Posts Tagged ‘sewing’

Mitered-corner napkins

Saturday, March 13th, 2010

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…)

Pillow 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…)

Relaxing neck pillows

Sunday, February 28th, 2010

Ahhhhhh

If you’re reading this right now, I’ll bet you’re the kind of person who uses a computer a bit too much. So, like me, you may have a bit of a stiff neck sometimes. Well, looky what I found! Relaxing neck pillows, courtesy Sew4Home. (more…)

Spacious yoga mat bag

Sunday, February 21st, 2010

Carry in style

I don’t know about you, but I’m often motivated by cute clothes or accessories. Maybe with a cute yoga mat bag like this, I’d have a reason to actually dust off my mat and head to class.

Most yoga mat bags I’ve seen are tubular with a drawstring. That works just fine, but sometimes you need something a bit roomier to hold your other items, like a towel.


I found this really cute tote-style yoga mat bag tutorial at Sew4Home, and I couldn’t resist applying pretty Warehouse Fabrics Inc. prints and coming up with this. (more…)

Lined geometric knitting bags

Sunday, February 14th, 2010
bag 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.

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Reversible scalloped apron tutorial

Sunday, January 31st, 2010
Scalloped reversible apron 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.

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Rolled edge on a serger

Sunday, January 24th, 2010

Rolled edge

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

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 make a non-turn strap

Saturday, January 16th, 2010

Look Ma, no turning!

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…)

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