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​Pattern Reviews, Easy Projects, Tips, & Sew-a-longs 

1/25/2023 0 Comments

Sew Your Own Valentine

Valentines day sewing DIY projects
Love is in the air. I can feel it, and I can smell the chocolate. Now, I know Valentine's Day isn't for everyone. But it's for me! Is it for you, too? Pulling out the pink and red decorations is the highlight of my February. Or, sometimes late January. I love DIYing the next few holidays that are coming up too. I'm excited for Easter, St. Paddy's Day, and even 4th of July. 

Valentine's Day is all about hearts, hearts, hearts. But, you don't necessarily need heart themed fabric to sew Valentine's projects. You'll see some heart fabrics were used in these projects, but anything red or pink will do just fine. Sift through your stash and scrap bin to give those red and pink fabrics some new life.

If you have little ones, they can help with decorating the house and making their Valentine's gifts too. I wanted to share some quick and easy things that you can sew for Valentine's Day, that shouldn't take a whole day. A few of these were made in previous years, and some were made this year.
Let's get our love on! 
Hutch with pennant banner

Gift Card Holder

Sew up some cute gift card holders for teachers, neighbors, or friends. We know everyone could use a little extra love these days. Grab a $10 coffee, fast food, or bookstore gift card and slip one inside.

​If you have kids, stick a fro-yo, makeup store, online gaming, or other gift card inside. 
Sew handmade valentines DIY
The gift card holder isn't my pattern. It's by Anne at OrangeBettie.com, and I found it here. Print the free sewing pattern and follow her directions on how to make your own. I skipped the snaps because I was lazy. But, add the snaps or a button or not. Make it your own. 
Sew your own gift card holder
Stick a gift card inside. These are more fun than just a card.
Gift card holders for valentines day
The contrasting fabric inside adds some extra sparkle.
​Make a simple fabric basket as part of the gift. Fill it with candy, bath salts and a candle, toy cars, a small lego set, some tiny dolls, a plant, or something else. These really make your gift extra special when paired with something.
This fabric basket is super simple. It doesn't require interfacing, only two layers of fabric. If you'd like something a little more stable, grab my tutorial here. But, if you just want a quick basket, keep reading.
fabric basket tutorial free sewing pattern

Easy Fabric Basket

The basket takes about 30 min from start to finish. Less if you're a speedy sewer. Gather your pink and red fabrics. 
  • 2 Fat Quarters of non-directional fabric
  • Ruler and air/water soluble marker 
  • Thread and other sewing notions
  • Sewing machine
Cut your fabric into one long rectangle, the length, and width you want. I folded a piece of fabric I had in half and trued up the sides. Don't overthink this, it's supposed to be quick and easy. Read: last minute gift ;)

For example, I cut mine about 16" long by 9" wide.

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1/1/2023 2 Comments

Gardner Top by Gertie

Gardner Top by Gertie Pattern charm patterns
The holidays call for fancy fabrics and sequins. Don't you agree? There's just something fun about wearing sparkle during the festive month of December, isn't there? Add soft velvet and, I'm in! If sewing velvet scares you, read this post. I share my sewing machine and tips for tackling tricky fabric.
These Gardner tops fulfilled my fancy holiday fabric needs. The fabric was originally for vintage-style turbans. I've wanted to make velvet ones for quite some time. I only had 1 yard of each and was lucky that the one yard worked out. Whew! I changed direction at some point and decided to make Gardner tops instead. The matching sequin fabric went with the red one, and the sheer floral went with the green one. 
As usual, I don't go into depth with Gertie's Patreon patterns because I value her as a creator. However, I like to share tips and photos that show you my process along the way. If you're interested in this pattern, join her Patreon membership. She shares new patterns each month and so much more! 
I made one Gardner top following the exact directions and another collar hacked version. This post is full of photos. Let's go!

Red Gardner Top (Original Version)

How to trace sewing patterns
Start your top by tracing the darts onto the front. I prefer old-school wax paper and a tracing wheel system for this part.



How to sew curved bust dart
Your dart legs should look something like this.
How to staystitch
Staystitch the front, clip into the seam allowance at the center front.
Staystitch the  front and back necklines. Sewing from the shoulder towards the center prevents the neckline from stretching out. Never skip this step.
After you sew up the darts, cut them open. If sewing your top with velvet, don't press the seam open. 
How to sew bust darts
Cut dart open.
Gardner top by Gertie
The sheer fabric is full of glitter, sequins, and all the sparkles. Perfect for holiday festivities.
Sewing 1940s style vintage patterns
If you go slow while sewing and make sure your seams are clipped, you shouldn't get any puckers in the V-shaped front. If you do get puckers, unpick that section and re-sew. 
How to sew without puckers
Yay for no puckers!

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11/21/2020 0 Comments

Handmade In A Hurry

Sew gifts quickly this season. Handmade in a hurry
The holidays are here and it's time to whip up those handmade gifts. Eeep! Hopefully you started sewing for the holidays back in the summer but, if you're on team procrastinator, I got you. These are all quick sewing ideas and range from baby to grandpa.

Below you will find some tutorial links and free patterns. Although, I've created this list to get you brainstorming and ideas flowing. Less talking and more making.

​Get ready, get set, sew! 

Baby Items

Baby gift idea to sew quickly for gifts
Gift ideas to make for a new baby
Basket of tiny baby blankets.
Gifts to make quickly to sew for Christmas
There's always someone who's having a baby. You can whip up a bib, burp cloth, and blanket in about 30 minutes. All you need is some fabric and a snap or velcro for the bib fastener. Read my baby items post here. 
  • There are tons of free bib patterns you can find online. Or make a bandana style bib. 
  • Here's a super easy burp cloth tutorial. Hint: it's just a rectangle.
  • For an easy blanket, cut one square yard of flannel and one of cotton fabric. Sew them RST, leaving a gap for turning out. Topstitch the opening closed, and you're done. Sew easy!
  • If you have more time, you can make a fabric alphabet set, baby outfit, fabric book, or sleeper bag. You could even add an easy to sew teether, pacifier clip, or mittens. Pinterest is your friend. LOL

Makeup Bag

How to sew a quick gift for Christmas.
Do you have a zipper and some scrap fabric? Sew a zipper pouch in less than 30 minutes. Follow this tutorial for an easy refresher on zipper installation for a makeup bag. Make them as big or little as you want. 
​
Teens love these. Little kids love these. Everyone needs a zip bag for something. In the era of mask-wearing, sew one for everyone on your list. They would love to keep their mask inside a clean bag. 

Keychain

Sew a quick keychain following Melly Sews tutorial. Grab some lip balms, lotions, and hand creams to complete a gift set. This is perfect for the babysitter, pre-teen, teacher, or neighbor. Heck, even dad uses lip balm.
All you need is a scrap of fabric and a metal keyring. If you have a pack of key rings, batch sew a few of these for gifts. Lip balm holders for everyone!! 

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10/1/2020 4 Comments

Bat Wing Top

Halloween is almost here! Do you know what that means? Halloween project time. Whether you plan on sewing costumes, home decor, spooky gifts, or something else, it's time to dust off the sewing machine. 

It's finally October, which is Halloween month. We start decorating around mid-September and my whole house is transformed into a "haunted mansion". Halloween is my most favorite holiday ever!! After Thanksgiving of course, because... mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. Yum! 

This is a fun top that you can make in a jiffy. You can wear it at home or around town, to the office, or trick or treating with your little ones. I recently made it and had to share it! It's too dang cute to keep it a secret.
Bat wing top sewing pattern free halloween costume
Quick, grab the FREE Gone Batty top from Patterns for Pirates here. Then, click here for the sewingtutorial. It's the cutest!! Talk about a last-minute costume that's appropriate for work and/or school. You can wear it as an everyday top as well. It comes in one size fits most, so no fussy fitting issues to worry about. All the wins with this one! Yes, please!!

I've had a long history of bats through caving experiences and I've grown to love them most of all. Bats are my favorite Halloween creature. When I saw this pattern last year (why did I wait so long??) I had to have it. Umm... a shirt with bat wings, yes please! Bonus, you could even sew white topstitching thread to make it a spiderweb instead, if you wanted. Oooohhh maybe that'll be next year's project. 

What you need:

  • P4P Gone Batty PDF pattern 
  • 1 5/8 yard of Knit fabric
  • Sewing machine with zigzag stitch
  • Sewing supplies and notions
  • Halloween music playing in the background (this is a must)

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9/25/2020 0 Comments

Halloween Sewing

How to make a Halloween pillow and other Halloween sewing projects
Once upon a time, there was a not-so-old lady who bought some fabric she didn't have any plans for. She saw it online and had to have some. No clue what she'd sew with the fabric, she bought it anyway.

That's the tale of every sewist at one time or another, right? We buy fabric without a clue what we'll use it for. We just love fabric. Give us aallll the fabric!!

​Here are some spooky things you can make with your new or old Halloween fabric. Disclaimer: they're not really spooky. ;)
Halloween pillow DIY sewing tutorial
Halloween sewing AGF spooky and sweet fabric panel
Art gallery fabric Happy Halloween sewing project
Trick or Treat fabric from art gallery
Halloween fabric panel AGF DIY project
Halloween sewing projects sweet and spooky fabric panel
AGF sweet and spooky fabric panel
I recently bought a Halloween fabric panel online. The designs were much larger than I anticipated because...online shopping. There are six rectangle designs in the one-yard panel. So, I made two pillows with my favorite ones and trick or treat bags with the other ones. I had orange Kona cotton in my stash which was perfect for the backside of the pillows. These are not lined and are meant to be an easy sewing project.
​
The fabric is Art Gallery Fabric and from their Spooky and Sweet line. ​​Which one is your favorite design?

Halloween Pillows

You will need:
  • 1/2 yard of Halloween fabric
  • Bag of fluff to stuff the pillow or a pillow form
  • Sewing machine and notions
  • Invisible zipper (or regular if that's what you have on hand)
Halloween sewing projects
Cutting out the large pieces. Ignore the wrinkles. It was easier ironing each piece individually.
Fun Halloween projects
I chose the witch hat for one pillow. Pinned a matching invisible zipper in place. See those cute pumpkin pins? My friend made them for me. Squeee!!

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    Hi there, I'm Annette and I love eating and sewing. I usually have a cup of coffee or tea with me, but not next to my machine because I'd probably spill it. I am the reason we can't have nice things.

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