Are you going away to school or moving out on your own for the first time?  Don’t forget a sewing kit.  A good basic sewing kit doesn’t need to be elaborate or anything.  It can be a purchased kit or you can put one together yourself. All you really need is some good quality thread in basic colors, black, white, navy, red and maybe gray or brown.  It’s also a good idea to have a spool of heavier thread as well, like a spool of black button hole twist or upholstery thread.  This will be helpful for that occasional cushion repair of that second hand couch your parents gave you.  Add a small pair of scissors, some straight pins and safety pins and your are ready to tackle just about any emergency repair.  If you aren’t the sewing type, don’t fret, you have everything you need when you talk some one else into doing it for you! lol!

Urban Threads has a new FREE design for you — a thaumatrope (AKA Victorian spinning birdcage toy)! It’s an in-the-hoop design for machine embroiderers; hand embroiderers and other crafters can make their own versions as well.

So, download the FREE design. And, don’t forget to get the assembly instructions.

Fun notions that you can do with children are hard to find. Luckily, Clover has done it again with a series of yo-yo makers. This quick handwork is easy — great for watching TV, a rainy day, day camp, etc.

Not only can you use your fabric scraps to make them, you can also turn them into something else — embellish a t-shirt, jacket, or bag, make a doll or wreath, use it as a key chain and more!

Check out the instructional video from Nancy’s Notions on how to use these great yo-yo makers, along with some project ideas!

Have you tried to used regular sewing thread with heavier home decor fabrics? Many times regular sewing thread will easily break with heavier fabrics — such as drapery or upholstery fabrics. Your standard thread is too thin and isn’t strong enough to stitch through the multiple layers. So, be sure to use a heavier weight Polyester thread when sewing with home decor fabrics.

This fun bag is cute and environmental friendly! Instead of using grocery bags that harm the planet only one time, you can use this bag over and over again to bring your gorceries home. Another plus, this eco bag is incredibly easy to make!

Download Project

The girls came in today pretty excited to start sewing. Our focus today was to make a envelope bag for a computer. It had  and bound buttons on the outside. The girls were really excited that we would not be inserting any zippers today! Yeah no major issues.  Emma who struggled with a “tempermental machine” got pretty frustrated,  but we were able to work through it once we found the issue was an embroidery foot attached wrong that caused the needle to break. It also got a “birds nest” during the experience because her fabric was thick and she was using a decorative stitch with heavy thread. What a learning experience. Overall the girls were very excited about the sewing today, and what about Emma? She not only finished her bag, but it looks perfect!

I have just completed day 1 of Martha Pullen’s kids school. Today we focused on getting to know the Baby Lock machine Sofia, and making a cosmetic tote. It was adorable! These girls are skilled seamstresses. I am in the teen room which are girls 9th-12th grade. Susan Zellers is their wonderful teacher who helped them in the sewing process today and the rest of the week. During the day one of the girls accidentally cut the stop off her zipper and pulled the zipper pull completely off. I knew this would require her to rip out and redo all she had worked on for the past hour. But she was determined to get it to work, and she did. So if it does come off your zipper, it’s possible to fix this horrible mistake. Later in the day it happened to another girl, and we were able to fix hers as well.
These girls are geniuses! They are such an inspiration, especially to know that there are still girls aspiring to sew!

Plush handmade critters are quite the hot item. They’re cute, easy and fun to make and everyone seems to love them! Etsy, a place where you can buy handmade items, has a category with sub-categories for handmade plush dolls.

Stephanie and I recently attended a handmade fair, several of the booths featured cute plush stuffed animals. These aren’t your ordinary  stuffed animals, they’re unique in every way possible — shape, size, material, embellishments, etc.

Indygo Junction, one of our favorite pattern makers, recently came out with a Zipper Critters pattern. These step-by-step instructions can help get you started on this hot and easy sewing trend.

What kind of critter have you made?

You know that little water cup that came with your iron? You know, the one you lost, metled or left in the box. Well, if you did use it, like I tried to, then you probably quickly became frustrated with its lack of accuracy when pouring into your iron. And it held such a small amount of water that I was constantly running back to the sink.

Replace this mini-cup with a water bottle that’s sporting a pop-up top. Now you’ve got accuracy when pouring into the iron’s tank AND you’re making fewer trips to the sink. Steam on my pressing friends, steam on!