Frequently Asked Questions
Our mission is to empower you to make bags as strong and beautiful as you are. To that end, our woman-owned & powered team is committed to setting you up for success—whether you're a total beginner or have decades of experience.
If you have a question that is not answered below, feel free to send us an email using the button below, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
🔗 Quick Links
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🚚 Orders + Shipping
Unfortunately, we aren't doing local pick-up right now. Our fulfillment warehouse is located in a building that doesn't have public access and we don't ship during normal working hours sometimes, so it can be hard to coordinate pick-ups. However, we aim to ship same-day or next day 99% of the time (excluding weekends).
Unfortunately, Klum House is online-only and we do not sell in-person directly from our studio. The best way to learn about upcoming opportunities to shop Klum House wares in-person is to sign up for our email list. We will announce any craft fairs, expos, and events that we will be vending in-person at. Alternatively, Klum House products are sold in stores worldwide. If your local sewing & craft shop doesn't carry the Klum House pattern & kit line, please request that they do! We are always looking for new retail stores to work with.
Our domestic (US) orders are shipped via USPS Mail and UPS. International orders to Canada are usually shipped via USPS, and all other international orders are usually shipped via DHL. We do not currently offer expedited shipping.
Yes, we ship all over the world! You can head to the checkout section of the site and enter your address to see if we ship to your location and how much it will cost to get there.
Currently, we ship to: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, & US Minor Outlying Islands.
Keep in mind that you are responsible for your country’s customs fees and delays. Please also note, we cannot refund shipping fees on any international returns.
As soon as your order ships, you will receive a shipping notification email with tracking information.
All orders are packed and shipped from our workshop in Portland, Oregon.
If you’ve already placed your order, it may be possible to edit or cancel it before it ships out. Please email support@klumhouse.com and we’ll see what we can do.
We always try to combine shipments when multiple orders are placed to save on shipping and environmental impact. If you need to add items to your order, please place another order and we will do our best to combine it. If we are able to, we will refund you any additional shipping charges that may occur. This is not guaranteed, as your order may have already been packed and waiting for pick up. This also may add a small delay because combined shipments will be moved to the back of the queue.
Unfortunately, we are not able to honor discount codes retroactively. Please remember to enter your discount code at check out!
Unfortunately, we only allow one discount code to be used per order. This includes discount codes that you exchanged for points through Klum Club. So, for example, if there is a site-wide sale that uses a discount code, you cannot also use a Klum Club discount code in addition to the site-wide sale code.
📦 Returns + Exchanges
If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, you are welcome to return it for a refund to your original payment method within 30 days after you receive it. Any returns after this time period will not be accepted. Original shipping costs (and duties, if applicable) are non-refundable. Final sale items and gift cards are non-refundable. Returned items must be in new, unused condition and sent back to us in the original packaging. First, send us an email at support@klumhouse.com to let us know you are initiating a return.
Then mail your return to:
Klum House: Returns
4784 N Lombard St.
Box 120
Portland, OR, 97203
We do our very best to pack orders accurately and securely, but every once in a while mistakes do happen! If your order was damaged during the shipping process, please send us a photograph of the damaged item to support@klumhouse.com, and we will help you troubleshoot. If applicable, we will send a replacement.
If your order is missing something, please thoroughly check your package, including unrolling and unpacking all the contents of your maker kit. Sometimes instruction booklets and hardware can slip down to the bottom of the maker kit! If the item is indeed missing, email support@klumhouse.com and we’ll send you a replacement ASAP.
If you received an item that you did not order, please email support@klumhouse.com to let us know. Depending on the item, we may send you a pre-paid shipping label so you can return it to us and will of course send you the correct item, if necessary.
🎒 Bag Making Questions
Yes, take the Bag Maker Quiz to find your next Klum House make! There are lots of ways to learn, create, and get involved in the bag making fun here at Klum House. To help you figure out which of our offerings is best for you, we’ve put together this short 6-question quiz to get you started. Head over to the Bag Maker Quiz to start now!
Yes! We offer bag making projects for a wide range of skill levels, including absolute beginners. If you have no prior sewing experience, we highly recommend taking our Sewing Machine 101 online class in which Ellie will demystify all the ins & outs of the home sewing machine. You’ll learn about threading, winding a bobbin, needles, presser feet, tension, and more. Most importantly, she’ll help you troubleshoot all of the most common beginner sewing problems you might encounter.
From there, our Portsmith Tote is a great place for beginners to start! For maximum support (and enjoyment!) we recommend making the Portsmith Tote from a bag maker kit and signing up for the Portsmith online class. Have fun!
We offer two different kinds of bag making kits. Our Bag Maker Kits include everything you need to make your bag: fabric, pre-cut leather, all of the hardware, and access to the PDF pattern. Our Leather + Hardware Kits include everything but the fabric, for makers who would prefer to source their own. In both cases, essential tools, the online class, and expansions are sold separately as optional add-ons.
Yes, you can totally make your bag from scratch, if you’re down to source and prep all of the necessary materials yourself. We recommend purchasing a pattern, which includes a comprehensive list of all the supplies you’ll need. You can shop raw materials such as waxed canvas yardage, leather strips, and bulk hardware in our shop, as well as any additional tools you may need, like our Leather Strap Making Toolkit.
In addition to a sewing machine and some basic sewing supplies, each of our bags requires a different set of tools for setting hardware, punching holes, etc. You can find this information on the back of the pattern, as well as the kit and pattern product pages, where it’s organized by “essential” and “recommended.”
No. All of our bag projects are designed for success on a home sewing machine. You do not need a fancy sewing machine or industrial equipment to make our bags. We highly recommend regularly sewing machine maintenance and sewing with a new, sharp needle.
Our favorite home sewing machine for beginners is the Singer HD 4423. It’s the sewing machine we’ve used for years in all of our in-person workshops and it can handle sewing any of our bags. For a step up from there, we we are big fans of the Janome HD 3000. This mechanical machine is also heavy-duty, and has a slightly stronger motor and higher quality parts than the Singer. It can even sew through lightweight leather! However, in our experience the Singer generally performs just as well as the Janome and is a fraction of the price.
If you have a specific question about sewing or bag making, please check out the library of free educational resources on our blog. There you’ll find information on tools, materials, heavy-duty sewing, how to remove hardware. We do our best to include tips and cautionary moments in our pattern instructions to help you avoid and troubleshoot mistakes. For further guidance, we recommend signing up for an online class, which includes step-by-step video instruction. Unfortunately, we are not able to provide individualized bag making support at this time.
Generally we sell all of the materials, supplies, and instruction YOU need to make professional-quality bags yourself. However, a few times a year we do a finished bag sample sale that includes photos samples, one-of-a-kind bags, and bags with slight imperfections at discounted prices. They tend to sell out very quickly! Join our newsletter list to be the first to hear about upcoming sample sales.
Yes, if you purchase a License to Sell for that particular bag. This license is great if you're interested in making Klum House Bags to sell in your own small handcrafted business. This License to Sell gives you permission to sell, while also honoring Klum House’s labor and intellectual property. This license is a legal, ethical, and energetic agreement that we consider to be based in mutual respect and empowerment. Whatever your small business goals, we want to give you the tools you need to thrive. Think of this license as a head start! Learn more details on the License to Sell product pages.
👩💻 Online Classes
You will receive a login and direct access link shortly after you purchase your class, which you can click on to access your class(es). Additionally, you can access your online classes and communities anytime by going to the My Classes page on our website. Once there, you will be prompted to log into your Klum House website account to access your class & community portal.
You have evergreen access to all of your online classes, so once you’ve signed up you can go back and watch them whenever you’d like, at your own pace, for the lifetime that the class exists.
Yes, our online classes do include access to the bag’s PDF pattern. You can download it from the “Digital Resources” section of the online class.
📄 PDF Patterns
After you purchase a PDF pattern, you will receive an email from Klum House with a link to download your pattern. If for some reason you are not able to find that email, email us at support@klumhouse.com and we’ll help you out.
We recommend checking out this great video by Creative Live for a detailed explanation of how to print and assemble your PDF pattern.
Yes, our PDF pattern package includes both a tiled, print-at-home version of the pattern and a large-format version that you can have professionally printed anywhere with a large-format printer. Our PDF patterns include US & A-sized paper templates.
🌟 Klum Club Rewards
Super simple. You earn points that can be cashed in for discounts and special offers such as 10%, 15%, 20% off, as well as free shipping discounts too!
You'll get 1 point for every dollar you spend. You can earn points by taking different actions, such as following us on social media, leaving a review for a product you purchased, and telling your friends about Klum House. If you let us know your birthday, you'll get a special birthday bonus! Check out the Klum Club page for the full list of ways to earn points.
If you already have an account on our website, you’re already in! Otherwise, sign-up by clicking on the rewards widget (circlular gold-colored bag + heart icon) at the bottom of any page on our website. You'll be prompted to create an account on the Klum House website. Once your account is created, sign in to check your points balance in the rewards widget and redeem rewards. From now on, make sure you're signed into your account when you shop to collect points for your purchases. Note that only one reward/discount can be applied at a time. Discounts are applied at checkout. Check out the rewards page to learn more about Klum Club.
To use your points, first make sure you're logged into your account. Then you'll be able to cash in your points for rewards using the rewards widget in the bottom corner of the website. Once you've chosen a reward, you'll unlock a discount code that can be copy-pasted into a field at checkout.
You'll only receive points for leaving a product review when you follow the link in the email you receive after purchasing that item. If you leave a review without following the email link, this action won't quality for points.
Discounts won't show up in your shopping cart, but they will be there when you reach the checkout page. If your reward isn't showing up at checkout, make sure you have either clicked "Apply Reward" or copied and pasted the reward code into the discount code field at checkout. "Redeeming" a reward does not automatically apply the discount code to your order, you still have to copy-paste the generated discount code into the discount code field in checkout.
There are a couple reasons this might have happened. You, or someone you referred, may have cancelled or returned a purchase, or your points may have expired if they haven't been used within six months.
Also note that once you have chosen and "cashed-out" a reward with your points to get a discount coupon, these points will be deducted from your total balance. In this case your points have not decreased, they've just been converted into a reward that you can now apply at checkout! If you redeem a reward and don't want to use it yet, don't worry, the discount code you redeemed your points for is ready and being saved in your account for when you are ready to use it. Just log into your Klum House website account and head to the rewards widget to copy your saved discount code and apply it at checkout.
You can see your points balance in the rewards widget once you’ve signed in.
👩🏻🏫 Wholesale + Teaching
If you are interested in selling Klum House products in your brick and mortar or online shop, you have the option of purchasing through our Faire Wholesale shop or directly from our Wholesale portal on our website. If you are interested in purchasing directly from us (for a more customized experience), please send us an email at support@klumhouse.com to let us know a bit more about your shop, which of our products you’re interested in carrying, and we’ll take it from there!
Yes, you can teach a Klum House pattern in your shop/studio, and we’d be happy to support you in doing so. Please email us at support@klumhouse.com, and we will help set you up with discounted patterns + kits for your students, any necessary tools, and teaching support so you can facilitate as enjoying and successful a workshop as possible!
We aren't currently offering regular in-person classes. The best way to learn from Ellie directly in-person is to attend one of her classes at Sew Expo in Puyallup, WA. Ellie will usually teach anywhere from 3-7 classes, as well as have a booth where you can shop Klum House wares in-person at this annual education-focused sewing expo. Of course, we have lots of online bag making class options year-round.
🤝 Collaborations + Press
Cool! We’re always on the lookout for fun collaboration and partnership opportunities. Please send an email to support@klumhouse.com with all of the relevant information and we’ll get back to you soon.
Amazing! We’d love to hear what you have in mind. Please send an email to support@klumhouse.com and we’ll get back to you soon. We’re happy to provide brand photographs, a company bio, press release, and any additional materials you might need.
Awesome! We love doing off-site team building experiences. We offer almost all our patterns & kits as potential team-building classes that can be led virtually or in-person. Please email us at support@klumhouse.com, and we will chat about how to design the best making experience for your team within your budget.
Contact us
If you have a question that is not answered above, feel free to send an email to support@klumhouse.com or fill out the contact form below, and we’ll do our best to get back to you as soon as possible. Make sure to include any relevant details like your order number, account email, photos, or anything else that will help us answer your question. We are not able to offer phone support at this time.