Panel prints are so cute to look at but they can be difficult to work into a sewing project.  Becky from Patchwork Posse shares another fun use for them.  She shows how you can use a panel print, or other … Read More...

Jess from The Sewing Rabbit shares a free pattern for making her First Birthday Dress.  She designed the dress as a special present for a friend’s daughter’s first birthday.  It’s a simple A-line dress from knit fabric, with a deep … Read More...

Riley Blake Designs’ Cutting Corners College shows several ways you can gather fabric with elastic.  Their post shows how to gather using elastic in a casing, elastic thread shirring, and stitching the elastic directly to the fabric.  Go to Cutting … Read More...

Pockets are must for me in my pants and skirts.  If they’re not there, the garment just feels… incomplete.  If your sewing pattern doesn’t include pockets, you can always add them in.  RaeAnna from blog Sewing Mama RaeAnna shares a … Read More...

Dena from Hearts and Sharts shows how you can make your own double welt piping.  Unlike regular piping, double welt piping has two lines of cord running through it.  After she shows how to make the double welt piping, she … Read More...

Delia at Delia Creates shows how you can make her Citrus Wedge Coin Purse.  This summery retro style reminds me of the coin purses I had when I was a kid in the 70s and early 80s.  It’s made from … Read More...

Kathy shares a tutorial at Riley Blake Designs Cutting Corners College showing how to make a composition book cover.  It’s a removable cover, so when your journal is full you can slide it out and replace it with a fresh … Read More...

Camelot Fabrics shares a tutorial on their blog showing how you can make their Cascading Chevrons throw pillow.  They designed the pillow to showcase their Penelope Collection.  The prints and colors mesh beautifully!  For a more graphic look, you … Read More...

Caila from Caila Made shows how to make a genius summer accessory.  It’s a pair of towel straps to wrap around a rolled up beach towel.  The rolled up towels are easy to grab up by their strap or tuck … Read More...

If your serger or coverstitch machine can make a chain stitch, you can use it for elastic thread shirring.  Amity from Lolita Patterns shares a tutorial on Sewn Square One showing how.  Unlike elastic thread shirring on a regular sewing … Read More...

Simi from Buttons & Paint shows how you can make a skull embellishment out of buttons.  The white and pearl buttons are perfect for this – the colors remind me of old bone.  She shows it as a page in … Read More...

Beth from The Renegade Seamstress shares a tutorial at eHow showing how to make a throw pillow trimmed with custom piping.  You can buy the piping premade at the fabric store, but the colors are so limited.  And forget about … Read More...

Lynette from Running With Scissors shows how to make a simplified cuff.  It gives the look of a cuff and a placket, but look closely and you’ll see that the cuff is not a separate piece of fabric, but is … Read More...

My favorite secret weapon for hemming knit fabrics is my twin needle.  It creates two rows of straight stitches on the front of the fabric, but one row of zig zag stitches on the back which allows the seam to … Read More...

Katrina from Katrina Kay Creations transfers her tried-and-true sewing patterns to poster board to make them more durable.  The poster board versions can stand up to repeated use (and tracing for alterations) better than the tissue that comes in most … Read More...

Sew4Home shows how to make a trio of outdoor pillows to jazz up your patio or front porch.  They used outdoor fabric and a faux fur to make the grouping.  These would also be cute made for a bedding ensemble.  … Read More...