Pretty Easy Baby Blanket Spotlight

From Jess over at Craftiness is not Optional!

Made from So Tweet Fabrics Minky!  My very favorite sewing blogger shared the Pretty Easy Baby Blanket tutorial over at Craftiness is not Optional.

She has the most beautiful sewing projects!  I'm so excited that we were included in one of them.

Her photo's are gorgeous - please pin from Craftiness is not Optional

Easy Apron Dress Tutorial

The Apron Dress

I just had to share with everyone this gorgeous Apron Dress Tutorial featured yesterday on Sew Mama Sew.  This too cute dress was made by Haley from Welcome to the Mouse House.  I couldn't resist when I saw one of my very favorite fabrics: On Parade by Sarah Jane. 

I just love how she paired it with the aqua and pink - the colors really pop!  Not to mention how easy this tutorial is using on of your children's existing t-shirts.  I can definitely see my own little McKenna in this one (probably even refusing to take it off!)

Looking for this fabric:  Visit So Tweet Fabrics to find them!

On Parade

Ta Dot Sea

Sweet Minky Cuff Toddler Pillowcase

Minky Toddler Pillowcase Tutorial

You can make your own super easy and adorable boutique style minky toddler pillowcase.

Need:

1/2 Yard of Cotton

1/4 Yard of Dimple Dot Minky

Finished Toddler Pillow Size 12" x 16"

• Cut Minky strip 33" x 8.5"

• Cut rectangle 13.5 " x 33"

Using your rotary blade or scissors cut 2 rectangles 13.5" tall by 33" wide

Then pin the top edges together and sew 1/4" seam to make a piece that is now 33" tall by 13" wide.

Next take your 8.5" strip of minky and fold in half.

Place the folded minky strip on the right edge of the vertical rectangle with the edges all of the minky and the cotton lined up and pin every 1/2" - 1" apart.

Next sew a zig zag seam along the pinned minky and cotton edges making sure to sew with the minky on the bottom.  A walking foot is helpful, but not necessary for this short project.  Since minky is a stretchy fabric, sewing with it on the bottom will allow the feed dogs on the machine to feed it faster than the top cotton layer.  A zig zag seam will also help keep the minky from getting a bit wonky with its cotton counter part and reduce the bulk.  

If you've followed me this far you will then have a long minky edged rectangle!

Fold the rectangle in half with the wrong side of the fabric facing each other and pin the side and bottom edges. Be sure to pin generously to keep the minky in place.  I like to pin every 1/2" to 1" since minky likes to slide.

Turn right side out and TA DA!  You have some adorable boutique pillow cases!!!

If you haven't sewn with minky before, I have some great tips here.

Have fun making some great pillowcases for the kiddos.  Feel free to share your awesome color combos on my facebook page.

New Giveaway at Craftiness is not Optional

I am so excited to share with you one of my favorite crafty gals - Jess from over at Craftiness is not Optional.  

 She is super talented and has some great projects and tutorials on her blog.  Several of her projects have even been featured over at Riley Blake Designs.  Since I have two little girls I am especially drooling over all the adorable tops and dresses she makes.  I accidentally stumbled on her blog one day while surfing the web and have since then become totally obsessed with sewing blogs (especially hers) and the wealth of knowledge, not to mention fantastic inspiration, they provide. 

This week she is hosting a Giveaway for $50 store credit to So Tweet Fabrics on her blog - so hop on over to enter the giveaway and check out all her great projects while you are there! 

This super cute Lets go Fly a Kite Sundress was featured on Riley Blake Designs Blog - Wowza!

Embroidery hoops  - Yes Please!

You can also find this fabulous Pleated Yoke Tutorial and chic Ruffle Headband over there.

And of course I can't forget about the chevron craze thanks to her cool Arrowhead Skirt.

Free Minky Baby Blanket Pattern - How to Sew a Minky Baby Blanket

Do you want to know how to sew a minky baby blanket?  Check out my FREE Minky Baby Blanket Pattern.

Minky Baby Blanket Pattern

Great how to sew minky baby blanket tutorial.  If you have been wanting to sew a minky baby blanket this easy tutorial will show you how!

In the next few weeks I will be doing a series of tutorials on Baby Gear items, so stay tuned for some cute snuggliness!

Tips for Sewing with Minky

Best Tips for Sewing With Minky

 I have made too many baby blankets with minky to count and have wanted on more than one occasion to rip all of my hair out, scream every bad word I know, and throw my sewing machine as far I could see.  I have sworn again and again to never sew with minky, but after a little research and lots of trial and error I have made friends with it and it has even become one of my favorite fabrics.  Who doesn't love the soft cuddliness of dimple dot minky or the plush luxury of rose swirl minky.  I have compiled this list of tips and tricks to help you have a great minky sewing experience.

1.      Pre-wash any other fabric that will be sewn with the minky, since minky is polyester and does not shrink.

2.      Dritz Washaway Wonder Tape or other washable basting spray helps prevent the minky from stretching, sliding, and puckering.  It is my best friend and has kept me from throwing my sewing machine through the window on more then one occasion.

3.      A walking foot is a must!  It helps evenly feed all the layers.  Mine is nearly permanently on my machine and I often forget when I have accidentally switched out feet what a huge difference it makes.

4.      Use a long stitch length (mine is usually at 4). 

5.      Use a good quality needle; size 90/14 Schmetz works well for me.

6.      When sewing minky with another layer of fabric, put the minky on the bottom to allow the feed dogs of the machine to help guide the fabric and prevent extra stretching.

7.      Remember that minky has a nap (direction of the fabric pile) and to position it the way you would like it lay.  

8.      I prefer to cut my non-stretch (like cotton) material to the correct size and leave a little extra minky around the edge or seam allowance and cut off the excess after I sew the seam.  I follow edge of my non-stretch material for my seam guide to allow for any fussiness the minky might have.

9.      DO NOT Iron or microwave minky - it will cause it to melt.

10.      If you are not using any basting tape or spray, then pin every 1”.  Even pinning every 1 to 2 inches can cause the minky to become very fussy and difficult to work with.

11.      I like to use a half-inch seam with minky since it is very heavy (especially when wet) and tends to pull on narrower seams, sometimes even causing the seams of the other fabric to be pulled out.

12. Minky fabrics wash and dry very well but some textured minky will lose its textured look by being dried.

Rose Swirl Minky

13.  If working with a long pile minky, like Rose Swirl Minky, you can always shave down the area in the seam allowance to make it easier to sew.

14,  Minky stretches horizontally across the grain, but has much less stretch vertically with the grain.  I often use this to my advantage and sew my seam with the grain first.

Good Luck with all your Minky endeavors!

Sweetcakes Valentines Day T-Shirts

I made these adorable T-Shirts for my 2 little girls with this years cutest Valentines Day fabric called Sweetcakes from Riley Blake Designs.  This cute line of fabric has colorful hearts, cakes, flowers, and stripes.  These T-Shirts were super easy to make and used just 1 charm pack of fabric.  I made two different styles, and have included the heart template for both of these here.


You will need:
1 Charm Pack
1 T-Shirt
Steam-a-Seam or other fusible for applique
Rotary Cutter
Cutting Mat

For the first one I created a patchwork pattern by using 6 5" squares that I cut into 2 1/2" squares with my rotary cutter. 

I then patch-worked together my squares so the finished square is 8" x 8" and uses 16 2 1/2" squares.  Either iron or finger press down all the seam.  Then clip all the seam allowance as close to the stitching as you can so the seams will interfere less with the Steam-a-Seam.

Heart template layered on top of  Steam-a -seam over patchwork square.

Cut a piece of Steam-a-Seam the approximate size of your patchwork piece.  Following the directions peel one side of the fusible and place onto the back of the patchwork square  I made sure to pre-launder the white T-Shirts to help my steam-a-seam stick better. Using my large heart template, I scotch taped it to the front of the waxy side of my steam-a-seam. 

  Then cut it out and Ta Da, you have a patchwork heart.  Then simply iron on to your t-shirt.

To stitch the applique I like to use copy paper on the underneath side of the t-shirt as a stabilizer.  Its easy to get and inexpensive.  I set my machine to wide zigzag stitch with a short stitch length and just follow the outline of the heart.  I am absolutely not an expert when it comes to applique, in fact it usually seems to cause me the most grief of all my sewing endeavors, but I love how cute all the projects come out (don't look too closely, you might notice some mistakes, lol)

For the smaller hearts, I used my smaller heart template 

  and 3 charm squares.

Ava took a perfect picture.

McKenna is not quite sure about modeling yet.

 

  Large Heart Template by  

  Small heart template by   Shelly Morgan