 Napkins in a jiffy! |
I love cloth napkins. I use them all the time, for no special occasion. Yet guests are always terrified to use them. They are so easy to make, good for the environment and make an average meal or snack feel a little bit special.
Here is a quick and easy way to make napkins with nice mitered corners. Next week, we’ll make place mats with coordinating prints to go with these napkins for a full-on, fancy-pants dining experience. (more…) |
Posts Tagged ‘sewing tutorial’
Mitered-corner napkins
Saturday, March 13th, 2010Pillow trims
Saturday, March 6th, 2010
 Liven up your pillows |
Pillows are a great way to spruce up your home. They add a warm, inviting touch and a comforting place to rest. But, boy, can they be expensive to buy. As sewers, we are lucky enough to make our own decor items, and we can make them just how we want them.
Pillows can be incredibly basic, or they can use pieced fabric design and fancy trims. This tutorial discusses adding rope lip cord and piping as trims to your pillows. (more…) |
Lined geometric knitting bags
Sunday, February 14th, 2010 |
These cute little bags can be used for practically anything – makeup, knitting projects, organizing your tote bag. The box bag is the perfect size for a sock knitting project. I have provided a tutorial below on how to make a lined version of this bag with no unsightly raw seams.
The pyramid bag was a larger version of a fun pattern by Nicole Mallalieu, which I followed exactly to her specifications except for making it bigger. Unfortunately, the Web page with the instructions (supposedly found here) is not up and running right now. Perhaps it will be soon. (more…) |
Lined gadget case tutorial
Saturday, February 6th, 2010
 Gadget case |
OK, so I’ve already shown you how to make a big, roomy bag. And, naturally, we put pockets in for phones and such. But sometimes you need a separate pouch for your phone or MP3 player.
Here’s a lightly padded, velcro-closure gadget case with a cute little strap that you can open and close, in case you want to hook it around something, like a belt loop or purse strap. |
Reversible scalloped apron tutorial
Sunday, January 31st, 2010 |
Fancy, flirty aprons are all the rage, and they sell for good money at a lot of stores. But if you can sew, you can make your own, and I’ll show you how. Seem a little too frilly? Use it any old time, but especially when you have guests. People get a kick out of them! And don’t be afraid to use it; it’s just fabric, and you can wash it. This pattern is for a fully reversible, gathered, scalloped apron with pockets. Have fun with the fabrics and mix them up to make it more interesting. This apron uses the same fabrics on both sides, but in opposite placement. |
Rolled edge on a serger
Sunday, January 24th, 2010
 rolled hem |
Lately, I’ve been into using cloth napkins. Not only do reusable napkins save paper, but they just make you feel good. I’ll use them when I’m on my lunch break at work, eating something nuked in the microwave and completely not fancy. I’ll use them with my oatmeal in the morning or my cheese and crackers at night. You can make your own napkins using a rolled hem. One nice way to do this is on your serger. In a future post, we’ll do a rolled edge on a regular sewing machine. (more…) |
Pleated, lined handbag
Saturday, January 16th, 2010
 Roomy, pleated bag |
Making your own fabric bags means you’ll always have unique accessories. I have lots of them, and I get compliments all the time. They really stand out. This bag is pleated and nice and roomy as a purse. I have made this style in both a smaller and larger size, but neither ever seemed just right. This one I made somewhere in between. It holds all of my day-to-day purse stuff, with room to throw in a book or bottle of water, to boot.
I took this out today and somebody complimented me on it and wanted one. See? That’s what I’m talking about. So worth making! (more…) |
How to insert a magnetic snap into a bag
Saturday, January 16th, 2010
 Magnetic snap |
Magnetic snaps make great closures for handbags and totes. They’re clean-looking and offer quick and easy opening and closing of your bag. They’re easy to install, but if you don’t take a few precautions, you could end up with strained, torn fabric. Let me show you how I do it. (more…) |
How to make a non-turn strap
Saturday, January 16th, 2010
 Look Ma, no turning! |
What’s worse than making a thin tube and then having to turn it right-side out? Uh … nothing. Here is a painless, turn-free way to make a nice, neat strap for a handbag or tote. (more…) |
Sewing a curved edge
Sunday, January 10th, 2010 |
Ever have two pattern pieces that are supposed to be sewn together but are actually curved in opposite directions? You wonder how they are possibly supposed to fit together. Sometimes you’ll see this in shaped seams, like a princess seam on a woman’s top that must make room for the bust. Sometimes, in the case of this tutorial, it’s a flat seam (meaning, not convex) that is rounded for visual effect. It’s really not hard to do, and I’ll show you how. (more…) |
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