Sew Spoiled

Have you ever seen a pattern that you don't know how you will create it because you have never made anything like it before? You click to buy and then you start to panic because you don't know if you will ever make it. This is exactly how I felt when I bought the Hubble Bubble Knitting pattern from Kat and Leni.  I had seen it all over Instagram and I loved the design. I knew how to knit but I had never made bubbles, what are bubble sleeves? What have I done? Buyers Remorse! After buying the pattern the next logical step is to buy the yarn. I researched The Wool by We Are Knitters because this was the only yarn the pattern recommends and I had sticker shock! One ball of yarn was between $24- $30 dollars per 200 g. This pattern calls for 1200g so that equaled between $144- $180 for one sweater. Don't get me wrong this is beautiful yarn but I am a teacher and there is no way I would spend that much on one sweater. Apparently, I am not alone because I found this cheat sheet f...

I am not a cook! So if I give you a recipe you can take it to the bank, it is going to be great! This is one of my favorites! I make this one a lot in the winter for my kids. The hubby and I love to eat these with a hot cup of coffee. You can even prepare these the night before and then pop them into the oven in the morning. (Great for Christmas!) Ingredients 2 cups of flour 1/3 cup sugar 2 Tsp of baking powder 1/2 Tsp salt 1/2 cup of butter 1 Tsp vanilla extract 2 eggs 1/4 cup of orange juice 1 Tsp rind of an orange 3/4 cup of chocolate chips Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with foil and spray it with cooking spray. Mix all of the dry ingredients. Add the butter and cut in with a pastry blender or fork. Mix in the wet ingredients. Add the chocolate chips and the orange rind. I like to mix it together and then place it in a ball, flatten the dough ball into the shape of a disc. Cut the dough disc into 8 equal parts and place them on the prepared baking sheet p...

I love Lilly Pulitzer fabric! Find your own Lilly Pultizer Fabric finds here. I created a Sew Spoiled Wristlet ! I still use this pattern over and over again. I love how perfect the size and shape and you can use a small piece of fabric to make this special gift. Do not forget you can also make this with a cute strap that makes this wristlet a mini shoulder bag too.

My favorite sewing projects are always bags! One size fits all and each one is fun to create. At the end of the summer, I started searching for a teacher tote to take to school. I needed a tote to carry my grade book, notebook and calendar stuff. I found Noodlehead's Supertote , perfect for any teacher! I did not have enough fabric to make it when I looked through my stash, so I found all of my favorite scraps and started to piece them together. Most of them are out-of-print fabrics from Amy Butler collections. I also took a shortcut and used canvas webbing for my straps. Last but not less, the bottom of the tote was not sturdy enough so I added plastic to the base. The Super Tote design is the perfect size for a teacher tote. I can store two 1.5" notebooks inside. There is also a slip pocket on the outside perfect for my badge and pens and an interior elastic slip pocket for post-its and other office supplies. I love that the top has a zipper closure, however, I have n...

Let me start by saying, we moved into our house fall of 2003. We loved our red kitchen but as time progressed our red kitchen was not as trendy as it was 15 years ago and we needed an update. It felt like every night we were eating at McDonald's with this tomato red color on the walls. There have even been psychological studies that have reported that the colors red and yellow make you hungrier. Not what my family needed, so we painted it a beautiful blue-grey and I got new stools, curtains, and a new kitchen nook table. It is amazing how a little paint can totally change a room. It still needed a few Sew Spoiled details, so I monogrammed the kitchen sink curtains. I love how they came out. I am looking for some kitchen towels to monogram as well. I found this Split Vintage Regal Embroidery at EmbroPlanet . I had the font for the Williams name in the Embrilliance Software I use. It would be nice to update the light fixtures and get a rug for the kitchen nook table but all ...

Every year we perform a musical and one of the highlights for me as a theater mom and seamstress is I get to make costumes! I love sewing and when I can sew for a show or for a music reason it is awesome! This year was Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and I was able to recreate Veruca's red dress. The first step is to find a sewing pattern that I can manipulate to look like what the character needs.  I wanted to make the dress out of Pont de Roma fabric so it moved with the actress. Then I remembered the  Marianne Dress by Christine Haynes , it is perfect because it also had a peter pan collar. The peter pan collar did have some issues. I did not want a t-shirt binding. Also, the back of the collar did not have a collar. I drafted a back collar piece and since the opening was not stretchy, I created a keyhole with a button and loop closure. I lengthened the sleeves and used the cuffs from the pattern for long sleeves. Next, we added the buttons! We al...

I created a Schoolhouse Tunic March 2010 using this gorgeous fabric Anna Maria Horner, Good Folks Fortune in Chocolate and since then I realized I don't wear it anymore and I still love the fabric! That's when I realized I have to upcycle it and make it something new. I chose to make the Amy Butler, In Town Bag. It is a super small bag so I knew right away that the button closure would not work for me. Then I thought about a magnet closure but that would take up more of the inside of the bag. I found a tutorial on how to apply an enclosed zipper! This bag is tiny and to best utilize the space a zipper was the best closure. I used 4 pieces of fabric cut to 9" long X 1.5" wide to create the enclosed zipper. I placed leather for the bottom of the bag. It is easier to keep it clean and looks great! I did sew in the slip pocket template on one side of my bag. The zipper closure falls over the pocket to keep items from falling out. If you are interested in learning...