Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Button Up Boxes - Pattern Release!

I'm super excited to announce the release of the first pattern of 2018! The Button Up Boxes!

These little storage miracles are fully lined, machine sewn, stores FLAT when not in use, stacks when buttoned up, and can be washed! They come in three sizes but includes instructions to be adapted to any size you wish! And it's the perfect reason to use some of those adorable buttons we all have lying around!

This pattern comes with both inch and centimeter measurements and is available in both English and Swedish here!


These are so much fun and super quick to make, takes less than an hour! The perfect little gift box!

The pattern came to be I was making christmas gifts and I really wanted to make some pretty boxes. So I actually went looking for a ready made pattern for one (cue gasp!), as I didn't really have time to make my own. I wanted a lined box, machine sewn, without any raw edges and with the possibility to wash it and store it flat when not in use... I found no such patterns! By then the wheels had already started turning in my head and late that night, the Button Up Box was born!

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My amazing pattern testers were awesome as ever and tested the pattern between Christmas and new year now, and just look at all the amazing little boxes that were born! A sincere thank you goes out to each and everyone one of you for helping me make this into my best pattern yet! I'm so very grateful for all your help and hard work!

Cheryl Wright Simmerman - of Adarra Handmade made this lovely, classically romantic set of boxes, so beautiful! 


Casey of JC'Mila Designs - whom can be found here on Instagram and here on Facebook made these gorgeous Tula Pink ones! Such beautiful color combinations!


Ann-Kristin Kristoffersen - of Kinnas Lappteknik made these adorable froggy ones! Look at those beautiful wooden butterfly buttons!





Laura Downs - of funwithtotes whom can be found here on Instagram made this crisp and classy looking polkadot version, and look at that matching button!


Barbara Dörig - Whom can be found here on instagram made this beautiful set of Tula Pink ones! Such a lovely tower!


Christine Davis - of Bags by Bags of Style whom can be found here on Facebook and here on Instagram made this stunning set of faux leather boxes with a beautiful weaved pattern and super cool metal closures! Awesome! 



Gillian Woronko - Made this beautiful flowery box, and brilliantly chose to use old clip earrings instead of a button to close the box. She used it to house a flower, such a great way to spice up a potted plant for gifting! 


Kristin - whom can be found here on Instagram made this beautiful, ombre lineup! Such a great way to use different shades of the same fabrics!


Michelle of MEW Designs Australia - whom can be found here on Instagram and  here on Facebook made this beautiful set! Love the colors!


Nicole of DDsBagsAndMore  who has a great store here DDsBagsAndMore Etsy Store made this fun versions with snap buttons too so you can choose if you want them fully buttoned up or only half, very clever!


Noor Rats - Whom can be found here on instagram made these lovely boxes to store her sewing supplies, I love how she opens the one for wonder clips for easier access when working. 



Pia Jestin -  Who can be found here on Instagram made this adorable lineup! Love the color coded linings and buttons and just look at that adorably tiny 2" one!


Sue Reed - of Dreamscape Studio made this stunning lineup of faux leather and embroidered boxes That white contrasts so beautifully against the colorful linings and embroidery! 


Tania Chanroux - of Smart Made Designs on Instagram made this super cool combo! Those buttons where just made for that fabric! Love the edginess!


Anna Van Berlo - Whom you can find here on Instagram made this pretty flowery version with the most adorable little hedgehog button!


Terry Druga - whom can be found on Instagram here made this lovely sketch book version! The simplicity makes it beautifully  classic!


Friday, December 1, 2017

Paris Purse Pattern Release!!


This is the statement purse every woman deserves! This lovely little bag is sure to turn some heads when you walk into a room, and with it's small size and fancy design it's perfect for that special event or wedding!

The construction is surprisingly fun and once you've made one, you'll surely want to make another! It has 3 interior slip pockets and is fully lined without any visible seam allowances. It's named after one of our fashion capitals due to its to me chic and fashion forward look, and from looking a little like the eiffel tower from the side. ;)

This pattern comes with both inch and centimeter measurements and is available in both English and Swedish here. If you have trouble finding the frames, I have a list of retailers by country here.



This little purse was in the works for over 6 months, some of you with better memory than I might remember the first sneak peeks on Instagram back in June but now she's finally here! I've worn my Paris Purses sooo many times and I always, always get comments and compliments.


The interior is very simple, but there's a few slip pockets for cellphone and cash so it's absolutely enough.


Both of them are equally pretty I think, but the Tula Pink Tabby Road version in the front is the one most popular and turns more heads when I'm out.


But the more classic silver and black all cotton version is generally more easy to wear.






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I could easily spam you with a million more photos of my Paris Purses (and I might still do that at a later stage *lol*), but now, let's take a look at the BEAUTIFUL creations my pattern testers have made! A sincere thank you goes out to each and everyone one of you for helping me make this into my best pattern yet! I'm so very grateful for all your help and hard work! 

Casey of JC'Mila Designs - whom can be found here on Instagram and here on Facebook made this absolutely drop dead gorgeous version in Tula Pink Elisabeth combined with her Spirit Animal fabrics! Such a stunning bag!


Tania Chanroux - of Smart Made Designs on Instagram made this gorgous Tula Pink Eden version. She combined it with the most striking pink cork fabric which she also used to replace the lining top fabric - which was a stroke of pure genious if you ask me, so pretty!



Terry Druga - whom can be found on Instagram here made this beauitful, so striking version in Mod Corsage by Anna Maria Horner, the hardware used is gunmetal color. 


Nicole of DDsBagsAndMore who's great store DDsBagsAndMore Etsy Store carries the frames for the Paris Purse, can be found here on Instagram and here on Facebook made not one but TWO beauitful versions! One soft and angelic and one happy and full of sunshine! Lovely both! 





Katrien - The talent of www.katrienette.be whom can be found on Instagram here and Facebook here made this breathtaking, soft gray version. She did her sides a little differently as you can see in the details and only zick-zacked the raw seams instead of encasing them, made for a very pretty alternative look. 



Kristin - whom can be found here on Instagram made this very lovely, classic looking version that hides an adorable secret! Namely the super cute Tula Pink fox fabric hidden in it's lining! Just look at that cute little fox! 


Nicole Williams - Made this amazingly cool version! Such an super cool, edgy look with those fabric choices, love, just pure love!


Pia Jestin - can be found here on Instagram and she not only made this beauitful flowery version, she's also the inventor of the Pia's Soft Paris Purse Handles, they give a softer grip for your Paris Purse! Make sure you check out the tutorial!  



Lori Peoples - whom can be found here on Instagram made this beautiful butterfly version in muted, foresty color tones wich goes so perfectly with her brass hardware! So pretty! 


Michelle of MEW Designs Australia - whom can be found here on Instagram and  here on Facebook made this super cool, edgy version. Love how she chose red for the sides, to give it an even bolder look! Such an epic bag! 



Thursday, November 30, 2017

Soft handles for the Paris Purse

One of my lovely pattern testers, Pia Jestin whos beautiful works can be found here on Instagram decided that she wanted softer handles for her Paris Purse, so here's her tutorial for making Pia's Soft Paris Purse Handles. As you can see in the photo, this will give you a small section of padding outside the frames to make the handles a little softer to hold. Here is her pretty Paris Purse:



Cutting Instructions:
1/2" x 4 3/4" of your heavy fusible interfacing.
2 1" x 5 1/2" of your exterior fabric.

Instructions:
1. For the female part of the frame (with the opening), take two of your heavy interfacing pieces, in the middle of each, cut away a 5/8" x 1/4" big rectangle like in the photo . Fuse them centered to one of your fabric pieces like in the photo with a small, scant 1/8" opening between the two in the middle to allow for folding.


2. Make 1/4" long cuts in the fabric next to your heavy interfacing in the middle to allow you to fold up the fabric around the interfacing like in the photo, glue in place.


3. Fold up the short ends of your fabric over your interfacing and glue in place.



4. Fold in half lengthwise and insert into your frame. The little fold we made will allow the lock to be inserted without seeing any raw interfacing. 


5. Insert into the frame and screw in place. The padding will extend slightly below the frame to allow for a softer grip.


6. For the your male part of the frame, just place your interfacing without cutting out the middle like in step 1. Skip step 2 and just fold in the short fabric ends over the interfacing and glue in place like in step 3.



7. Fold the whole piece in half lengthwise to get the result in the photo. Cut out a little section in the middle to make room for the lock (no need to make the fancier covered openings here as it'll never be seen anyway). Insert and screw in place.





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 ♥ Thanks a lot Pia for sharing this with us, it's much appreciated!! ♥ 



Where to buy the Paris Purse & Bergen Bag frames

To make the Paris Purse or the Bergen Bag you need a special frame that's 7 1/2" (19cm) long. These are becoming more and more common but can still be a little tricky to locate. Here's a small list of where to find them.



United States: 
Sew Deja Vu - Silver, Brass, Gunmetal, Gold, Embossed
MeiMeiSupplies on Etsy - Gunmetal - Has more colors in store

Belgium