Creative articles about sewing

Sew a Bag – Free Pattern Tutorial for a Weekender

Dear friends, today I’m thrilled to share one of my favorite tutorials with you! I always felt I lacked the perfect, stylish bag for my needs. Whether for sports or a short trip, I never had the ideal bag on hand. My bags were either too big or too small. But now I’ve found the perfect solution: the Weekender bag by Leni Pepunkt. I’ll show you how to sew this spacious bag, and the pattern is free! 

The Weekender bag is the perfect size, something I couldn’t find in stores for a long time. Being a huge fan of quilted fabric, I chose this material, combined with a cool leopard print lining. Now, I want to get started with lots of pictures and a detailed tutorial.

For sewing support, I used the BERNINA L 850 overlocker and the BERNINA 590 sewing machine.

The BERNINA L 850 is an overlocker with an automatic air threading system. Additionally, it has a free arm and an amazing extension table, increasing the work surface. 

Image of BERNINA L 850.

BERNINA L 850

The L 850 is the overlock specialist with which you can now thread the hook threads even faster & more conveniently. Simply press the foot control and you’re off!

Learn more

The BERNINA 990 is a compact sewing and embroidery machine with everything a sewing enthusiast needs. It offers maximum comfort and precise stitch results. With jumbo bobbins and an automatic thread cutter, it requires fewer interruptions. I also love the perfect fabric transport and the large, user-friendly touchscreen.

Image of BERNINA 990.

BERNINA 990

14″ Sewing space to the right of the needle ✓10″Centrally Located Color Touch Screen with Multi Touch Gestures ✓BERNINA Placement Scanner & Camera ✓Giant Embroidery Hoop (410 x 305 mm, 16.1″x 12″) ✓BERNINA Integrated Stitch Regulator (BISR) ✓ Jumbo Stitch: Resize stitch patterns from 25% to 500% ✓Automatic Needle Threader ✓Automatic Stitch Plate Detection ✓ 

Learn more

As an additional tool, I used the Zipper Foot #4, which is perfect for sewing zippers.

Image of Zipper Foot #4.

Zipper Foot #4

Accurately sewing in zippers of all sizes ✓  For 5.5 mm and 9 mm machines ✓ 

Learn more

On my Instagram profile, I share content about sewing, crafting, and plotting. You’ll find plenty of reels with great tutorials on a variety of sewing projects and topics.

Sewing a Bag – Weekender Tutorial

Materials Used

  • Quilted fabric
  • Scissors
  • Sewing thread
  • Pins or Wonder Clips
  • Measuring tape
  • 45 cm zipper
  • Pattern Weekender

Please note: My website is only in German! Use online translation services if you don’t understand something. When check out, please do not choose Paypal! Paypal can put you in a neverending loop if the total of your shopping cart equals 0.00 €.  Please choose “Vorkasse” during the check out process.

Individual Pattern Pieces

  • 2 x side panels
  • 1 x bag panel (outer fabric)
  • 1 x bag panel (lining)
  • Strap webbing 2 x 80 cm

Attaching and Securing the Straps

First, transfer the pattern markings onto the fabric. Place the straps in the center and secure them. Before sewing the straps down, I added a cool label, sewn on carefully with a short stitch length. Following the markings, sew all four sides of the strap in place and trim any excess corners.

Attaching the Zipper to the Outer Fabric

To attach the zipper to the bag:

First, ensure the zipper is the right length. Mine was perfect; if not, trim to size. Prepare a zipper finishing by attaching two small lining fabric pieces 3 cm away from each side. Place the zipper right sides together on one of the short bag edges, pin it in place, and sew using a zipper foot.

Adding the Side Panels to the Outer Bag

Grab the side panels, divide them into sections, and pin them right sides together. Use the overlocker to attach both side panels to the bag in one go.

Sewing the Inner Pocket of the Weekender bag

Place the lining pieces right sides together, folding the two short edges 1 cm inward and pin. Sew the side panels with this 1 cm gap.

Attaching Outer Bag and Inner Bag to Complete

Insert the lining into the outer bag, wrong sides together. Carefully pin the open edge of the lining to the left side of the zipper. Topstitch from the right side of the Weekender bag using the zipper foot.

And your beautiful bag is complete!

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial. Perhaps I’ve encouraged some beginners to try sewing this cool Weekender bag? I had a lot of fun and can wholeheartedly recommend Leni Pepunkt’s free pattern.

Tip: You can also reduce this pattern to 70% for a smaller version. I’ve done this before, and it works great!

Happy sewing and good luck,
Yours, Jenny

Free Pattern Tutorial for a Weekender

Difficulty level: Intermediate
Time to Complete: Weekend
Used Material: cotton, cotton fabric, Endless zipper, wonder clips, yarn
Used Products:
BERNINA 990
BERNINA 990
BERNINA L 850
BERNINA L 850
Zipper Foot #4
Zipper Foot #4

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  • Jennifer Cochrane EditEditing comments on the BERNINA blog is only possible after logging in with a blog user account. Sign up now or create a user account if you do not have one yet.

    I have failed – again to be able to down load a Bernina pattern!   The German website simply doesnt seem to work.   Why oh why is it sooo difficult to  navigate, read, & download from the Bernina website?   Bernina is supposed to be an advanced technical machine – the website is awful and really does need to be re-designed to be as good as the machines!

    • Darija Grgic EditEditing comments on the BERNINA blog is only possible after logging in with a blog user account. Sign up now or create a user account if you do not have one yet.

      Dear Jennifer

      I have tested the process and I was able to download the freebie without any problems. However, I also understand that it’s complicated as the site is not in English. By the way, please note that this is not a BERNINA site, but an online shop of a blogger from the German BERNINA blog who was kind enough to translate and publish her content on to the English BERNINA blog.
      Please proceed as follows to download the freebie:
      1) After adding the freebie to the cart, register as a new customer and add a first / last name, address etc.
      2) Select the payment method “Vorkasse”
      3) Then you have to confirm both terms and conditions and click on “Zahlungspflichtig bestellen”
      4) Return to the store and click on “Sofortdownloads” in your customer account to download the files. The instructions are only available in German, but there are very reliable online translation tools like deepl.com.
      Hope this helped!

  • Alleta Baltes EditEditing comments on the BERNINA blog is only possible after logging in with a blog user account. Sign up now or create a user account if you do not have one yet.

    I tried to download the pattern & thought it was going through but never could get it. Couldn’t figure out (in German) if it on the website under my name?  It looked like it was going through. Huh. Would love to have it. The tutorial is terrific! 

    • Darija GrgicEdited EditEditing comments on the BERNINA blog is only possible after logging in with a blog user account. Sign up now or create a user account if you do not have one yet.

      Dear Alleta,
      after you have placed the freebie in your shopping cart, you must first create a customer account. Select the payment method “Vorkasse”. Then you have to confirm both terms and conditions and click on “Zahlungspflichtig bestellen”. Return to the store and click on “Sofortdownloads” in your customer account. The instructions are only available in German, but there are very reliable online translation tools like deepl.com. Hope this helped!

  • Judith Geldard EditEditing comments on the BERNINA blog is only possible after logging in with a blog user account. Sign up now or create a user account if you do not have one yet.

    I clicked on the link for week ender  pattern. It took me to a German site, which I used a trans later. I thought I was ordering the free pattern, but  received in my e mail a form to complete . I was unable to get the form to translate. so no free pattern was provided.t

    • Darija GrgicEdited EditEditing comments on the BERNINA blog is only possible after logging in with a blog user account. Sign up now or create a user account if you do not have one yet.

      Dear Judith,
      after you have placed the freebie in your shopping cart, you must first create a customer account. Select the payment method “Vorkasse”. Then you have to confirm both terms and conditions and click on “Zahlungspflichtig bestellen”. Return to the store and click on “Sofortdownloads” in your customer account. The instructions are only available in German, but there are very reliable online translation tools like deepl.com. Hope this helped!

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