Learn how to easily hem knits with these sewing techniques. Using the Tidal Top and Dress from Love Notions Sewing Patterns.

Pressing fabric in the quilting world has started many debates over the years. Press the seams to the side or open? Steam or no steam? Starch or no starch? Now we have a new topic of Wool mat or ironing board? So when I received a small wool pressing mat in a monthly subscription box I was excited to finally see what all the rage debate was about. But before reviewing the wool pressing mat I want to tell you about the new idea for my blog. As you all know I've never been much of a gadget person. But this year instead of spending tons of money on fabric that I really don't need I'm going to put that money towards new notions or new to me notions and review them here on my blog. Not all the notions will be purchased by me some may be sent to me to review. Free to me does not mean telling you a product is wonderful because it was free. The product either makes my quilting process easier or it doesn't. All of my product reviews will be labeled under Nifty Notions in the sidebar of this blog. I may even at some point include a product review video along with the blog post. If there is a new or old product you've been curious about and would like for me to review let me know by leaving a comment on any blog post or send me an email at [email protected] Okay, Let's get started! Today I'm testing the Gypsy Quilter Felted Wool Pressing Mat. This is a small mat measuring 5.5" x 9". Since it so small it's only good for pressing smaller units or very tiny blocks. For years I've used a homemade ironing station along with a smaller homemade pressing board for blocks and applique. The truth be told I rarely use an iron on my fabric after it has been starched and cut. The heavy starching allows me to finger press everything until the quilt top is complete. Once I have a quilt top finished it is then pressed with an hot iron without steam. Both my large and small pressing boards are made the same. A piece of plywood wrapped in cotton batting. Then wrapped in aluminum foil and topped with a cotton fabric. When the cotton fabric starts to look yukky I just add another layer of fabric on top. Every so often, about 4 or 5 layers of fabric, I'll remove the multiple layers of cotton fabric and start the process all over again. For this test I'll be pressing HST's that will become pinwheels. Each seam will be pressed for 5 seconds without steam and with no pressure on the iron. Which means my hand will be removed for the 5 seconds. I almost never use steam when pressing blocks so I thought it only fair to stay consistent. Over the years I've learned that steam and over pressing can cause some major issues, so I just don't do it. I realize some of you always use steam and that's okay. There are no set rules or quilt police here, I'm just telling you what works best for me. And to be fair I've used a wool pressing mat before with my quilting friend Judy. She received one of the larger wool mats for Christmas 2018. We used steam. What a mistake! It smells like a wet barn.😦 For those of you that have never been to the livestock barns at the fair, a wet barn smells like old wet grass and manure. Yep, no steam is best when using a wool mat. Well unless you like the smell of a barn. I've heard from other quilters that the steamy wet barn stink fades over time. And here we go. Sewing and pressing 5 seconds each. They are both coming together nicely. I'm more worried about whether or not my pinwheel centers will line up correctly.👀 Yah! Perfect centers! I love pinwheels, so classic and cute. Everything is looking good back here as well. Now is the moment of truth. Does the wool pressed block(on the left) lay flatter? Lets take a closer look. Well what do you think? Now a little closer. Well, I can honestly say I don't think the wool pressing mat makes any difference. I'm sure someone is thinking I should have used steam but again I almost never use steam. If you decided to use a wool mat and use steam, make sure you cover the mat with fabric. A hot iron with steam will scorch the wool and leave a residue on your iron. I like my homemade pressing boards better. They aren't stinky, they don't require extra caution to use and the best part is if I scorch it I can recover them or wash the fabric cover. Now if you really want a wool mat but have been putting it off due to cost, there's an cheaper option. In several Facebook groups I've read quilters are buying wool saddle pads at a fraction of the cost. My concern would be the wool might not be as clean and smell a little more. YUK! So there's my 2 cents on the wool pressing mat craze. Hope you found this helpful or at least entertaining. See you next Friday for another Nifty Notions! #woolpressingmat #woolpressingmatreview #niftynotions Just a little reminder that you can still gt 20% off you entire purchase at The Purple Hobbies website using the code PodunkPrettiesJan20 Offer ends February 29, 2020. Make sure when adding the code to your shopping cart that you click APPLY. You can see my review of the BladeSaver Thread cutter here. And the Third hand Binding Folder Clip here. 50% OFF Sweet Sixteen PDF pattern sale ends 2-15-2020 Pin It

Are you looking to refill your sewing tools?? You need to take a look at this list of the most beautiful seamstress tools and Notions.

Are you looking to refill your sewing tools?? You need to take a look at this list of the most beautiful seamstress tools and Notions.

Click here for a handy collection of pattern fitting and hacking resources, along with a library of helpful sewing techniques!

Choose Your Favorite Colors and Make It Your Own! A variety of quilt blocks make up the sewing machine in this pretty wall quilt. It’s perfect for the sewing room and for giving to a special quilting or sewing friend. Play with color for your special version. We love the rainbow effect the designer created …

I have to be honest, woven t-shirts are usually not my friend. I have a hard time fitting them and bias tape makes me cringe (but so do facings)….it’s so hard. But, before my trip to Utah I really wanted to sew up some new rayon tops and was so happy I did – there’s […]

This McCall's sewing pattern offers instructions for a women's dress with multiple style variations. This is a new, uncut, factory folded pattern. DETAILS: Very loose fitting dresses have front and back yokes with gathers and sleeve variations. FABRICS: A, B, C, E: Cotton Blends, Chambray, Crepes, Crepe de Chine. D: Single Edge Border Fabrics. Note: Fabric requirement allows for nap, one-way design or shading. Extra fabric may be needed to match design or for shrinkage. NOTIONS: D: 2 yds. (1.9 m) of 1" (2.5 cm) Ribbon. E: 3/4 yd. (0.7 m) of 1/4" (0.6 cm) Elastic. SIZING: XS S M Bust: 29.5 to 36 Waist: 22 to 28 Hips: 31.5 to 38 SIZING: L-XL Bust: 38-44 Waist: 30-37 Hips: 40-46 Thanks for visiting my shop!

Thanks to technology, enlarging & reducing patterns from a digital .pdf document is pretty simple. But if you’re worried about getting the details just right the first time, here are some…

Learn to sew a hoodie from scratch with this detailed DIY video tutorial. Perfect for beginners and experienced sewers alike

Learn How to Sew a Simple Potholder for Your Kitchen! This basic design is quick and easy, so you can actually use the potholders to handle hot food!

What's that red ball for? Best seam rippers.

Here are more than a hundred of cute ideas and projects on what to do with the leftover scrap fabric you have at home.

The best and easiest way to sew bias tape with mitered corners. I even made a little video for you to explain it super clearly.

Keep your interfacing wrinkle free with this simple, inexpensive storage solution... especially important for fusibles!

A PDF Sewing Pattern by Bonnie Olaveson of Cotton WayA PDF sewing pattern by Bonnie Olaveson of Cotton Way, and a fun project without zippers to install! Use this pouch to carry anything from an iPad Mini to passports . This pretty pouch measures 7″ x 10″ once completed. This is a great bag for embroidery or crochet projects, a notions bag or a personal toiletry bag. Fabric on the cover “the good life” by Bonnie and Camille for Moda Fabrics that you can see here and here .Sewing Supplies:1.

In today's post: Learn how to make a pretty halter maxi dress for summer! So yeah, I'm a maxi dress addict. They're comfy without looking frumpy, they hide my big calves, and my muffin top

The best way to learn how to sew a zipper bags or pouch is by practice. Below I listed some FREE patterns for different bags styles including cosmetics bags, wrislet, cross-body bags, pencil cases, and also a cute manicure kit bag. … Read More

A lot of people are astonished when the hear that I sew entire 18th century garments by hand, and mention that they find handsewing hard and intimidating. Here are 5 quick tricks to make it a lot easier – whether you are hand-sewing your own elaborate historical garment, or just sewing on a button or mending a tiny seam. 1. Use good needles (and the right kind). There are different qualities of needles, and different types of needles, and it’s important to have the best quality needles you can afford, and to use the right type the type of sewing and the type of thread you are using. Yes, a packet of good, high-quality needles can cost you up to $9, whereas the bargain store have them for $1, but the last time a student brought in bargain needles to a class of mine we ended up tossing the whole packet because they were all blunt (really blunt. The tip of each was FLAT). You may spend more money initially to buy really good …

Below is a tutorial on how to shirr with elastic thread. Before we begin, I must mention that this is a compilation of shirring techniques which I have learned from 3 specific resources: Portabellopixie, Craftstylish, and Heather Ross's book Weekend Sewing. And away we go....... Supplies ~ 1 spool of elastic thread ~ matching thread (must match your fabric) ~ fabric (i used Robert Kaufman's Kona Cotton Celery) ~ 1/4" elastic (optional) Instructions 1. Finish the upper raw edge of the bodice. I like to finish it by making a casing for a 1/4" elastic band. If you have 2 separate pieces (bodice and skirt) sewn together, you can turn the seam allowance into a casing for an additional band of elastic at the waist line. Simply finish the raw edge of the seam allowance and sew the edge of the SA to the bodice. After I have shirred the fabric, I then thread the elastic through the casing. This helps maintain and reinforce the shape of the garment. For now, just make the casing or finish the raw edges. You may want to mark your shirring lines on the fabric before you begin. Its recommended to mark every 1/4" to 1/2". I use my sewing foot to mark it (eyeball it), which works just fine for me and eliminates a step. If you are going to mark your fabric, mark the right side of the garment (visible side of the garment). Also, use tailors chalk, disappearing fabric ink, or some sort of erasable mark. 2. Wind the bobbin by hand with the elastic thread. It is very important not to stretch the elastic thread as you wind it. This is why you must do it by hand. There can not be any tension in the elastic thread. 3. Insert your bobbin into your sewing machine as you normally would. 4. Pull up the elastic thread as you normally would for regular bobbin thread. 5. I like to shirr with my walking foot. If you do not have a walking foot, then a regular foot will be just fine. With the right side of your garment facing up (elastic thread should be on the side that will not be visible on the completed garment), begin to take a few stitches, then back stitch to secure your thread. Stitch from one end to the other. 7. When you get to the end of your first row of stitches, back stitch and clip the threads. Turn the garment and begin sewing your next row the same way you did the first row. Another option (which is quicker) is when you get to the end of your first row of stitches, lift the presser foot, move the fabric over so that the needle is positioned over the next row. Lower the presser foot and needle. Pivot the fabric. Begin sewing the next row of stitches. Always back stitch when you come to the end of the elastic thread and make sure you have enough thread to complete a row. You may notice your first couple of rows don't gather as much as you'd like. Don't worry. As you continue to stitch more rows, your garment will gather more. 8. When you have completed shirring/smocking your garment, spray it with water. You will see your garment gather up nice and tight. Press your garment gently. Do not smooth the iron over the garment. Lightly press the gathers. 9. Thread your elastic through the casing/casings. 10. Stitch the elastic band ends to the garment. That's it! You're a shirr genius! Happy Creating =) Jamie Update: The Honey Girl Dress/Top sewing pattern (shown above) is available at Phat Fabric. Here's the link.

Commercial sewing patterns can be hard to understand. Learn how to read a sewing pattern with these easy steps. Each part is broken down into simple terms.

The Daphne features a high and fitted waist which flares out from the hips to a wide leg. It comes in a full length or optional ankle cuff with 3 different cuff options to help you personalise to your own style. The back darts and ‘easy-fit’ construction method will also allow you to tailor the cut to your own body. This pattern is available in size range UK 4 - 20. Recommended Fabric: Mid to heavy weight denims and twills Fabric Requirements: Fabric width 150cm  Sizes 4 - 12 = 200cm Sizes 14 - 20 = 235cm Fabric width 110cm Sizes 4 - 12 = 225cm Sizes 14 - 20 = 265cm Notions: 1 x button, 18-20cm zip, thread, optional bias binding, 20cm fusing Sewing level: Intermediate Heads up! This is a digital PDF sewing pattern for print at home or copy shop. You will not receive a physical pattern, you will be emailed a link to download the pattern after purchase.

I am going to show you how to sew a hem that is perfect every time. There are a lot of sewing tutorials that just say "sew a hem"

I got a few more sewing machines done this weekend. First are these little cuties! I love this fabric. Deanna, these guys are so much fu...

This little technique has saved me hundreds of dollars! I'm not even kidding. My alterations place charges $25 for a jean hem using the original hem. Ouch! I'm only 5'2 so you can imagine the dent this can make in my wallet. I have tried the whole fold the jean over and stitch as close to the seam trick and, to be honest, I hate it! While inspecting a friend's jeans who had just had them altered, I figured out the trick. This may look daunting, but, believe me, it's not. It's really quite simple once you get the hang of it. The five most important tools needed to accomplish this task are: a seam ripper a ruler of some sort to measure. My favorite, by far, is the sewing guage. A must! Jean thread. I get my thread from JoAnn's. The only thread I ever buy from there is Gutermann's. They have three different colors of Jean thread. I have all three and I wish they had even more of a selection. Oh I wish they had really light blue. A pair of scissors and, lastly, you will need to pull out that trusted sewing machine! Measuring is the MOST important part of this project. Please, please make sure you measure right. You will need to try on your jeans with the tallest shoes you will wear them with. Fold them up where you want them and remove them to do the pencil marking. With this sort of hemming, you will cut your jeans off at exactly the length you wish them to be. If you are unsure, always go a bit longer. Once you cut, you cannot add more length. Be careful!! The best way to mark your jeans is to figure out, in inches, the amount you would like cuttoff. I then measure all of the way around from the bottom of the jeans. This is how it looks once you have marked completely around the jeans. I do not draw a line, but you can if you want. Pick up your scissors and make a tiny slit right on one of your markings. This is about how big I make my slit. Slide your scissors into the slit and cut around the jeans, kind of like dot to dot, but slit to slit. Once you've completed cutting around the jeans, pick up the cut off part and cut down the jean, I usually do this by the seam. Cut down until you are about a half inch away from the top of the original hem, as pictured. I then cut all of the way around the jean, 1/2 inch away from the top of the hem. This is how the hem now looks and it's almost ready to reattach. Before we can reattach, we must rip out the original stitching. Do this by sliding your seam ripper under the stitch and sliding it up and out until the thread snaps. This is how the hem will now look after all of the stitches have been removed. This can kind of be a bugger sometimes. Especially on the two, thick seams on the sides. The above picture is of the piece right side out. You now need to flip the hem inside out, as pictured. Take your jeans and the orginal hem and lay the jeans on your lap. I then cut two slits on either side of the thick seam. Just slit it and stop at the top of the fold. The reason I do this is because when I fold the jeans over again, as I will show you in the next picture, I don't want to have to stitch through that thick area of the jean. Open up your hem, as pictured above. Unfold it one time and leave the second fold that is under my thumb in the picture. Now take your hem and fold the cut side over to match up to the bottom of the other fold. You will then take your jeans and lay it on top of the piece you just folded over, matching it up at the crease of the bottom of the hem. I really hope this makes sense. This is the jean layed on top of the fold and then you will fold the piece that is under my thumb over the top of the jean. This sandwiches the jean in the middle of the hem. Pin this is place. Do this all of the way around the leg, making sure you have the right seams matched up at the sides. This is how it will look from the outside. And this is how it looks from the inside. Once you have pinned completely around, you are ready to sew into place. I have to have my machine on the highest tension and make sure you have an extremely thick needle or it will not be able to make it through the thick seams. I usually begin right before the thickest piece. Begin stitching and make sure you back stitch before you continue on. As you stitch through the very thick seam, go very slowly. I have to go stitch by stitch. I cannot just press on my pedal, but I tap one stitch at a time, just through that really thick part. Make sure that you are stitching close to the edge of the hem. I line my jeans up with the inside edge of the first, slender tab on my foot, as pictured above. This places the stitches in the perfect position. Just play around with it until you figure it out. Remember, if you mess up on this part, you can always take it out and start over. You will probably have to too. I did, but once I had done it once or twice, I can do it no problem! Stitch completely around the leg, back stitching at the end, and this is the end result. A professional hem that you did all on your own! Please excuse the ugly cushion. I really do plan on recovering them in the future. Please let me know if something doesn't make sense. This is very hard to explain. Easy to do, but hard to explain.

Welcome to the Pretty Handmades* Book Showcase! This book is my first, and I am just so excited to finally be able to share it with you. It has definitely ...

Free Motion quilting block by block. Free tutorial on various free motion quilting motifs. In this post, you'll learn how to free motion quilt an allover square loops design and also a direction guide to free motion quilting half square triangles

There are so many good tools and notions made for the task of binding that you can pretty much choose … More

Hand stitching is an essential sewing skill every sewer should possess and master. This basic sewing skill is still very useful to many advanced projects.

These easy-to-make quilted gift ideas will surely touch the hearts of your girl friends. Start quilting for their birthdays, bridal or baby shower, now!

Pincushions come in all shapes and sizes. While the shape of this pincushion may lackluster, the herringbone design more than makes up for it! We love this design for using up the narrowest of scraps! Mixing up strip widths yields an extra scrappy look! The step by step tutorial from Retro Mama makes a seemingly […]

Free downloads and designer projects for sewing, quilting, crochet, and knitting enthusiasts.

Cheater is such an ugly word for such a beautiful thing. Cheater quilts are a perfect project for new sewists or folks with little time for craftiness. Featuring fabric designed and printed to look like

Sew this pretty puff sleeve top and mini skirt for Barbie with this free sewing pattern and tutorial.

It seems a lot of people are intimidated at the idea of making their own piping or even using piping at all. After a lot of trial and error, I think I have a pretty easy method for both making piping as well as sewing it into a seam. This is a tutorial that will […]

Warm and cool prints create contrast in this throw-size quilt pattern. Use batik fabrics for an exciting finish and a scrappy binding to complete the look.

Choose Between Several Blocks in Two Sizes! These cute blocks are perfect for the sewing room. Make up a wall hanging, table mat, or even a larger quilt. Or incorporate a block (or more) in your favorite tote bag pattern for a fun tote for quilting projects. We can’t decide which block we like best, …

Click to see this big list of free paper piecing patterns, links to paper piecing tutorials, quilting tips, and paper pieced quilt patterns.