I am always pleased to find my children thinking outside of the box, or the pattern books, whatever the case may be. This Christmas, youngest daughter, age 16, experimented with pattern making and creative stuffed animal making for a couple of her siblings. No prompting from me, although I was pleases to offer snippets of […]
Sew Padded Straps for the Hobo Cinch Bag
The book Lunch Bags! has instructions for 25 bags designed for transporting food. The hobo cinch bag is billed as a picnic bag, but looks more like a basic medium-sized purse than any of the others. Its longer straps also make it more versatile, and if you don’t want to look like you are carrying a […]
The Ins and Outs of Sewing the Urban Carryall Bag from Sue Kim’s Book
I have been collecting bag making, or cloth purse making, books for a couple of years now. I’ve probably looked through them all 10 times, making notes and planning. It was hard to narrow it down to which one I wanted to make first! (I have made some grocery bags, but that isn’t quite the […]
If You Ask an Engineer for a Cutting Board For Sewing
Finding a smooth, indestructible surface on which to cut out fabric is a challenge. There are ready-made sewing mats, but most of them are either too small or have bumps in them from folding for storage. For the average seamstress, there usually isn’t the option of having a table just for cutting things out. […]
Sew a Holiday Party Dress from McCall’s Pattern 6163 Out of Pink Crushed Velvet
Some days you wake up and you just know that it’s time to sew a new party dress, particularly one that can be danced in. That is what happened to me about a month ago. Fortunately, I keep myself well stocked with potential patterns and pieces of fabric, so I could get right to […]