Hello, all! I'm super excited today to tell you about a new book we have just released, titled Freestyle Handmade: Bags & Skirts. I love this book for so many reasons:
* Bags and skirts are two of the easiest things to sew, so a whole book of these patterns means I have lots great, quick ideas at my disposal, whenever I get the sewing urge.
* There are a ton of patterns in it--over 50!
* I love the look of the book--very cool photography, very hip patterns, totally different from anything I've seen lately.
* And it has great instruction! Illustrations accompany the text, and there's a pull-out section of patterns in the back. Perfect!
I didn't get around to sewing this weekend--it was devoted to painting a tray for storing my rubber stamps. But I did get a chance to do a little hunting on the web and found a great site for sewing ideas and tutorials. It's called WhipUp, and while it's devoted to all handcrafts, a few items posted recently caught my sewing eye.
Hey, all you sewers out there! Did you know that this, September, is our month? It’s true. September is National Sewing Month. Check out the official site for more on the celebration, and sewing.org for some free projects to help celebrate. And while you’re in the spirit, check out The American Sewing Guild for a sewing group in your area.
As they used to say on The A-Team, “I love it when a plan comes together!” This was very much the case with my latest sewing project. A small cylindrical pillow that I use for my back had a pillowcase but the zipper broke. So I decided to sew a new one (sans zipper, since they scare me—to sew anyway).
For projects like this, I tend to do a lot of thinking. Not necessarily a lot of sketching or creating of patterns. Just thinking. For this project, I thought about how I was going to make the ends round; about how I wanted to close the case; about how much bulkiness I’d be able to live with.
This past weekend, I put all my thoughts in motion. I used a tape measure to measure the pillow’s length (and added about 1 inch) and circumference (and added about 7 inches). Then I went to my stash of circle templates and found one about 1 inch bigger than the ends of the pillow.
I double hemmed the long ends of the case, then pinned one short end around one of the circle ends. Since the case was longer than the circumference of the circle (even after I hemmed the ends), I simply overlapped the fabric, which resulted in the envelope flaps show above. Sewing the end was easier than I thought (I tend to think of myself as a straight stitch kind of person); a ton of pins seemed to be the way to handle it. I even went around twice to make sure the seam was secure. I repeated the process on the other end.
The envelope closure was so long that I felt it needed some extra security, so I sewed three pieces of Velcro to the flap to keep it closed. Ta da!
The whole thing turned out better than I had expected, and my very sweet boyfriend said it was even better than the case the pillow came with. Have you ever had a project come together better than you thought possible? Share your story in the comments below!
This weekend my craft room was finally orderly enough that I could actually create! What a great feeling! So, the first project I tackled was the flag window treatments. I got the idea from the book Happy Voodoo Gris Gris, and put my own spin on it by using favorite fabrics for a brighter look.
I cut the fabric to 8.5 inches tall by 7.5 inches wide, then hemmed the sides and bottom and made a sleeve at the top through which I ran the ribbon. I hand-sewed the flags onto the ribbon, by putting two stitches in the upper corners of the fabric.
The effect wasn’t quite what I expected, and it makes it clear that I need to get new blinds (something with a little more flair), but they definitely add a sense of playfulness for the time being. And by making a smaller string for the closet door, I was able to carry the design around the room more, making the window look not quite as spare.
Did you get a chance to create over the Labor Day weekend? If so, share it with us in the comments below.
