Sewing

Everyone loves this little guy, and I get so many compliments on it. This bunny bag has two floppy ears and a little cotton bunny tail. When you wear it as a backpack, it will look like a bunny’s butt. ???? So cute. Just in time for Easter. Hippity Hoppity! I’ve seen so many people trying to copy this bag on Pinterest. This is the original! “The Newton Bag” One of my good friends has a son named Isaac. Since he was little, Isaac loved his Eeyore stuffie. Almost everyone knows what Eeyore looks like. Well, this past year, my … Read more

Do you need an easy reusable shopping bag pattern? I never have enough of these fabric bags, so I wrote up this tutorial for you. I’ve got a ton of Valentine’s Day stuff.  Why I Love This Easy Reusable Shopping Bag Pattern I have a love affair with pink. As you can tell by the site. One of the reasons why I must love Valentine’s Day so much. 🙂 So for this fabric shopping bag, I used pink fabric and love designs to make this a fantastic Valentine’s Day bag. And since it’s quilted, it will help keep your stuff … Read more

This is my guide on the different types of sewing machines, along with sewing machine reviews. Different Types of Sewing Machines I also have several basic sewing tutorials. The following is a list of the sewing machines types available for purchase. Each article has some information about the type of machine, along with reviews of models and my recommended make and model. Amazon is a great place to buy pretty much any type of machine. You used to have to buy, and repair, machines at a specialty shop. P.S. I’m filling in all sorts of information, so come back for … Read more

What are the basics of sewing? I’m creating a comprehensive series on how to learn the skills you need to start sewing. For beginners or advanced users alike. What Are The Basics of Sewing Did you know you can buy fabric on Amazon? Sometimes you can get a great deal, too! Also, check out my guide for the different types of sewing machines.

There are lots of sewing tools to choose from. So what are the 5 types of sewing tools? You might get overwhelmed on what to buy, but sewing doesn’t have to be complicated. Here is my list. This is another article in my Basics of Sewing series. To get started in sewing, you need some basic supplies such as scissors, an iron, and needles. Optional items include a sewing machine, a cutting mat, and a rotary cutter. These items can often be expensive, but there are cheaper alternatives to every tool that you can buy. But there are also a … Read more

Here is a Brother serger 1034DX review. In my opinion, one of the four best entry line serger machines based on the price and features. Brother makes great machines, and it won’t let you down. The Brother serger 1034DX is the latest addition to the family of Brother sergers. It’s one of of the recommended sergers. It still has some great features and benefits who want a reliable serger but don’t want to spend a fortune. It has numerous benefits, but it does not have a built-in rolled hem. It also only has 3 or 4 threads. Brother Serger 1034DX … Read more

Are you about to have a sewing machine but wondering what is a serging sewing machine? Here’s a guide for the details you need to learn what a serger is. The serging sewing machine is more commonly known as a serger or an overlocker. It offers multiple threads that stitches stretchy or even thick fabrics. Sergers also cut the fabric as it sews the edge. Another function is called overcasting the edge of your fabric, which is basically like wrapping the thread around the edge. By comparison, a regular household sewing machine uses 2 thread sources (the spool and the … Read more

Do you know how to sew without a needle and thread? I didn’t know, so I did some research on what I could do when I left my sewing supplies at home. Some are temporary solutions. But some are legitimate, no-sew options that might work better than the traditional supplies. To sew something when you don’t have a needle, you can use glue or pins, or you can make your own needle from bone, a syringe, or a paper clip. How To Sew Without A Needle And Thread The Fabric Glue No Sew Method Spray Adhesive Fabric spray is great … just spray … Read more

Is it sewing or sowing? The difference between sewing and sowing is that sewing involves joining pieces of fabric together, while sowing involves putting seeds in the ground. People who sow seeds generally want to grow food to eat or grow beautiful flowers, trees, or shrubs. People who sew clothing together want something to wear. Both types of people may sow or sew just for the pleasure of the activity. Sewing or Sowing? Hmm… The two words are often confused with one another, but they have different meanings. Sow means to plant seeds in soil and then wait for them … Read more

Here is a list of all my crafting, sewing, and food link roundups for blog posts. Many feature my own work. Blog owners can add their own links at the bottom of each page.

What are the feed dogs on a sewing machine? This metal piece is an important part of the sewing machine. The feed dog is a metal plate that has little gripper teeth, and it is located underneath where the needle is. The feed dog is a metal plate that moves up and down to push fabric along. It is underneath the fabric, with the needle on top of the fabric. The teeth help grip the fabric, and it moves in spaced steps in conjunction with the needle going up and down. What Are The Feed Dogs On A Sewing Machine? There … Read more

Here are all my free easy sewing patterns that you can use and download. Each comes with full instructions. More to come soon! 🙂 Free Sewing Patterns Easy Did you know you can buy fabric on Amazon as well? Sometimes they have really good deals! Here is a list of my sewing patterns to download. You’ll receive each one as a separate email for signing up to my newsletter. If you want more than one of them, just sign up to each one. Don’t worry, you won’t receive multiple newsletter from me.  (Just the email information to download the pattern.)

Hand Sewing the Hem Stitch I love my sewing machine, but sometimes it’s easier — and better — to hand sew something together. I like to do a lot of sewing by hand with hemming even though it’s probably just as easy to do it by machine. Today, I’m going to show how to do some hand sewing hem stitch. How to Hand Sew a Hem Stitch Just like the name implies, this stitch is particularly useful if you want to hem something. The advantage is that you will only see tiny “dots” of your stitch on the right-side of the fabric. Step One: Match Your Fabric … Read more

Here are some fall homemade decorations and easy autumn decorations that are simple and beautiful. Many of them are also cheap. Autumn is my favorite time of year. I love the colors — oranges and browns — and the weather! And what fun! Hay rides, pumpkin picking, pumpkin carving! And yes, the decor, too. DIY Fall Homemade Decorations: 25 Beautiful Ways To Celebrate The Season Spray Painted Gourds My own tutorial on how to make a beautiful metallic centerpiece. And yes, those are some cut flowers from my garden. These little guys make quite a beautiful statement on your table, especially if you put them atop … Read more

Must-Have Supplies for Sewing Beginners What are some of the essential supplies for sewing beginners? When you are new to sewing (or even when you are an intermediate!), you can quickly become overwhelmed with all the sewing notions and items that you might need. Here is my basic list for sewing supplies needed for new hobbyist. These are the basic supplies for those just starting out with sewing, which I put into these general categories: a sewing machine, thread, cutting tools, measuring tools, ironing items, pins and needles, marking tools … and, of course … fabric. Must-Have Sewing Supplies for Beginners This … Read more

Here’s a list of 25 easy Fourth of July crafts that you can do with your kids or just to decorate for a festive party. Appropriate for young kids to adult. 25 July 4th Crafts 1. Fabulous Fourth of July Tie Dyed Dress One of my own refashioned creations — this dress as probably the best refashion I have created. 2. July Fourth Cheer Bow You can make these bows just to put up your hair, too. 3. Hand Print Fourth of July Shirt A very cute shirt to do with your kids. Just use a plain t-shirt that you buy from any crafts store or … Read more

The summer is here! I love the weather (even if it’s hot and humid here in PA), gardening … and, of course, summer vacation. I sought out 30+ easy summer crafts for kids to keep those little hands busy. Ages from toddlers to preschoolers – and even tweens and adults! I really love all these crafts. Part of me wishes that I had little ones again so I can make them up. Be sure to stop by and visit my own list of crafts – my favorite is the no-sew bow.

40+ Super Easter Craft Ideas For Preschoolers Easter time is so much fun. Here are some Easter craft ideas for preschoolers. I see a ton of crafts for adults or even older kids, but these are appropriate for the younger child. Be sure to check out some more Easter Bunny Crafts and Easter Foods, and my own Easter bunny drawstring bag tutorial. Also, please make sure to have adult supervision even with easy crafts for kids! Bunny Treat Cones These paper cones are great for favor “bags” for the kiddos. Bunny Cup I think this tutorial a great craft to … Read more

What could be better than a free baby romper sewing pattern? I mean, other than baby, of course. I’ve collected 22 free onsie patterns that you can download. A Free Baby Romper Sewing Pattern? (How About 22?) I didn’t realize that “romper” was another word for “onsie.” But here are some free ones for you. Want some more things to sew? Try this large list of free Valentine’s Day sewing patterns. Baby Ringer Onsie You can literally make any style for baby with this PDF download template. Upcycled Romper My kind of baby style! Turn a t-shirt into a baby romper. … Read more

What are the best sewing machine brands? There are tons of sewing machine brands on the market. It can be very confusing to purchase a new one. Be sure to check out my guide to what you will need in your beginner sewing box. Chart for the Best Sewing Machine Brands — 2019 Guide 1. Brother CS6000i Sewing Machine This machine is simple to use for both regular sewing projects and quilting, coming with a built-in free arm that helps with sleeves and pant legs. Reasonably priced, with the 2019 Woman’s Choice Awards. Adjustable speed. I personally own a Brother machine, and I absolutely … Read more

Today, I am going to show you to how to create a bokeh effect with Christmas tree lights. I love doing this, especially for portraits. They make everything sooo elegant! My helper today is Joe, who is the most patient model ever. He has to be for all those Instagram shots. How To Create A Bokeh Effect With Christmas Tree Lights The entire reason that I bought a dSLR camera was to be able to take pictures of my kids — at a cheerleading event, before the homecoming dance or prom, or on stage getting an award. I needed a camera that kept … Read more

Blue 3″ Ribbon White cotton fabric Red cotton fabric 2 Packages, Iron-on Stars Fabric Fray Iron-on double-sided tape Hair elastics Step-By-Step Instructional Guide to Making Your Own Cheer Bow Cut a 30″ piece of the base ribbon. Two fat quarters, one in white and one in blue. Cut out one inch x 13 inch strips, three white and three red. Sew the right sides together of one white and one red using a 1/4″ seam. You can sew a red strip on the other side of the white, before ironing, if you want.  Or you can iron and then sew … Read more

Sew on some sequins or beads. Add some lace or ribbon. Use fabric paint to create designs or patterns. Sew on some patches or appliques. Use a bleach pen to take dye out of your tie dye. Styling Your Tie Dye Dress for July 4th Celebrations Now that your tie-dye dress is ready, it’s time to style it for your Fourth of July celebrations. Here are some ideas: Wear it with a denim jacket and white sneakers for a casual look. Dress it up with some wedges and statement jewelry. Add a red or blue belt to cinch in your … Read more

Making fabric bows!! Bows are so beautiful. This tutorial is part of a series of 10 posts … all about bows! I am going to craft or refashion 10 projects using fabric bows in some way or another. After the series is over, I will come back to each post and add all of the tutorials. For this bow, you could make it into a hair bow or even just add some flair to a shirt or something. My daughter has already requested a bunch of hair bows. Making Fabric Bows … Bows, Bows, Bows Everywhere! Sometime around Christmas of last year, … Read more

I love Easter bunny crafts & ideas. I collected 40+ of them for you! Something about bunnies … they are super duper cute. Those little fluffy white tails marks the beginning of spring. I used to make lots of rabbits when the girls were young and stuff them inside their Easter baskets. I still get to sneak in some crafts for them. Hey, who said getting Easter baskets was only for kids, amirite? While you are at it, check out this awesomely adorable bunny tote! Check out my Easter foods roundup too! And Easter crafts for kids. 40+ Adorable Easter … Read more

For Christmas, our family makes homemade gifts for each other. We’ve had this tradition for a long time, so I’m constantly on the hunt for a DIY, homemade gift that does not totally suck. Like most teenagers, mine have some high standards.  I originally made these cute little key fobs during Christmas a few weeks ago for the women in our family (my kids as well as sister-in-laws, nieces, and friends), but I just haven’t gotten around to writing about it. Key fobs are so easy to make! This entire batch of key fobs took me less than 15 minutes. … Read more

I love upcycled clothing because not only is it frugal, but it is also eco conscious.  Eco fashion!  What a great phrase.  At any rate … on my mother’s last visit to my house, she left behind this shirt.  I really like it, but I didn’t want to touch it because it holds some nostalgic value for me.  Also, it is about two sizes too big for me.  What to do? (Sorry for the photo.)         Upcycling a Shirt How-To Since I had so much luck with dying, I decided the easiest way to upcycle this would be to dye … Read more

My daughter Liz has an obsession with colored jeans. She must have had a dozen pairs before the craze even started.  One day, we decided that we were going to make our own pair of colored jeans using an old, ugly pair of dark denim that she had floating in the back of her closet.      The first step is to bleach the jeans.  This was actually a difficult step, or at least time consuming and it made our bathroom smell like a pool.  We finally figured out that if you just left the jeans in the bleach water, it … Read more