I had high hopes for this, and I'm sure that one day, it will make a great addition to my quilt. First, I need to figure out a way of removing those dratted nails from the fabric without ripping it, or shredding my fingers in the process! Elizabeth, x.
Hi lovelies! I’ve got a great piece of vintage fashion (and tutorial!) for you today. I came across an old pin that I had saved a long time ago on Pinterest for a vintage top called the Jiffy Wrap …
Franki is our girl when it comes to using up pieces of leftover fabric! Pattern cutter extraordinaire, I've asked her to come up with ways that we can make the most of our sad left ...
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 […]
With your needle the pen and this pink poly-satin and poly-georgette the paper, The Memoir Dress free sewing pattern - View C puts the authorship squarely in
Want to make your sewing projects last and look professional but can't afford a serger? Check this genius serging without a serger methods!
Can you explain the different types of linen for different dress styles? There are different weights of linen. Medium to heavier weight linen is typically used for dresses, skirts and pants. Lighter weights, such as tissue linen are used for blouses and tops. My collection is unique, I pr
Although it may seem like a regular sewing machine is not capable of free-motion quilting, the truth is you can do it on a sewing machine. Using a regular
These 18 free jumpsuit sewing patterns offer everything from classic looks and separate to updated silhouettes and dark, seedy, and romantic styles.
In yesterday’s post, I described 3 different traditional crafts that share one common thread, the running stitch : Kantha, Boro and Sashiko. Kantha and Boro are traditional patchwork from Ind…
I first learned about pillowcase dresses last summer, and loved the idea. This spring I found a selection of sweet vintage pillowcases at a local thrift store for only 29 cents a piece, and started thinking about the unlimited number of ways this sweet swatch of fabric could be transformed into an adorable outfit for my daughters.....and here is what I came up with. I love the simplicity of this dress- not only in style, but also in fabrication! You can seriously make this up in about a half hour. It will probably take you longer to read my over-wordy instructions! These pillowcase dresses will fit children from age 2-6. If made with an old pillowcase from home or a thrift store one like mine, this dress will cost only about $2 to make. Lord knows I am not in this hobby to save money (as my designer fabric stash will attest), but I must confess that my Scottish/Ukrainian genes vibrate in joy when I can make something adorable, and for cheap. Want to make one? Here we go! You will need: - a pillowcase - 2 pieces of 1/4" elastic, roughly 6" in length - a package of coordinating bias tape, or make about 2.5 meters/yards of your own - coordinating thread - a safety pin Steps: 1. Measure your little girl from her armpit to about the knee (I usually go a bit longer because I try to make it to last 2 summers!). 2. Fold your pillowcase lengthwise, and cut a j-shaped section from the top (closed) end, with the bottom of the j starting at the distance you just measured from the bottom (open) end of the pillowcase. This will be the armhole. The j should extend about 3-4" into the fabric horizontally, then continue up to the top vertically (see first photo below). 3.Cut a horizontal strip off the top (closed) end about 4" from the bottom (horizontal) segment of the j (see second photo below). Discard, or save scrap for a future vintage sheet quilt! 4. Cut a diagonal line along the non-folded side, starting about 2" into j shape of armpit and extending towards hem (open end of pillowcase). This helps give the dress some taper along the sides, otherwise I found it to be too boxy. 5. Unfold pillowcase and turn inside out. Sew side seems of dress with a straight stitch. Reinforce with a zig zag for good measure.6.Take top raw edges and fold over 1/4". Press. Fold over 3/4". Press again. 7. Sew, staying close to edge, leaving ends open. This will be the channel for your elastic. 8.. Attach safety pin to elastic and use fingers to work it through the channel until it emerges on other end. 9. Sew ends of channel shut, being sure to catch elastic in stitching to secure. Fabric will gather around elastic. 10. Repeat with second elastic. Your dress should now look like this:11. This next part might seem tricky if you have not worked much with bias tape, but is really quite easy once you play with it a bit. I will try make this as clear as possible- here goes. Take the bias tape and cut 2 pieces, each of 36" length. Look at the tape. You will notice that one folded side is slightly shorter than the other side. Unfold. Pin raw edge of the wider side along the wrong side of the raw edge of armhole from elastic to elastic. Ensure that length of bias tape is centered (i.e 18" on either side of the armhole center) and folds of tape are all facing down towards the pillowcase fabric. Sew along raw edges from elastic to elastic. 12. Refold bias tape. When you do so, the line you just stitched becomes covered and disappears, the center fold of the tape will cover the raw edge of the armhole, and the short folded side will be on the outside of the dress. Pin in place to secure. 10. Tuck in ends of bias tape, and start stitching along strap portion, short fold side up, to close the tape and make your strap. Continue over the elastic into the armhole area. Since the longer folded side is in the back, if you follow the edge along the front, you sound "catch" the back as well. Continue all the way to the end of the strap. 11. Repeat for second strap/armhole. Congratulations! You are done! I hope you enjoyed the Classic Pillowcase Dress tutorial. Come back next week to see my second pillowcase dress style! I'd love to see a picture of yoru dress in my Flickr group ;-)
Learn The Basic Sewing Machine Presser Feet To Make Your Sewing Easier. Sewing machine Presser feet expand your creative potential!
Felicity has been helping. I’ll show you soon!
The self-binding blanket is one of my favorites. I love the results. The directions are a bit tricky. It's one of those things where you need to follow the instructions even though they don't entirely make sense. It all works out in the end! Here we go... Cut: 42” square of flannel for blanket back 32” square of flannel for blanket front Use ¼ inch seams. 1. Lay the two pieces of fabric right-sides together. 2. Mark the center of each side (on both pieces) with a pin. 3. One side at a time, pin the 2 fabrics together starting at the center marks. This leaves extra fabric sticking out on each corner, since the back piece is larger than the front piece. 4. One side at a time, sew from the middle to the outside corner, stopping ¼ inch from the edge. This is your “stopping point”. On the fourth side, leave an opening for turning your blanket right side out later. 5. Fold the blanket in half, so it is shaped like a triangle. Working with one corner at a time, Sew a line from the “stopping point” to the fold. This line should be a 90 degree angle to the fold. 6. Repeat for all corners. This is important: turn the blanket right-side out and check to make sure your corners look right. If they do, then turn the blanket inside-out again and proceed. 7. Cut off the excess from each corner. 8. Turn the blanket right-side out. Press entire blanket. 9. Topstitch along the seam all the way around the inner square, making sure to sew the opening shut. You’re done! Head on over to Flannel Queen to shop for fabric or pick up a Self-Binding Blanket Kit.
Learn how to bind a quilt with a sewing machine only. We're sharing our secrets and tips that yield great-looking binding every time!
Crochet a dinosaur with these fun prehistoric patterns. Both beginner and advanced crocheters will enjoy making one or multiple amigurumi reptiles.
See how to pin pattern to fabric, how to use the pins, and what to do before you start cutting into fabric. Useful pattern-cutting tips!
Are you obsessed with fabric pattern names and designs, or do you feel lost among gingham, houndstooth, and paisley? Brush up with these home decor swatches and corresponding pattern descriptions (…
Here is a great collection of marvelous map projects to stitch. Click through for the full list of fantastic map projects.
Do you want to learn how to join granny squares with a flat seam that's completely invisible? This simple guide will walk you through the process step-by-step.
This is awesome - MUST MAKE! Get the pattern via Etsy, by knitwear designer Cristina from Minimi Knit Design. If you like this, check out my round-up of her best work! SUGGESTED MATERIALS: This post contains affiliate links.
Explore crochet doll patterns for gifts and personal projects. Find detailed instructions for Disney princesses and classic characters.
We've selected the top of the flock for you! Here are 10 knitting patterns dedicated to our favorite woolly friends including, baby hats and cardigans, sheep toys, hot water bottle cover and a bonus crochet pattern!
I've not only broke down step by step how to make a gingham quilt, but I've also included a free downloadable gingham quilt pattern.
Sewing beautiful topstitching is quite easy if you use the right methods. This guide shows you all the tricks and tools needed to sew perfect topstitching
Looking for a list of easy sewing machine cover patterns and tutorials that you can try out? Great! Were glad that you landed here.For those of you wondering exactly what a sewing machine cover pattern is, in a nutshell it is a template for sewing machine covers that you can use to create it. As
I created this beautiful pattern, to make it for a kid I advise using smaller needles and making it slightly shorter.
You can learn to quilt on small projects just as easily as on big quilts! Here's a big list of easy, small quilt projects that you can make, that aren't entire quilts.
