Sew Spoiled

This school year is about to start and every year we buy a new book bag for the girls. It is fun to pick out but once you get to the check out and you see the amount everything costs, it can make your hair stand on end. That is why last year I bought L.L. Bean Book bags . They have a lifetime guarantee and are super durable.  So once the new school year rolled around I took out the LLBean bags. Gross, yucky, marked up bags . It's great they have a warranty but I can't replace them just because they are dirty. What to do? Then, I remembered the stain remover solution of 2 parts Hydrogen, 1 part Blue Dawn dish soap. Luckily, I had the two and mixed up a batch. I took a sponge and rubbed the solution all over the book bags. After letting them sit for a while I sprayed them with water. They were still a little soapy, so I placed them in the washer. Finally, I let them air dry and Ta Da! New beautiful looking book bags. The only part of the book bag that did not like getti

I recently embroidered this duffle bag and hat for my niece who is attending college this year. I hope she can use it to come home and visit. At first I had no idea how I would fit this large bag under my machine but I found a way and I wanted to share this will you! First, you can find this type of duffle here at Sew for Less  for only $12.99!! They have fifteen different colors and they are made from recycled materials. In order to get the bag under my machine, I flipped it inside out and placed the bag over the embroidery machine like the picture above. Centering the design was a little tricky and since the bag was turned to the side, I had to also turn the design. It worked out beautifully.  Embrilliance Essentials is the program I am using on my Mac computer to merge and set my designs up for my embroidery machine. I love Embrilliance!! It is only $149 which is very cheap for a program that will allow you to do so much. I highly recommend it. If you click on the picture

The Cecelia Dress is another sewing pattern from the Magic Pattern Book by Amy Barickman. You might be thinking I know that dress it is a peasant dress but you would be wrong! Amy takes you through a few different steps and before you know it you have a new lovely frock! One of the wonders of this pattern is the scallop sleeve. It is the reason this dress is not your typical peasant dress pattern. The scallop sleeve was a new skill I learned today. I will probably use this technique over and over again. I love pockets, so the large size pocket is great to house pens, markers and tissues for kids. The belt ties in an adorable bow on the front of the dress which makes me feel like I am wearing an apron. The belt also gathers the dress fabric around the waist and helps to give shape to your silhouette. The last fantastic feature of the Cecelia Dress is how versatile it is. I can wear this dress now in the summer with sandals or flats. I can also wear this dress in the fall

Yesterday, I wrote about the  Blythe Skirt  from the book the Magic Pattern Book. I just finished another fabulous project and had to share! You know it is a fantastic book when you can make many of the projects quickly. This is the Charlotte shirt from the Magic Pattern Book written by Amy Barickman. This shirt is a great fall shirt to wear. In the Magic Pattern Book Amy shows you how to repurpose an old mens shirt to make something new for yourself. My husband over the pass year and a half has lost 100 pounds and he let me cut up one of his XXL button down shirts. WooHoo!! I am truly proud of him.  I took the easy way out. I left the bottom hem intact and the sleeve cuffs. I also left the buttons and sewed the center together. Leaving all of that still put together left less for me to sew. The sewing pattern calls for bias tape as a casing, I chose to fold the casing back so you would not see it to create the casing. The Charlotte shirt is comfortable to wear and look

If Amy Barickman's name doesn't ring a bell, how about  Indygo Junction ? Amy Barickman founded  Indygo Junction  in 1990 and over the past 20 years she has sold 2 million sewing patterns! When I found out she recently authored another sewing book, I had to give it a try. Her new book is called  The Magic Pattern Book  and it has a wonderful concept.  In The Magic Pattern Book  Amy take 6 patterns (tank top, skirt, dress, cardigan, coat and accessories) and creates 36 designs from these 6 patterns!!  For example, the cardigan, has 6 versions you can create.  The Cardigan Family That's not all, Amy doesn't just give you the instructions and tell you how to manipulate the pattern templates but she has given you all 36 designs with full templates on a CD in the back of the book. Many times a sewing book will suggest extra designs but when you go to create it you have to draft the new design by yourself. Amy has constructed it all for you! I Love That! You will