in my head and in my sketch pad - just waiting to be born! 

We will celebrate this with 20% discount on all patterns for the next 36 hours! 

Use code: PINK5 on my website: www.pinkponydesign.com 

The past 5 years have been some of the best of my life and it's all thanks to YOU!  So from the bottom of my heart, thank you for purchasing my patterns, for attending classes, liking my posts, sharing your works on social media, reading my blog, participating in my Facebook group, watching my YouTube videos and for every little thing You do to show your support! I love you for it! 

Can't wait to see what the next five years hold in store for my little company! 

Lovely Article about Pink Pony Design

 I was very happy when the Swedish newspaper Dala Demokraten asked me if I wanted to do an interview the other day! So much fun and it ended up being such a sweet article!

For those of you who doesn't read swedish, I'll translate each section below.

Maria Wallin, originally from Borlänge (small town in Sweden) sits in her sewing room in Portugal, where the sun almost always shines in through the windows. The sketch book is always close by and new ideas come to her, even at night. 

Maria Wallins interest in sewing was born when she went on a quilting camp in Våmhus (small village in Sweden) with her mother. There she learned the basics of quilting, which is patchwork. - That's where I got infected with the quiltingbug, she says. Maria started quilting and also sewing in her spare time. After that she and her mother spent a week each summer in Våmhus to learn even more. Maria also tried to learn as much as she could from the internet. - That's how I got starting with bag making too, she says. Maria started a blog to be able to keep diary over what she made. The interest turned out to be bigger than she thought and she soon had several hundred readers each day. - I was just sharing what I was sewing, mistakes I made and what it taught me, she says. 

Maria continued to learn and tried making bags from patterns she bought and found for free. - But the frustration was big over unnecessarily tricky patterns with way too little information and illustrations for them to be fun and easy to follow. Maria quickly abandoned following other people's patterns. - I started designing my own bags almost right away, she says. 

Maria also made a couple of free quilt patterns for United Notions in the US. - That lit the spark in me to continue making my own patterns. During that period Maria worked a lot with the company she had when she moved to Malta back in 2007, so there wasn't much time for sewing. - I made a few tutorials from time to time and kept the blog alive and kept learning through says Maria. 2015 she sold her previous company and she suddenly, to her great joy had a lot of time to sew. It was after that she started her new company, to sell sewing patterns. - After a lot of encouragement and....

cheers from my man Erik,  Pink Pony Design was born. 

Maria is a horseback rider, hence the name. - I was a My Little Pony girl growing up, and truth be told, I still am. And she loves pink. 

Marig got a lot of positive feedback when she released her first pattern (my own note, the Bring the Basics Bag). - But it was insanely nerve wrecking, she says. It however spurred her to continue and today she has an international webpage where she sells PDF patterns. She also sells paper patterns in select quilting and fabric stores in Sweden and Norway.  She has developed a youtube channel where she offers free tips and tricks and she also has a Facebook group. - There I get a lovely contact with my customers, she says. 

In the group they show off their works and help each other with questions.  But what might be most important is Marias sketchbook. That's how she gets most idéas for new designs and after sketching she sews a test version. - I always sew using my favourite fabrics. That's so she'll be able to use them later (my own comment: I sew even test versions in pretty fabrics, so I can use the test bags myself, as many of my finished "perfect" bags ends up as example bags in stores). From the test version she then makes any necessary changes and refines the making of the bag to make it easier and more convenient. - I then sew the final bag and take photographs of every step in the process. 

It was 2007 Maria took her cats and current company and moved abroad. The move took her to Malta to try something new in a warmer setting. She recently moved to Algarve in Portugal where she lives with her man Erik, the dog Lilla My and a bunch of cats. Back in Sweden they have a summer home outside Kristinehamn. - In the middle of the woods, where I love to spend a month or two each summer to be in the nature. Naturally she also visits her parents in Borlänge (see previous article). - To mom and dad's store to fiddle about and hold classes, says Maria.  

 You have no idea how happy I am to post this! I found the photos to my Sami Bracelet Tutorial that were lost when bloger converted their photo storage a few years ago. However, as I found an old harddrive, this and much more I thought lost was found again and I can once again present my:

These bracelets are so much fun to make, and you can vary them endlessly! Let me show you a few of the bracelets I've made over the years. This is the Katarina Bracelet, a simple bracelet with no backing, and if you wish to make this exact bracelet, the tutorial can be found here.

This is a macramé version, and if you wish to make one of these, I have a tutorial for it here. 

Here we have the Katarina bracelet braid with additional 2 single strand versions of a four strand braid on the sides. 

Here's a simple three strand braid made to look very exclusive by twisting strands of tin thread around each other  and placing flat strands of tin thread around. Then it's finished with twirled strands of tin thread on each side. makes for a very exclusive looking bracelet - that's super easy to make!

Sami bracelets are absolutely not just for women! This I made for my father, it's a massive five strand braid with hand twirled leather thongs edging it, and finished off with three strand braids which I have "folded" over instead of softly bent them around each other. 

This I made for a very dear friend, it's a simple three strand braid with inlays of pearl silk in between the tin strands. It made for a beautiful contrast towards the softest, most lovely cerise lamb skinn. 

Little details like adding a slim satin band (this is actually the kind that are used for keeping clothes on the hangers in stores) between two simple three strand braids for a little pop of color makes a world of difference! The closure was also spiced up here with a little bow and using the satin band for closure. 

Here I used a sheer pink ribbon as the middle for a katarina braid, it gave such a cute effect I think. Instead of the antler button I used a heart shaped pearl. 

This I made for a friends birthday gift, it's a tie on, ruffle bracelet with a four strand braid. It's made with off white reindeer leather as she's from the very north of Sweden, so it seemed very appropriate. I think it's super chique! 

These two is one single strand katarina braid and the one on the white leather is a simple three strand braid. Isn't it so cool how you can vary these simple braiding techniques endlessly? 

I have so many more to share with you as I have mad so many of these over the years, but I'll be another day =)  I hope you'll try making your own sami bracelets! It's so much fun!

Summer Squares & Charming Rag Quilt - Free Tutorials

I'm super excited to have found a couple of my very first patterns and tutorials that I did for Moda Bakeshop back in the day. They where sadly lost form Moda Bakeshop during a wordpress crash, and I thought them lost until today! Both these two patterns have been added to the "files" section of my Facebook Group, and is available for free download there. You're most welcome to join for the patterns. 

The Summer Squares Quilt

The original post can be found here. This is such a fun pattern and the appliqué trapunto method described is great fun and I use it for most appliques I make. However, nowadays I recommend using a high loft synthetic/polyester batting for the trapunto, for the best results. 

It can also easily be adapted to make adorable baby quilts. Like this baby quilt I made for my friends baby girl Vega a number of years ago.

The trapunto technique can also be used without applique pieces, but jsut to amke quilting sections stand out like here with her name. 

Charming Rag Quilt

The Charming Raq Quilt is a tutorial showing how to make rag quilts without batting, using only flannel instead for a quick to make, beautifully warm, heavy and snuggly quilt.

If you make it with patterned fabric for batting and backing, you get these really fun, lively rag seams. 

I hope you'll enjoy these tutorials once again! Both patterns have been added to the "files" section of my Facebook Group, and is available for free download there. 

Sew Your Own Half Check Dog Collar Tutorial

I made a YouTube tutorial showing how to sew your own, beautiful and practical half check dog collar! This type of collar has many names, half slip collar, martingale collar and more but it's a super convenient kind of collar slip on and off, with no risk of the dog backing out of it, nor does it choke your dog.

Convenience: Slip it on and off without any need for a snap or buckle. This is great for shy or scared dogs that might find the snap of a buckle loud and scary, for dogs with long coats which might tangle in the buckle, or for dogs that just don't have the patience to stand still while the collar is adjusted and secured. 

Safety: As we make this collar exactly to size, there's no risk of our dog being able to back out of the collar or escape it, while the collar doesn't choke or strangle the dog.

Comfort and coat: If you have a long haired dog, a tightly fitted regular collar might cause unsightly "waves" in the coat from the collar, but as this collar is large and loose when the dog is't pulling (which makes it very comfortable for the dog to wear too!) and therefore reduces this effect from the collar. 

I recommend clicking this link and going to YouTube and watching the video there instead of embedded. 

The reason for this tutorial is that have a new little family member as of a little over month now! Lilla My is a 1,5 year old Sheltie girl whom has found her forever home with us!  We love her soooo much!⁣ 

She of course urgently needed her own  Tula Pink collar! Lilla My really loved her new collars, and when I tried to have a photo shoot with the finished collar, she promptly laid down to sleep on my background!  I could hardly protest this (despite the black hairs now all over my white photo background) as it's her collars right? =D 

The collars in the video are made with Tula Pink fabrics, my girl needs to be dressed in style right!? The wider collar is from Tula's Zuma line, the beautiful "Glow fish" print. And the thinner one is the "Disco Kitty" print from her Tabby Road line.

Isn't she fashionable on her walk? =) 

It's really easy to make and such a fun sew, properly addictive! Such a great scrap buster too! 

And I'm going to end this post with two more photos of my lovely cutie, just because I can ;)

I'd love to see if you make your own collar using this tutorial, please share you photos in the Facebook Group, or tag me on social media <3 

Bergen Bag - Pattern Release!

The Bergen Bag is the perfect everyday handbag. This firmly structured bag is big enough for a book or iPad on top of the necessities, and it has been designed with travel in mind. Many open slip pockets so everything has its place, and a large safe zipper lining pocket, with room for both boarding passes and passports.

It's available in English and Swedish and has both inch and centimeter measurements, and it's available HERE.

This bag comes with many different design options, it can be made with bag frame (open ended or closed) or zipper closure, with handle connectors or without or with high or low bottom decor.

Left: Zipper top closure, handle connectors and low bottom.

Middle: Open ended frame closure, handle connectors, high bottom.

Right: Closed end frame closure, no handle connectors, low bottom.

Finished size: ~10” (25cm) high, ~13” (33cm) wide and 4” (10cm) deep at the base.

The version with the closed ended frame has a slightly smaller top piece to accommodate. This version without handle connectors is slightly faster to make, and requires no rectangle ring hardware. 

This is made with Cotton and Steel quilting cotton, the line is "Santa Fe" by Sarah Watts and the print is "Stone in Turquoise", matched with a vinyl. It's lined with an unknown brown from my stash ;) 

The bottom is extremely sturdy, no bulging bottoms here!

This open ended frame version with the handle connectors and high bottom decor I made with Tula Pink's "All Star" line with the "Tail Feathers" print in poppy, also matched with a vinyl. The lining is from Tula's "De La Luna" line, the print is "I see you" in mystic. The beautiful hardware is all from Emmaline Bags.

The Bergen Bag is named after the beautiful city Bergen in Norway, which I visited a few times in my childhood. 

All the pockets!! I love being able to line up all my things in it's own pocket, so many open pockets are a must for me. 

The zipper pocket is discreetly hidden in the seam and barely even visible when closed. These zipper pockets are my own invention and are sewn without cutting a hole, so no uneven pocket openings with wonky corners!

The zipper closure version is made in Robert Kaufman "Atlantia" print cotton in charcoal colorway, matched with marine blue faux leather and another unknown brown from my stash. The zipper version is very elegant too and quickly became a favourite among my testers!

How to get that perfect, tight fitting lining is thoroughly described in the pattern, so expect your linings to be perfectly fitted! 

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My fantastic pattern testers were awesome as ever and tested the pattern for me, and just look at all the gorgeous Bergen Bags that were sewn! A sincere thank you goes out to each and everyone one of you for helping me make each new pattern -  into my best pattern yet! 

I'm so very grateful for all your help and hard work!

Anette Lundin - Made this drop dead gorgeous, closed frame version in a blue furniture fabric matched with a black vinyl. Her bag has the high bottom decor and handle connectors and is just sooo classy and classic looking! 

Sofia Nilsson - of TRÅkärlek whom can be found here on Instagram and here on Facebook, made two absolutely breathtakingly stunning bags! With zipper closure, no handle connectors and low bottoms. I love them both, but just LOOK at the pattern matching in the first one here with the roses on the inside of the bag, isn't it amazing?! 

Doris Lövgren - whom can be found here on Instagram made this oh so beautiful floral version paired with a stunning light brown leather! So very pretty! Her's is a zipper closure, high bottomed version with handle connectors.  

Tamra Morley - of Tamras Textiles made this absolutely amazing all cork version! So very classy and cool! And look at that beautiful embroidered logo! This is the open frame version, with handle connectors and a low bottom decor. 

 

Christine Davis - of Bags by Bags of Style whom can be found here on Facebook and here on Instagram made this absolutely adorable version! I love how she used those polka dot, ready made handles, and that cute piping was just the icing on the cake! This is a zipper closure low bottom version.

Becky McCoy - of Simply Memorable Bags made this so beautiful and very happy version! Loving the cute print and that bright pink lining is just amazing! Can't help but smile when you open that bag! This is a zipper closure, low bottom version with handle connectors.

Anne-Le Wängelin - whom can be found here on Instagram made these two, absolutely stunning versions! Love that she added a key strap to them. The beautiful Tula Pink one with it's bright and happy colors are right up my alley, but so is the lovely black one! Both are made with closed ended frames, handle connectors and low bottom decor. 

Margareth Tai - Bags by Mags can be found here on Instagram, made this absolutely adorable polka dot version! Classic and cute! It's a zip closure, low bottom decor without handle connectors version. 

Kristin - whom can be found here on Instagram made this just stunning version! Love the classy outside matched with that happy polka dot lining! This is a closed ended frame, low bottom version with handle connectors. 

Eva Arthursson - made this simply gorgeous poppy version! I just love this! Poppies are one of my favourite flowers so this is just perfect in my book! This is a closed ended frame, low bottom version with handle connectors. 

Lori Peoples - whom can be found here on Instagram made this insanely stunning and cool version! Look at those details, the decor on the handle connectors, the beautiful handles, the piping and tassels, all oh so beautiful! This is a low bottom decor, zipper closure version with handle connectors.