December 2019 Monthly Photo Contest

01/07/2020 3472 1 0

December 2019 Monthly Photo Contest


One of our favorite things at ByAnnie is getting to see all the beautiful things our customers make using our patterns and products.  We love hearing your stories, opinions, and feedback and want to encourage more people to share through our monthly photo contest. Oh, and did we mention you could have a chance to win prizes for all your hard work and creativity?

Grand Prize winners receive a $50 coupon, and 5 runner ups receive $10 coupons to be used at ByAnnie.com USA! Check out our rules and submission guidelines by clicking the button below!

We'd like to congratulate all the winners below! We hope you enjoy reading a bit about their projects. For additional pictures and full stories, be sure to click on their pictures below or check out our WINNER'S GALLERY!


Grand Prize Winner

Maker: Heather C.

Pattern: Ultimate Travel Bag

Fabric: Picnic by Melody Miller from Cotton + Steel

Story:"I fell in love with this apple fabric and purchased two yards of it, but wasn't sure what I was going to make. I knew it would be a bag, but it had to be a pattern that would be able to handle this bold, large print! I saw the Ultimate Travel Tote sewn as a sample at the local quilt shop, and I knew I found the perfect pattern for the fabric.

For me, the most enjoyable part of the process was sewing the pieces together and watching the bag take shape. The most challenging part for me was sewing the binding onto the exposed seams. It was hard to get that exactly right, but I took extra time and it shows.

After the bag was sewn, I wanted it to have a crisper shape, so I used a tailor's point press and steam iron to steam and press all the seams around the bag. I turned the bag inside out and steamed and pressed from that side as well. The result is a bag that holds its shape with nice crisp lines. I really enjoyed making this pattern."

Runner Up

Maker: Christine K.

Pattern: The Essential Backpack

Fabric: N/A

Story: "This is my umpteenth backpack and I love making them! I made it for a recent Northern Lights cruise to Norway, hence the embroidered reindeer (from my Janome Atelier 9 machine) and the colours of the lights and the night sky.

The photo of the bag in the snow was taken at Hammerfest; it was -17 and there was 13” inches of snow, with glorious blue skies.

It was a great success, and thanks to the Soft and Stable, washed beautifully on our return because we had just about every kind of weather!"

Runner Up

Maker: Meryle C.

Pattern: Ultimate Travel Bag

Fabric: By Kaffe Fassett

Story: "The tutorial clarified the written pattern directions. I enjoyed the challenge of constructing the bag and completing a project that I am proud of. The bulk was a challenge but using the stiletto was helpful."

Runner Up

Maker: Rebecca 

Pattern: The Essential Backpack

Fabric: Mustang and Mesa by Melody Miller for Cotton + Steel

Story: "I added three features I thought would be helpful: A key hook in the front pocket because I need a place my key is always going to be; pockets on the sides for water bottles; and Velcro inside the back pocket so the bag can be attached to the front of my bike (which also works for the back of a chair!). I used my favorite #CottonandSteel fabrics and I love how they all look together!"

Runner Up

Maker: Sue L.

Pattern: Back At Ya 2.1

Fabric: Moody Blues from Blank Quilting

Story: "I made this backpack as a Christmas Gift for my mum. She always wears backpacks instead of purses. At the beginning of November, some friends and I went to a sewing meeting for a weekend. We were about 40 – 50 women who met just to sew a whole weekend long.

I prepared everything at home to make a ‘Back At Ya‘ backpack at the meeting. When it was time to put the zippered bag on the back side of the backpack I realized it was too short. It didn’t cover the edges of the padded handles and straps. After measuring all pieces I noticed that I cut the bottom part of the bag one inch too short. Fortunately I took the rest of the fabric and some soft and stable with me to the meeting, so I was able to correct my mistakes and finish the backpack. The pieces I prepared at home were quilted freemotion with swirls and I was really not in the mood to quilt a new big piece. So instead of correcting the bottom part of the zippered pocket, I only quilted a small piece and made a new upper part of the zippered pocket that I cut one inch wider. That saved me a lot of time and I think if you don’t know the pattern exactly you won’t recognize it."


Runner Up

Maker: Valarie R.

Pattern: Ultimate Travel Bag

Fabric: N/A

Story: "This was the first ByAnnie bag that I've ever done. It was pretty easy. The most difficult part was cutting the bag shape at the end (I was scared that I was going to ruin it!!) and then binding the inside seams. But I really, really enjoyed making it and I love the contrast of the fabrics. I really had no idea that I could make a bag this large! Something else that I liked A LOT was the ByAnnie zippers and hardware. Everything was of really great quality. It was my first purchase and I was pleasantly surprised."

Take part in this great community!

Thanks again to all who participated in September's Photo Contest. But, don't forget...the fun's not over! This is a MONTHLY Photo Contest, so be sure to submit photos of your projects for a chance to win! (For Rules and Submission Guidelines click HERE).

To see all of the other fantastic project pictures that were submitted, be sure to check out our Photo Gallery! Follow us on Facebook and Instagram (@patternsbyannie) for more great and inspirational projects, and let us know in the comments what you're working on!

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