Tips on Making your patterns last longer

Hi this is Jenifer here with you today to share my tip with you.  Did you know that you could use your scraps of  StitchNSew sew in interfacing to make sturdier back ups of your paper patterns?  We all have our favorite patterns or at least the ones that we know we are going to use over and over again.  Well now you can trace them on to your scraps so that they last longer.

 After all of my pieces have been traced and cut out I have them in little zip lock baggies for quick and easy storage.

I then place all of the baggies and the original pattern in a larger baggie to keep everything conveniently together.

I hope you have enjoyed my little tip today and have found a use for those scrap pieces of sew in interfacing.

Jenifer

My favorite notions/tools

Tabatha here, showcasing some of my favorite notions and tools.

I find that there are certain items I use almost daily when sewing. The rotary cutter and mat are a must for me. I couldn’t quilt without them! Right beside them I have a ruler holder that is very helpful in organizing my rulers.

 I also love my purple thing. It’s like a stiletto and comes in very handy when piecing curves. And my quarter inch stick.

For thread I am partial to Isacord threads. My sewing machine tends to shred or break other brands but plays nicely with Isacord.

I just bought this awesome little cart to hold all my threads as well.

Last but not least, a pair of ordinary garden gloves. They are invaluable when it comes to free motion quilting. The allow me to grip the fabric without straining my hands. So then I can sew longer.

Keeping track of your patterns!

I don't know about you, but I sometimes think that I'm more of a "pattern collector" than actual crafter! Whenever I'm online, I'm finding patterns that I want to save to make later... The problem is how to keep track of all those patterns that I want to return to! For actual patterns that I buy in the store, I have a binder with pockets and keep them organized by "type," Quilt blocks in one section, dolls and toys in another etc. My knit and crochet patterns are almost all purchased through Ravelry, so I don't feel the need to keep them anywhere else...  But, I spend so much time online, bookmarking great sewing patterns and tutorials... Then, when I have time to actually sit down and sew, I can't remember which website I found the pattern on! I've been using Evernote to keep track of patterns, and it's easy AND even better, free!! You can use it through the website, or as the available app for your devices! You can upload any files, links to websites, and even add your own notes, so that once you make the pattern you can remember any modifications you've made! I love that I can paste the link into a note... and also add a picture, so I know exactly which "tote bag" that pattern is for!
The Tag function makes it easy to sort your files and all your favorite patterns will be at your fingertips wherever you are!
How do you keep your patterns organized?

Felt Purses for Dolls with Netra Bates

Hey everyone ! Netra here. 

So happy to be posting today ! 

I decided to show you some cute and easy felt purses for dolls. 

If you have girls in the house I am sure that you have been asked 

to make something. An outfit, a doll sleeping bag, and in my case my girls wanted purses. 

I like using felt because its stiff and easy to form. 

I cut my felt and folded it up 3/4 of the way leaving a section to be folded over. 

Just sew up the sides and add velcro.

Then I folded a thin piece to make a loop and glued it under the flap. 

I added a button for cuteness !

I hope you like this super simple project.My girls sure did. 

Hugs ! 

18 inch doll 

Sewing for Fashion Dolls

I love sewing for fashion dolls and action figures. While the garments are very small, they can also be very tedious to sew. My three "must-have" tools for success are my tailor's board, Clover mini iron and my sewing machine walking foot. With all the different edges on the tailor's board, you are bound to find a surface suitable for pressing such small seams.

Keep these tips in mind:

• Press seams open whenever possible
• Always use flat construction
• Don't cut the original pattern pieces. Trace them onto tracing paper and leave original pattern intact.
• A fat quarter of fabric can go a very long way.
• Use velcro and snaps to fasten clothes
• Be sure dolls hands can fit through sleeve ends
• Sometimes hand stitching is the only answer

Take a peek into my doll closet!

Hope you enjoyed and are able to incorporate some of these tips for sewing for your fashion dolls and action figures. Rachelle Green

Non-Sewing Project-Canvas Pocket Holder

Hi there friends!

Rachelle here today to share my

project which does not require sewing.

Sounds great? Let's have a look.

This is a 3-pocket canvas holder that can be placed just about

anywhere in your craft space area.

I created this pocket holder so that I could attach it

to my cork board.

 It is great to hold items you use a lot.

Here you can get the idea of what it can hold.

 My distressing tool, small scissors, distress markers, and pencil.

It was easy and quick to make. I used my hot glue gun to 

apply the pieces together. I also used tacky glue for the flowers.

It is great to carry along for the crop events.

This holder is great for paint, sprays, and brushes.

Well that's it for now. There is more to come. So be sure

to check back for more inspiration using fabrics.

Thanks for stopping by today!

See Ya Soon & Huggies!!

Winter Fox Projects

Hey everyone, Katie here. I just got back from CHA, the big craft and hobby association mega show in Anaheim, California. It was my first time going, and it was such a neat show! I came back with lots of inspiration to make things.

Today I wanted to share these simple stitched projects I made with our Winter Fox fabric and the Botanic Garden Chevron fabric.

First, I made a few different pencil bags. I love bags about this size, they can be used for holding pencils, makeup, business cards... pretty much whatever! If you want to know how to make bags like these, I've got a tutorial for an easy zippered bag on my blog.

I had a few more small squares of fox fabric after making the bags so I decided not to waste them (they are way to cute to waste!), and instead stitched up this mini quilt. It's very basic, just squares stitched together.

Do you like the fox trend? I sure do! Also, did you see the cute winter fox banner that Candy made?

My Creative Sewing Space

Anita here sharing my sewing space.  I took over my son's bedroom when he moved out so this is his desk, but it works for my needs.
I got a new sewing machine and I love my Viking Husqvarna Sapphine 960Q which I got as a gift last Mother's Day.

I love how much room there is to sew to the right of the needle.

Here it is all lit up and ready to go.  Happy sewing.  Be back soon with some projects.

Getting a Handle on my Fabric Stash

Hi Y'all, Amylove here. I wish I would have taken a "before" of my fabric stash. It was completely out of hand and an eye sore. I grabbed this photo from one of my YouTube videos to give you an idea of how bad it was.

 Seeing this mess did not inspire me to be creative, it stressed me out. Since our youngest daughter graduated from college in December and moved out, I decided to move my craft room upstairs where her room used to be. She even left behind this chest of drawers!

Seemed like the perfect way to organize my fabrics!! There are still two baskets on top full of fabric scraps. This is how the drawers are arranged.

The top  houses those remnants that I cannot resist purchasing....lol

Next is my Shabby fabrics! These are the ones I use the most!!

                           Then we have the darker fabrics. Then I threw the flannel in the next one.

                      In the near future I will be moving the remnants to the bottom and storing my beautiful       Love my Fabrics in the top drawer. This looks so much nicer and peaceful. I love my new fabric storage, but I miss my daughter like crazy!! Looking forward to sharing my fabric creations with you soon!

Embroidery Floss Storage Tip

Hello! Tessa Buys here with a quick storage tip for embroidery floss.

When I sew, it's usually by hand and with embroidery floss. After putting up with floss that got tangled, slipped out of its wrapper, or turned into a knotted mess, I decided to wrap my floss around clothespins.

Simply pinch the end of your floss in the clothespin, then wind up and down the clothespin, securing the other end by pinching it. This method keeps all but the last few inches from getting kinked, tangled, or knotted. Plus, my sewing basket looks very pretty filled with the colorful clothespins.

I hope this tip helps you to keep your floss organized and ready for sewing! Thanks for visiting today. Tessa

Winter Fox Banner

Hi! My name is Candy Spiegel. I am a paper-craft instructor and designer in Michigan. When my friend showed me some of the new fabrics offered from Love My Fabrics, I fell in love -- literally. I told her I wished it was paper so I could play with it (I cannot sew). She assured me that I could do something with it -- even if that meant ironing it together. And, to prove her point, she sent me a square to play with and asked me to be a guest designer.

I loved this fabric even more in person. So much so that I bought an old sewing machine at Goodwill and asked another friend to teach me how to sew so I could make this banner.

I started by tracing a chipboard template with a Sharpie onto the fabric, some muslin and fusible interfacing. I then ironed the fabric onto the interfacing.

Then, I sewed the muslin on the back. It took me a few tries to get my lines straight and I need more practice to get the edges even, but for my first try, I was pretty impressed.

After the pieces were sewn together, I folded over the top and stitched it to create a pocket for the string to go through.

Finally, I frayed the edges. I was impressed that not one string came off of the fabric while cutting, ironing or sewing it, but I was easily able to use my finger to fray the edges when I was ready.

I did not want to cover the foxes, so I left my panels plain -- letting the foxes speak for themselves.

I taped the end of the twine to a skewer and used that to feed the twine through the little pockets I made. In between each panel, I placed a button or some dangling beads.

I love my little fox banner and am looking forward to purchasing more fabric from Love My Fabrics to continue to practice my new love of sewing!

Thank you for sharing my first attempt at sewing with me. Visit my blog at candyscraps.com to see what else I am learning.

Thread Storage

Hi everyone, Steph Ackerman here today with a quick post of my thread storage.

I picked up this beauty a long time ago, but I couldn't tell you where!!!

It holds 58 spools of thread, 59 if you count the one on top.

From here, I can find any color thread I need.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Steph

Organizing Trims on a Budget

Hi fellow crafters! I am on a mission to organize my craft room. I always seem to get this urge at the beginning of a new year. I thought I would share with you one of my biggest organizing issues and that is my ribbons and trims. They are out of control!!! I searched many different options on organizing this mess, and found some wonderful options. I don't know about you, but I am a crafter on a budget, so I had to keep that in mind when coming up with a plan. This was my basket O'trims…..lol. What a mess!

 This was so ridiculous, most of the time they would just get all tangled together and drive me crazy! Here is how I tackled this. I purchased these baskets at Walmart. I then purchased some wooden dowels. You can get them at Walmart, craft stores, or home improvement stores. Look at how organized and pretty they are now. I just love it!

Not all of my ribbon is on spools and I also have a lot of remnants. This how I stored those. I just literally had them crammed in a jar or two, or three. This made it very difficult to find what I needed.

I found this wonderful box filled with holes at the dollar tree! Now I can just spin the box around and see everything I have. This is an amazing improvement and makes crafting easier and more fun!

I love how these new systems are working out for me. Now on to the rest of the craft room!!

Please visit my blog to see my other creations.

Amylove's Crafty Kingdom

Keeping it Crafty,

Amylove

Love That Technique: French Seams

Greetings and Salutations, fabric lovers! Scraps, here, with one of my favorite sewing techniques: the French seam.

French seams are used most often to enclose raw edges of a fabric that is prone to fraying but they are also the perfect finish to something where the seams will be visible but where adding a lining is less than desirable, like a small pouch or bag or even a sheer skirt overlay.

It's a very simple technique, though you may want to allow a bit more seam allowance when you cut out your patterns to not come up short in the end. I'm prepared a little demo for you, making some small, drawstring gift bags out of organza.

1. Hem the tops of your bag with two straight lines of stitches to create a channel for the drawstring. (I've done this along the long edges of a strip of fabric because I want to make a lot of bags at once.)

2. Fold your fabric, wrong sides together, and sew a narrow seam up both sides--this is step one of a French seam.

3. Trim the excess to about 1/8" before turning the bags right sides together and turning all seams out as far as they'll go. Pressing can help, but on delicate fabrics, finger-pressing and pinning are best.

4. Sew along the previous seams, enclosing the trimmed edges in the process. That's your French seam! Once you return your bag to the right-side-out, you've got a nice, neat seam that you won't have to fear snagging on contents or fraying and making a mess.

5. To finish the bags, turn them right side out again and cut small slits on the outer layer of fabric at each corner to pass your ribbon or thread through. Using a tapestry needle, string your ribbon or thread through the channel, beginning and ending at the same side of the bag, and knot the ends. You can use a single ribbon and tie it to close, or overlap two strings going in opposite directions to make a bag that closes when you pull both sides.

Wishing you creative days,
Jennifer ~Scraps~ Vanderbeek