Shop Handmade This Season

We're all home more than usual this year so, lets make the most of it! Shop from the couch in your PJ's, while supporting small businesses. 

I've compiled a list of handmade shops for you, to shop from this season. Whether you need a hostess gift or a holiday gift, there's something for everyone. Jewelry for mom, a toy for little Johnny, holiday party supplies, or a new mask. There are so many choices! The holiday season is here, let's get shopping.


The shops below are listed in no specific order. I share the shop name, where you can find them, and what they have to offer, along with a little info about the owner. Happy reading and happier shopping!

Celebrate + Smile

Christina makes sparkly paper party goodies for any occasion. She's had her Etsy shop shop since 2015 but, has enjoyed crafting since she was a little girl. Her shop is a side hustle but, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t pour lots of time, love, and energy into it!

Christina makes personalized/custom confetti, cake toppers, party straws, drink stirrers and banners. She can make just about any decoration to fit your event needs. Just send her a message to start your custom order. :)

Find her Etsy shop here. 
Follow Christina on FB and Instagram @Celebrateandsmile 

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Zamavi

Zainab is a hand letter artist and printable designer. She creates feminine wall art with her designs. She hopes to turn your home into your very own happy place. 

Zainab offers funny and punny quotes, love notes, and simple, calming designs. 

Find her Etsy shop here. 
Follow her on Instagram @Zamaviprints

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Emily Gutman Quilt Shop

Emily has been sewing since she was a little kid. Although she focuses mostly on making garments, quilting offers a space for her to play with colour and form. She loves anything and everything rainbow, which feeds her quilting obsession perfectly!

Emily offers quilts mostly but, also has face masks and occasional sewing patterns/kits.

Find her shop here. 
Follow her on Instagram @Emilygutman

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SunRae Doll Vintage

Alisa enjoys sewing clothes from vintage patterns. She often ends up with smaller pieces of fabric that she has no idea what to do with so, she opened an Etsy shop! 

Alisa sells face masks with matching scrunchies, aprons, and plus-size dresses. She also has vintage patterns, jewelry, and housewares. 

Find her Etsy shop here. Her Poshmark shop here.
Follow her on Instagram @Sunraedolls

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Motley Toucan

The Motley Toucan is a shop that specializes in adorable plush animals with bright colors and patterns. Each item is handmade with love by Carianne. She creates in her spare time outside her full-time job and graduate classes. She started sewing in 2019 and loves to share her progress on each project, on Instagram. Her goal is to one day be able to offer, design, and build custom plushies!

Carianne sells plushies mostly. She also sells decorative pillows, bags, pouches, and clothing/ accessories. 

Find her shop here. 
Follow her on Instagram @Motleytoucan

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Pierced Leather

Pierced Leather is a rustic earring boutique. Handcrafted genuine leather earrings with brass, copper, and wood accents. 

Karen is just a "boy mom" whose boys are now men. She wanted something creative to pass the time and supplement their income. She loves creating statement pieces that are lightweight! The bigger and lighter, the better. 

​Find her shop here. 

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Stralixa

Lula is based in the ancient city of Athens, the capital of Greece. Her love for vintage clothing and vintage items in general has always been there. She loves watching films, listening to music (she's also a DJ) and a fanatic coffee drinker. She has a husband and two young children that she doesn't match at all! LOL

Stralixa vintage shop is an e-shop that Lula  runs along with two colleagues. The shop opened in August 2017 and since then, the vintage collection has grown tremendously. All the items are handpicked, one by one. Their ability to distinguish which garment should get a second chance and which shouldn't, is well known between the three of them. They all love what they do so much, and do it with passion and devotion.

Find her shop here.
Follow her on Instagram @stralixa_vintage

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Sewing to the Moon

Sewing to the Moon opened on Etsy at the very end of 2016. It offers bright color items and quirky patterned fabrics. Annette adores the 1940s and 1950s and makes her items with a nod to those eras. 

​Annette offers top knot headbands, make-up bags, keychains, fabric buckets, and funny embroidered tea towels. She also makes custom tea towels if you have something in mind. The fabrics that are used come from various shops and corners of the internet. She aims to provide quirky with a pinch of nostalgia. 

Find her Etsy shop here. Or click on the shop tab above. 
Follow her on Instagram @Sewingtothemoon

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I really hope you find some gifts for loved ones in these shops. Remember, when you support handmade, they do a happy dance. We all need a little more happiness in our lives right now.

Thanks for supporting Handmade! Happy Holidays!!

XO,

Annette

Sewing Books Every Sewist Needs

Let's talk books. Sewing books, that is. Big books, little books, tall books, small books. Whether you're new to sewing or a seasoned seamstress, it's a good idea to have a few books on the subject. This list may even spark your sewjo. These 5 are the ones I reach for most often. The internet is a great source however, if you need to refresh your memory on a specific technique, I urge you to reach for a book. Time is precious and you shouldn't spend it filtering through blogs or Youtube videos. The answer is going to be within one of these books. Each book in this list offers something different. Let's dive right in. 

1. The Sewing Book by: Alison Smith

This is the first sewing book I bought when I first started. Well, I think I asked for it for my birthday, but it was my first sewing book. It is the go-to sewing bible if you will. It has information on all the things. Tools, fabrics, techniques, and seam finishes, it's all in there. It is a little older so, you'll have to ignore the dated photos.
Bonus: It has patterns at the back of the book for you to make as well. Yay for patterns!

The images are clear and concise and it's a top choice for many sewists. If you're a visual learner, grab this book, you won't regret it.
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2. Gertie Sews Vintage Casual by: Gretchen Hirsch

You knew I'd have to throw a Gertie book in, right? 
This is my favorite pattern book. If you've hung around here long enough, you know I'm a huge Gertie fan. HUGE! If she had a band, I'd be a groupie. No joke. I have all of her books but, this is my favorite by far. I have kids and can't always wear big, fluffy, glittery dresses to live my best life. I usually wear more casual 1940s styles. High-waisted pants and a tucked-in top are my go-to style pieces.

I've made multiple patterns from this book and will continue to do so until I can't sew anymore. LOL
She shares sewing techniques and guides you through fabric choices. If you're a 1940s and 1950s fan, you need this book. It's her best!

​You can check out her old blog here. Her new blog is over here. 
Click here for a post on a few things I've made from her book. 

3. One Yard Wonders by: Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Hoskins

Need a gift for someone? Only have a yard of fabric to use? This book is your best bet. It has 101 patterns for things to make with only 1 yard of fabric! Yep, you read that correctly, only one yard of fabric.

We all have at least one yard of fabric in our stash, waiting to get used. This book has patterns for aprons, toys for kids and pets, other pet items, and even clothes!

It's a great beginner-friendly book too. I've had this for years and pull it out whenever I need a quick handmade gift idea. The holidays always creep upon us. Grab this book and start making gifts now. This might give you new ideas for everyone on your list. And, why not pick up an extra copy for your niece who recently learned to sew?

4. The Colette Sewing Handbook by: Sarai Mitnick

This is another pattern designer sewing book. I love Colette patterns. They are feminine without the fuss. The 5 patterns in this book are sweet and simple. She shows you how to create a scalloped hem, which you will love. The patterns are beginner-friendly as well. This book makes a wonderful gift for any sewist, new and seasoned.

Sarai has a blog that she is no longer on but, everything is archived.

She has, however, created an online sewing community and is very active in it. Seamwork, have you heard of it? It's is a great membership sewing community. It also has classes and patterns too.

5. Tilly and the Buttons: Stretch by: Tilly Walnes

If you love wearing cozy knit fabrics, you will love this book. Tilly's style blends modern with vintage to create something for everyone. If you've never sewn with stretch fabrics, she shows you how. From picking out the perfect fabric to the seam finishing. You don't even need a serger! She includes patterns for dresses, overalls, tops, and bottoms. The patterns aren't difficult and you can wear the clothing every day.

This book is also beginner-friendly. She will walk you through needle choice and stitches as well. 
I've recently made a Freya dress with star and moon fabric. It was such a fun pattern to sew! 
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Tilly Walnes also has an active blog, chock full of great information and more patterns. 

I’m wearing my Freya dress with 3/4 sleeves made with Starry night knit fabric from JoAnn. Such a fun and easy pattern from her book.

Other Books You Might Enjoy:

You can find all these books online and in bookstores. You may even score a copy in a used bookstore. 

Each book pictured below offers different options. I love visiting the bookstore and rifling through all the sewing books. I never leave empty-handed. 

Hope this gave you some sewing inspiration. When I want to sew but, don't have a project in mind, I grab a small stack of books. Plop down on the couch with a warm beverage and just look through them. Flipping through the pretty pictures seems to get my sewjo train started. Toot-toot! 
Let me know in the comment section if you have any of these books. Or, share some of your favorites instead.


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Happy reading, 
Annette

How to Organize Sewing Patterns

Do you get the organizing bug after the holidays? I know I do. Remember Kon Mari? Yep, my closet and dresser clothes are still organized and folded with her method. It's been a couple of years and I need to revisit my dresser. But we'll save that for another day. Today I want to share with you how I organize my patterns. 

I have quite a few patterns for sewing although, not nearly as many as other sewists, I know. I have friends who have bins upon bins of sewing patterns. 

In my stash, I have PDF ones, traced-off ones, patterns that have been adjusted and re-adjusted again, and of course regular pattern envelopes. I keep all of my patterns intermingled. However, they get separated by category. I'm not completely crazy. Ha!

Start with your PDF Patterns

Here's what you'll need:

1. Box of envelopes

2. Marker and washi tape

3. Clips (optional) 

4. Boxes or bins to fit the patterns inside

The Process

• Go to your local office supply store and grab a box of 6x9 envelopes. They had white and manilla colors to choose from when I went. The box was about $15. It may cost more or less depending on how many are in the box. White seemed to be more expensive but, I liked the clean look of white so that's what I bought. You could order online too, I'm sure.

• Grab all the PDF patterns you have. If they aren't printed and are still living in the eternal bliss of your computer, don't print them off. Save that for another day. 

• Fold each pattern into a 5 x 8 size. Include every piece to that pattern in the folding process. I used a wonder clip to keep all of the pieces together and folded up. And, then I stuck them in a big pile, as you can see above. I chose to fold first, then stuff. But, you can tackle it however you'd like.

• Grab a pattern from the pile. Write that pattern number, brand, size, etc. on the front of the envelope. 

• Then, stuff the folded pattern pieces inside the envelope. I used a piece of washi tape to close the envelope. There were a few patterns that needed a few pieces of tape. ;)

• Repeat until all the PDF's are in envelopes.

Stuff inside envelope.

Use Washi tape to seal.

I had a bunch of cute boxes with lids that I purchased years ago from IKEA. They kept crafty items organized inside them. 2 years ago, I took out the built-in shelves and redid our bonus room. The boxes were no longer needed. But, I didn't want to throw them away because I knew I'd use them eventually.

​Fast forward to eventually.

They were the perfect size for my patterns!! I tucked the lids under the boxes and my envelopes fit inside. If you have a few shoeboxes lying around that are empty, cover them with pretty paper, spray paint, or wrapping paper. Your envelopes will fit perfectly inside

Pattern Envelopes

Now that your PDF's are neatly organized, stick your other pattern envelopes inside the boxes too. I chose to organize mine by category. 

My patterns used to live in a huge bin (the blue box) and I couldn't easily find what I was looking for. 

Just an FYI, the organization day got uglier before it got pretty. Sorta like most organizing, right? LOL

I ended up using 4 boxes. I stuck all the tops in one box. Dresses and rompers are in another box. Bottoms, skirts, and pants in one box. And, everything else went inside the last box. I put the boxes on top of my Kallax shelf and can now see them all the time. If you'd like to organize all your sewing fabric next, read this post.

It's been so easy to find exactly what I'm looking for. I will add more pattern envelopes as I print off or create new patterns. 

PDF's are nicely tucked into the box.

Sewing space

I recently moved my Kallax shelf because my fabric started fading in spots! YIKES!!!! So, this is a photo of where it is now and the pattern boxes on top. 


So, are you off to organize your patterns? Please tag me if you do any sewing organization. I love seeing sewing rooms/corners and all the pretty things inside them. Share this post with anyone you know who needs a little motivation too. Thanks in advance!!
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Happy organizing,
Annette