Hello sew-friends! Today's video is taking a deep dive into marking tools for fabric. After you cut out your fabric, the first thing you need to do is transfer all the pattern markings from the pattern to the fabric. Trust me, you don't want to skip it! In this post, I'll chat briefly about pattern markings and why they're important. Then, I'll share a variety of tools that can transfer marks to fabric and the pros and cons of each. Plus, I'll demonstrate how to mark a dart using a tracing wheel and transfer paper and how to mark a dart using a hole punch and chalk. Let's get started! Watch ..read more

Hello sew-friends! We're going back to basics today to talk about patterns. There's nothing more frustrating than making a garment and finding that it doesn't fit. The most common answer is to make a muslin first, but today I'm going to share the five things that you should do before you make a muslin and even before you cut or trace out your pattern. These are my tried and true tips that will help you get closer to making a first muslin that is the right size for your body as well as for your style and fit preferences. For this video, you'll need a few basic supplies: Sewing pattern of you ..read more

Hello sew-friends! It’s the start of a new year, which as usual has us thinking about starting new projects, learning new skills and maybe even venturing into new hobbies. So, for those of you who are just starting your sewing journeys, I thought it would be helpful to roundup some of my most helpful posts for beginners. I’ve been sewing for about 25 years. And with all of that practice, I’ve learned a lot about what works, what doesn’t and some techniques and tricks for making sewing easier, happier and more fun. Scroll down for excerpts and links to my top blog posts for getting started sew ..read more

Hello sew-friends! Today, I'm very pleased to share that my annual printable calendar is back for 2023. I think we can all agree that one of the best things about the start of the new year, is getting to start a fresh calendar. Possibilities are endless and everything feels packed with fresh potential. I’ve been making a version of this free printable calendar for a number of years now (maybe over ten years now!?!). This year, I had fun playing around with some new fonts. The decorative font I used is called Acier Bat. (If you have Adobe CC and like this font, it’s available via Adobe Fonts ..read more

Hello sew-friends! It’s hard to believe that we’re nearing the end of another year. It wasn’t an easy year for me, between struggles with migraines and the loss of my cat. But, there were a lot a great parts too. I was really busy with my freelance work. I got to work with a lot of great people and I had some really interesting projects. (Both of those are worth mentioning, because it’s not always the case.) And, I got to do a lot of traveling and to visit friends and family that I haven’t seen in a long time. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we need to cherish our time toget ..read more

Stocking PDF Pattern $8.00 Hello sew-friends! This is the third and final installment in my two-color patchwork star series and today, I’ll be showing you how to add this wintery block to the Sew DIY Stocking pattern. I really love how these stockings turned out and I think they’d be great with different patchwork designs too. You could even do an all over design with multiple blocks. There are so many possibilities! In case you missed the first couple of posts here are the links: How to Sew a Two-Color Patchwork Star How to Add a Patchwork Block to the Quilted Slippers In order to really sh ..read more

Quilted Slippers PDF Pattern $12.00 Today, is the second post in my series showing how to sew a patchwork star block and add it to the Quilted Slippers or the Sew DIY Stocking patterns. In yesterday’s post, I shared how to sew the two-color patchwork block and today I’ll be showing you how to add it to the Quilted Slippers. The Quilted Slippers pattern comes with two styles the bootie style and the skimmer style. The skimmer style has a seam at the heel making the toe area a great place to add a patchwork block. (The bootie style has a curved seam that goes over the center top of the foot so ..read more

Hello sew-friends! Are you ready for the holiday season? I've been sewing a lot of Christmas stockings and slippers the last few months and today I've been playing around adding a patchwork block to them. Today’s post is the first in a series of three that will show you how to sew these yourself. Today, we’ll be making two-color patchwork star blocks. If you follow the tutorial and cutting instructions, you’ll have two identical blocks in the end, one for each slipper or one for each side of a stocking. I love the classic look of this star design and I'm honestly a little obsessed. It's a lit ..read more

Hello and Happy November! This month we're going to be featuring (and celebrating!) the Quilted Slippers pattern with an email-style sewalong. I released this pattern in 2020 and, to my surprise, it’s been one of my most popular patterns. The slippers make great holiday gifts so November is the perfect month to start sewing them. For this new sewalong, I’m going to be making two new pairs of slippers (one bootie style and one skimmers style), answering some frequently asked questions and trying out some new ideas. I’m hoping that it will be helpful, informative and inspirational. (Spoiler ale ..read more

Hello sew-friends! Today's post is all about sewing the mini stocking. I first launched a free version of my Christmas stocking pattern last year and last week I released an expanded version of the pattern with four sizes. (The original medium size is still available for free when you sign up for the newsletter. Click here to see the original blog post.) The expanded pattern includes four sizes—large, medium (the original), small and mini. The large, medium and small are all very similar in shape, construction and fabric recommendations. But the mini, due to its teeny tiny, uber-cute size is ..read more