To keep your machine happy and running smoothly, you need to give it a good cleaning and oiling every now and then. If you’ve neve done it before, Ashley from Make It and Love It tells you what to do. … Read More...
Tutorial: Paint Chip Placemats
Now, Emily from Crazy Old Ladies Quilts shares a clever twist on the paint chip crafting craze with a placemat made to look like a paint chip. How cool is that! She uses ombre fabric to get the gradients without … Read More...
Tutorial: Just-In-Case emergency kit for your glove compartment
You can create a quick and easy Just-In-Case emergency kit out of a hot pad and Ziploc baggies. Autie from iCandy Handmade shows how. Fill it with Band-Aids, wet wipes, hard candies, safety pins, loose change, etc. and keep it … Read More...
Tutorial: Twirly butterfly wing skirt for little girls
Jessi from Sweetie Pie Bakery guest blogs in the Handmade Costumes Series at The Train To Crazy with a tutorial showing how to make a twirly butterfly skirt. This is so fabulous! It’s a basic circle skirt covered in highly … Read More...
Sewing Tutorial: Taking in the bust of a vintage dress
Suzannah from Adventures in Dressmaking answers a reader’s question about taking in the bust of a vintage dress. The post is part of her Sewing Circle series of Q&A sewing advice. Read what she says.
[photo from Adventures in … Read More...
Tutorial: Kid-friendly fabric napkins
Cherie from I Am Momma Hear Me Roar shows how to make kid-friendly fabric napkins. She made some from recycled knit fabric and others from flannel, and compared the absorbancy of the two fabrics. (Turns out the knit soaked up … Read More...
Tutorial: Boat neck tunic top for girls
Jamie from Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom shows how she made this awesome tunic top for her daughter. Made from a knit fabric, it has a boat neck, loose fitting cut on sleeves, and a gathered waist. This is … Read More...
Tutorial: Show and Tell oversized tote with 2-way handles
Vicki Welsh shares a downloadable tutorial for making her Show and Tell Tote. You can’t tell from this photo, but this is one big bag – 24″ wide x 20″ tall to be exact. Think of all the stuff you … Read More...
Free pattern: Toddler A-line dress with Peter Pan collar
Small Dreamfactory shares a free pattern for this cute little toddler dress. It has an A-line shape and a sweet Peter Pan collar. You can make this up in so many flavors! Romantic, modern, whimsical, busy print, or solid fabric. … Read More...
Learn about basic sewing machine stitches
Though the straight stitch is the one you’ll use the most, there are some other basic sewing machine stitches that are helpful to your sewing. Heather from Feather’s Flights continues her Sewing 101 series with a post explaining 9 basic … Read More...
Tutorial: Burlap sack apple picking bag
Jessica from Me Sew Crazy and Sew Set shares a free tutorial showing how to make an apple picking bag. (If apple picking isn’t on your calendar this season, it’s cute enough to carry around just because.) She used a … Read More...
Tutorial: Ruched baby doll blanket
Amy from Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop had some extra batting left over from a project. Not to let it go to waste, she used it to make a ruched blanket for her child’s doll. She shares a tutorial showing how she … Read More...
Tutorial: Trick or treat bag with cross body straps and safety lights
Sew4Home shows how to make a bag to hold trick or treat loot. It has a long cross body strap for easy carrying. Safety lights are slipped around each of the straps. Get the how-to.
[photo from Sew4Home]
Looking … Read More...
Idea file: Vintage-inspired ruffled lace onesie
This vintage-inspired onesie that Melissa from Honeybee Vintage made for a friend’s new baby is absolutely gorgeous! It’s a plain white onesie with a couple of rows of gathered lace added to the neckline. Read more about it at Honeybee … Read More...
Freebie: Project Runway bingo cards
If you’ve been following Project Runway this season, you know what a “chiffonie” is. And you probably can’t count the number of times you’ve seen someone wonder aloud what they should do next. Sewn Studio took the quotes and the … Read More...
Tutorial: Mend a hole in gauze or other lightweight fabrics
Mending a hole in gauze or lightweight fabrics can be tricky. The fabric is relatively sheer so you need a repair that won’t show through. And, the loosely woven fibers needs to be stabilized as well. Shannon from Shannon Sorenson … Read More...
Free pattern: Mom’s Perfect Fit Shirt with a drapey hem
When you find a shirt that fits exactly the way you like, you want to have a bunch of them. Mira from Sewing The Littleheart Collection made a shirt for her mother based on a shirt with a perfect fit … Read More...
Tutorial: Walli the Whale softie
Hannah from We Lived Happily Ever After shows how she made this sweet Walli the Whale softie. She has button eyes and a big heart patch stitched to her side. (If you’re giving this to a baby or small child, … Read More...
Tutorial: Boot socks with lace trim
Fall is here and that means boots!! Tamara from Etcetorize shows how to make a pair of faux boot socks that give the look of socks without the bulk. Lace trim peeks out the top of the boots as if … Read More...
Tutorial: Angelina Ballerina mouse ears
Melissa from Perry Jayne shows how to make mouse ears on a headband. She made them as part of an Angelina Ballerina costume for her daughter who, like many girls, loves the mouse book character. She finished the look with … Read More...