Shirring (pronounced "sure-ing", not "shear-ing") is a great technique to easily add a comfy, elasticized waistband to a project. You'll be surprised just how easy it is! The only thing you'll need, besides basic sewing supplies, that you may not have on hand is some elastic thread: You'll want 2-3 spools. Sewing all the little bands uses up a bit of the elasticized thread! I've got a dress I picked up at goodwill for $2 that I'm going to make into a skirt. I LOVED the colors and the border print on this dress, just not the top with teeny tiny triangles and the spaghetti straps. (It's hard to find good border prints so I'm … [Read more...]
New Sewing Pattern – Beach Towel 2.0
I'm finally almost unpacked from my move and have had a chance to finish a sewing pattern I've been working on for a few weeks! It's available in the store now. I call it Beach Towel 2.0! Don't let the wind or a towel that won't stay on your chair hamper your summer fun! You can upgrade your standard towel to add handles, pockets, and a way to attach it to the chair. There are two different pocket options, one with a secured flap for ID cards, a phone, etc., and an open one that will fit a water bottle and snacks! When you're done at the pool, lake, or beach, easily fold it up into a tote with handles! Use the 11 pages of … [Read more...]
Tutorial Tuesday: Drop Earrings
Mom, if you're reading now, please delete the email and wait until AFTER Mother's Day to visit my site. Thanks! Just to make sure she doesn't see the picture of what may be her Mother's Day gift I included this filler picture of my cat trying to help with the project. What you can't see is that he's sitting directly on top of what I'm trying to photograph! I can't tell you how many pictures never make it into the tutorial because it's got a cat nose, paw, tail, or ear in it somewhere! So for Mother's Day I wanted something simple but useful to send to both my Mother and Mother-In-Law and I think I succeeded! I made them each a pair of … [Read more...]
30 Before 30: Vanilla Bean and Blackberry Macarons
Well, I checked another item off the 30 Before 30 list, yay! I made some French Macarons! (These are much different than their other macaroon counterparts...you know, the ones with coconut.) I was a bit apprehensive because there are lots of little steps and tricks to follow in order to get the "perfect" macaron. The biggest thing I was worried about was that you're not supposed to bake them on a day with high humidity...well, I live in North Texas and there is no such thing as a day like that so I figured that any day was just as good as any other day so I armed myself with the ingredients and got to baking. The ingredient list is … [Read more...]
Tutorial Tuesday: Throw Pillow with Invisible Zipper
Ready to tackle an invisible zipper? Please promise me you won't let what anyone else says about how hard zippers are stand in your way! Ok, ready? We'll talk about invisible zippers and then sew up a pillow using one. (I promise these are so easy, you'll wonder why you haven't started using them before!) You'll need: 16" pillow form 1/2 yard of fabric 1 4" invisible zipper (I get mine from ZipIt on Etsy, she ships fast and the prices are awesome!) Coordinating thread Your machine's zipper foot Let's talk zippers and zipper feet for a minute: My zipper foot for my Janome looks like this: It's got two … [Read more...]
Tutorial Tuesday: Making Chevron from Stripes
As soon as I saw this stripe from the fabulously talanted Iza Pearl Design (Melissa Ybarra) I knew I had to have it! (It also helps that I've had the opportunity to meet this sweet person as I had the pleasure of teaching her a few sewing classes through CityCraft.) I let it sit with my fabric stash for a week or two (along with some of the other patterns from this collection), trying to determine the perfect project to use it on. The first thing I decided to try was to make a chevron pattern with the stripe. It's super easy to do! Want to try? Layout your fabric on your cutting board. Grab your straight edge and rotary cutter for this … [Read more...]
Tutorial Tuesday: Spring Jacket Upcycle
I knew this jacket had to be mine the minute I saw it at my local Goodwill store! It was my size, in perfect condition, and only $5! Thinking it was too good to be true I made a closer inspection and noticed that a few buttons were missing, and a few others were loose. That seemed to be the only thing wrong. (Kind of sad that someone got rid of a perfectly good lime green jacket because of a few missing buttons!) I bought it, washed it, then got to work fixing it. I decided that I wasn't too fond of the buttons currently on the jacket (kind of boring if you ask me), and it would be pretty difficult to try to find a replacement button that … [Read more...]
Tutorial Tuesday: Neon Coin Pouch
Neon is all the rage this spring and I love it! I'm a color lover and was so excited to pair some fun neon brights with a charcoal colored linen for this project! You don't need any fancy hardware for the pouch closure either. We'll use a little bit of measuring tape to make the top closure! Ready to get started? You'll need the following: Fabric scraps (You'll need less than a 1/4 yard of fabric for the whole pouch!) 12" of a 3/4" wide measuring tape 12" of 6/32" cotton cording Coordinating thread Cut the following pieces: Main Fabric (This was my charcoal colored linen.) 4- 3" x 5 1/2" rectangles for … [Read more...]
Tutorial Tuesday: Recipe Tracker
My husband and I love to cook! (It's not something we've always loved to do, but over the past few years we have done a lot more of it. Probably has something to do with the fact that we switched to a 100% Vegetarian diet a few years ago.) If you're like us, you like to note any changes you made in the recipe when you are cooking it. (Like if you made modifications to the ingredients, spices, baking times, etc.) Usually I just write them next to the recipe, if I even remember to do it at all! I hate going back and making a recipe for the 2nd or 3rd time and then remember, usually while it's baking, that I wanted to modify something but forgot … [Read more...]
Tutorial Tuesday: Oilcloth and Vinyl Bag
I've had this fun little project in my sketchbook for a couple of months. I wanted a way to use some clear vinyl and some smaller oilcloth scraps that I had hanging around. I loved the idea of using both to make a cute little storage bag. I also loved that the oilcloth would add some color and the clear vinyl would let me see right inside the bag. These would make great gifts for teachers, party favor bags, cosmetic bags for friends, on-the-go sewing kit, and so many other uses! (I'm thinking that for Father's Day my dad might get a travel toiletry pouch with some of this awesome wood-grain oilcloth from CityCraft!) Well, let's get … [Read more...]
