As I've said many times, I love to sew and create things, whether it's something for me to wear or display in my house, it is a feeling of accomplishment when I see the finished project. I've been buying pdf sewing patterns off the internet for about two years. I hate to admit, but I've bought way more than I've made, but this year I'm trying to change that as I would love to sew at least one item from each pattern I have bought.

The following is called the Hannah and it was designed by Sonia Estep Designs. I don't get any kickbacks for linking her website, I just wanted to make it easier for you to find her. This was one of the easier patterns I have made. I literally printed this pattern with my printer, taped it together, cut out the pieces and then placed on the material and cut it all out all in less than an hours time, probably more like 30-40 minutes.

Sewing time was less than an hour as well as for this style only required sewing the shoulder seams together, attaching the sleeve and then sewing the side seams together from the sleeve to the bottom hem. From there you sew your cuffs, bottom band and neck band together and then fold in half wrong sides together to attach to the sleeves, neck and bottom of design. As I type this out I'm thinking "that sounds easy enough" and to be honest it is. I was so shocked by just how easy, which is why I will be making more of these in different types of fabric. This particular pattern can also be made with a front pocket, collar and even a hoodie can be added.

I think the design looked better on my mannequin than on me, but that's because I hate ALL pictures of myself.

front

back

The fabric was purchased from Mily Mae Fabric (I do not get kickbacks for linking their site either). It is called Vortex Rib Knit and this is the denim color. I love the feel and texture of the fabric, but don't believe I will order this color again as I notice on things that are denim they seem to wash out and I guess that is to keep the denim look, but I'm not a fan of that for anything but my jeans.

A few days ago I posted about my daughter asking me to sew a dress for my granddaughter for Christmas, although I was planning on sewing one up from myself. In the end everything turned out for both of us as she chose one color dress and I chose another. I went with a navy blue with dainty flowers using the same pattern as the previous dress. As I stated before this pattern is one of the easiest I have ever sewn. The fabric content was also a little different.

I couldn't forget about her American doll, so not only did the granddaughter get a dress for herself, but she also got one for her doll as well.

Finished dress for doll

Finished dress for granddaughter

UPDATE: Once Christmas got here and she opened her gifts all the work involved was worth it to see the smile on her face. Notice the cat shoes on the doll...they were so cute and she is a big fan of kitty cats.

Successful gift giving!

My daughter approached me about sewing matching dresses for my granddaughter and her best friend as a Christmas present. In addition, she wanted a matching dress for each of their American Girl dolls. At first I was hesitant as I had already planned to sew the same style dress as a gift from me so I wasn't sure I wanted to commit to doing it, but in the end I give in deciding that she could always use an extra dress and this would be special since her best friend would have one that matched.

The pattern I was using I had sewn for her a couple times last year and she loves it because it has pockets and I love it because of its simplicity. The sleeves are included in the bodice so you don't have to add sleeves. There are only 3 pieces to cut out: front, back and pockets. However, there is another option to the dress that includes doing the bodice in one color and the skirt in another, so if you do that version there would be 5 pieces. The dress is designed to be cut from knit fabric. I sent my daughter about 20 different choices of fabrics that I was willing to sew and she picked the color she wanted. I made these dresses by taking the girls measurements and determining what size to cut the pattern from. The pattern is from Annelaine Patterns called Clementine and can be purchased online. (I don't get any kickbacks from this company and just sharing because it is a fun and easy pattern to sew and comes in many sizes). My granddaughter had gone from needing a size 7 to a size 10. I was able to use the size 7 from last year for the best friend. I ordered extra fabric just in case and ended up using it to make another dress for my other granddaughter in a size 4.

The pattern for the dolls is only 2 pieces, front and back. Once you cut out the pattern, sew the shoulders together, then the side seams. All that's left is folding in the neckline and hem and sew. I done these in a zig zag stitch for the doll dresses.

Both doll pieces

Doll piece just needs neckline and hem completed

 

One of the girls dresses with shoulders and side seams complete. Just needs neckline, sleeves and hem completed.

The completed doll dresses!

The granddaughters completed version!

The one for the best friend!

The one for the other granddaughter!

I have a yellow couch in the RV that I wanted to make a pillow for, but because I have dogs, I wanted the cover to be removable. I used the remaining fabric left over from my Jelly Roll Rug to make the front of the cover and used a solid navy for the back.

The first step was to determine the size of the pillow in order to know what size to cut out the cover. The pillow was 12”x22" so the cover for the front was cut to the same measurement as the pillow.

The front cover!

Hem each side for the back cover and then overlap before sewing all 3 pieces together.

Assemble the 3 pieces together and sew a 3/8" seam allowance around each side.

The completed project on my beautiful couch.

In order to make the cover removable you must leave an open seam, which I wanted to do on the back of the pillow, so the back cover had to be cut in two pieces with an overall size of 12” x 22”. I cut two pieces 12” x 15”. I hemmed one end on both pieces that would be used to create the overlap for the back of the pillow.

The next step was to assemble all 3 pieces right sides together crossing over the hemmed ends, then stitching all the way around. Once sewed, turned right side out, press and insert pillow.

This really was an easy project and one that I have done a couple more times with other pillow inserts.

A couple weeks ago I discovered Dollar Tree DIY. I had no idea how many people took items from Dollar Tree and turned them into such beautiful items to display and sale. I totally fell in love with this concept and went to Dollar Tree to see what I could find. I have had so much fun taking items I spent $1 on and turning them into items to display in my home as well as some items to share with others.

One item I bought was a small crate that measures 5" x 3" x 2 1/2". I wasn't sure what to do with them even though I bought six of them. I had watched some YouTube videos with different ideas, but none of them seemed to fit my personality. I took to Pinterest to see what I could find and sure enough during my search a cute idea popped up. The idea I saw was actually for a crate that is probably 3-4 times the size of my little crate, but it didn't matter I was going to make it work.

I went to work in design space to design the words I wanted to add as well as the leaves, pumpkins and acorns. I picked my colors and started my project. I wanted to start off by staining the wood. It took me several different stains before I decided I wanted a brown as none of the others looked right. After staining I used three different colors to accent it with. Once all my paint was dry I cut out my vinyl items on my Cricut and applied where I wanted them. As for decorating the inside I pulled out my stored decorations and added a couple small pumpkins, acorns and pine cones along with some berries and straw.

Personally I think they turned out adorable looking. I have a lot more Dollar Tree DIY items in my future. Check out my Instagram @afwhite14 for more of my designs as it's easier to post there than here on the blog.

Crate before

Fresh baked pies...PUMPKINS...Hayride - sounds like a great fall day!

x

I've been buying pdf patterns online for several years now as opposed to buying from the big box stores. These patterns are designed by small business owners who sell their designs online. I have found some wonderful designs that I hope to one day make all of although I'm sure some of the patterns will never be completed. Instead they will sit on my computer taking up space or rest in my basement in a roll that was printed with the intentions of making it, but actually attaching it to fabric and sewing the item created will never be seen.

Luckily for me, the Magnolia Tee designed by Sonia Estep Designs (SED) will not be one of those forgotten patterns. I actually just bought this one last week. Instead of waiting for the pattern to be printed by a big company and mailed to me, I decided to print on 8 1/2 x 11 printer paper, tape it together, grade the pattern to fit my size, cut it out and sew it. This process took a couple days, but today I was able to cut it out on the fabric and sew it together. I could not be happier with the way this shirt turned out. 

I made it out of some rib knit that I bought probably two years ago. It's been so long since I bought the fabric that I have forgotten where I bought it as well as how long ago that purchase was and definitely don't remember the company I bought it from. Although the neckband is a little big, the rest of the shirt is perfect. I will probably be wearing this shirt for several days in a row as it so comfortable. I done the 3/4 length sleeves as my house is cooler than most and I'm not really a fan of long sleeves as they usually make me hot, so the compromise was to do 3/4 instead.

Look at this beautiful creation. The shorts in this picture is the Iris shorts also designed by SED.

A few months back I made my first jelly roll rug in an oval shape and got real excited about the possibilities of this type of rug and wanted to try my hand at another version. I had two rugs in my kitchen that blended into the new floor as they were just about the same color so I knew this was the area I wanted to put my new rugs. The plan was to make two of the same color and design, a slice rug. It wasn't until after I completed the first one and put it on the floor that I got the epiphany that I should have made one rectangular rug as opposed to two slice rugs, but at this point it was too late.

The first step in this process was to decide how to lay out my 2 1/2" strips that would create my design. I purchased my supplies from Missouri Quilt, which included two jelly roll bundles and batting that included enough strips to create my two slice rugs and still have a few strips left to do another small rug or maybe a couple of pillows.

Each rug would take 29 strips. I got my idea from Shabby Fabrics after watching some of her videos on YouTube.

Close up of the strips, top half

Close up of the strips, middle portion

Close up of the strips, bottom portion

Once I figured out my design, I cut each strip the length I needed based on the pattern I got from Shabby Fabrics, then it was time to clip the fabric strips to the batting. This is the most time consuming part, in my opinion. Depending on how many binder clips you have, you might have to sew some of the strips, then come back and clip some more until you are all done.

 I came across a great pattern for shorts by Sonia Estep Designs. The pattern is called Iris Shorts. They are easy to make and you can add the pockets or not. I prefer pockets which is one  of the main reasons I wanted to make these. The pattern comes in 3 different lengths, 3", 5" and 8". I made mine in the 5" length and was satisfied, but will probably make the next pair 8" as when I sit down they appear too short for my taste.

The pattern comes in 17 different sizes so getting the right fit is very possible for all sizes and shapes. In addition, the designer gives tips on how to do several adjustments to make them fit you perfectly. I was never able to pull off any of those adjustments and after my first couple of tries in making this pattern I actually give up for a couple months, but that was my inability to accept that they didn't need to be perfect. Plus my body was going through many changes as I was on a weight loss program and my body was constantly changing. Happy to say I lost 45 pounds during that process. Now that I'm maintaining my weight loss I wanted to try making these again and I am so glad that i did. I love these shorts and looking forward to making some more.

As I'm posting this I realized I didn't really get a pick of the waistband which is the best part of these. They are made out of stretch knit fabric and are very comfortable. I don't like tight fitting shorts, so these are right up my alley.

I would recommend them even to a beginner seamstress as they really are easy to make and there are videos and suggestions on how to make them available on the internet. In addition, the instructions are easy to follow. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions as I would be more than happy to help you if I can.

On June 7th I ordered a new sewing machine. One that I had been eyeing for quiet some time, but never had the courage to purchase. Circumstances finally give me the incentive to purchase, but unfortunately it would be several weeks before it would be delivered as they were out of stock thanks to the pandemic.

In choosing what type of machine I wanted I knew I wanted something heavy duty as I wanted to sew bags and my current machine wasn’t equipped to handle heavy duty stuff.  The machine was supposed to be delivered on the 27th of July, but I got lucky and received it a few days early. I let it sit in the box for almost a week before I finally unboxed it.

The unboxing begins….

Please share what type of machine you have and what you love about it.

Happy Sewing!

I just finished up my first Begonia Backpack, a pattern by Blue Calla Patterns. It was easy to make and one of my favorite patterns now. I can't wait to make several more for the grandkids. I already have the fabric for one granddaughter. Just need to purchase for a couple more grandkids once I figure out the design I want to go with.

The first pic shows the fabric I choose which I purchased from JudysFabStash on Etsy. The blue faux leather was purchased from BurlapFabriccom on Etsy. Both shipped in a matter of days and I was more than happy with the service provided by both companies.

This pic shows the pattern pieces cut out, which is very easy to do. The instructions are easy to read and follow.