I have a problem keeping track of pencils in my house probably because a certain toddler loves to pull out the eraser and chew on it while he dumps the lead and breaks them all one by one. So whenever I need one for pattern drafting they are so hard to find! I don’t mind sharing most things, but toddlers shouldn’t be playing with mechanical pencils anyways.

I made these cute pencil cases as an easy solution. First, they are the perfect size for mechanical pencils, I’m sure regular pencils or colored pencils would fit, too.  Now I can stash all my pencils in the same place.

This is a basic zipper pencil pouch tutorial but the pattern is a super weird shape to account for the cute bow knots at the top and/or bottom.

The weird shaped pattern makes it a yardage sucker, but it’s worth it! And you’ll have lots of scraps.

The construction of this pouch is pretty complicated. I would definitely recommend sewing up a basic zipper pouch before proceeding. It gave me a headache figuring out how to do this, so I hope that these instructions are clear enough!

You can make this pouch with a bow at each end, or just one end. Follow the dotted line on the pattern piece if you want just one bow end.

Materials:

free pattern download for the knotted zipper pencil pouch tutorial
3/4 yard main fabric
1/2 yard lining fabric
1/2 yard lightweight interfacing

Fuse interfacing to wrong sides of all 4 main and lining pieces.

Cut 1 of the main pieces and 1 of the lining pieces in half. I used a rotary cutter to make this easier. Leave the other pieces whole, this is just for the top to insert the zipper.

To insert the zipper, lay it face down on one side of the main (gingham) piece. Pin in place and baste. Then put the lining piece on top, face down and sew at 1/4″. Repeat on the other side of the zipper and press when your zipper is inserted.

To finish the lining of the pouch, pin the whole lining piece to the lining piece that were just attached to the zipper.

The bottom will look like this:

Now sew it up all around. When you get to the zipper part it will be a little tricky. Just pull the main pieces out of the way.

Leave a 2-4″ opening on one of the straight edges to turn later. (I forgot to do this and had to unpick one, so don’t look for the opening in the picture!)

Now turn it over so the lining is on the bottom and the zipper is facing up.
Lay the second main piece on top of the zipper and pin it on. If you have too much fabric, pin a little pleat over the zipper.

Sew it on all the way around. Don’t leave any openings. Sew the lining and main pieces together where indicated below.

Trim and clip the seam allowance and then turn. The corners will be a little tricky to turn, but you can do it! Push the lining into the bag. Now stitch up the opening you left in the lining with a topstitch or a hand slip stitch.

Tie the corners into individual knots or tie two together to make bows. I prefer the bow method.

If you make the version without the bows on the bottom, they will look like this:Fill it with pencils and you’re done!

I’m definitely a pencil person in the great pencil/pen debate, I am too indecisive for pens. What about you? Pencil or pen?

Fabrics used in this post:
lilac gingham c/o Fashion Fabrics Club
brown 1″ gingham c/o Fashion Fabrics Club
orange 1/4″ gingham, Fashion Fabrics Club
polka dot c/o Two Blue Birdies
kawaii deer c/o modes4u.com

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Lena has already outgrown all the tiny ruffle top diaper covers I made for her before she was born so I thought it was time to move on to the ruffle bum style! Little tiny ruffles poking out from a short dress (like the jumper pattern I shared on Monday) is my new favorite style for baby girls! I think it is very warm-weather friendly, too.

Ruffle Bum Diaper Cover Tutorial:
Materials:
-free ruffle diaper cover pattern (size 0-3M)
-3 strips 30″ by 1.575″ for ruffles
-bias tape

This is actually a pattern hack of the ruffle diaper cover. I’m going to show you how to put ruffles on the bum. The rest of the process is the same as the other tutorial.

1. First print off the diaper cover pattern and cut out the ruffle strips.
2. Serge the edges of the ruffles. I use my Brother 1034D but you can also zig zag stitch if you want.
3. Run a baste stitch through the middle of each strip and pull the edges to gather the fabric.
4. Pin to the top of your diaper cover (leaving about 1.25″ at the top). Distribute the ruffles evenly.

Once you have the ruffles even, pin it down and stitch on.

Pin the second row about 1/2″ above leg opening.

Then put the third row in the middle. 

Follow the rest of the directions from the ruffle top diaper cover tutorial. The only difference will be there won’t be a ruffle at the top when you finish the casing (although you are welcome to add one if you want even more ruffle!)

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I actually designed this in October when I was playing with plaidy fabrics. I’ve had the pattern pieces sitting around for all that time, sheesh. I wasn’t quite sure about the pattern but once I tried it on the baby I loved it. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if something is cute until you put it on, especially for baby clothes. So I made another one in gingham and all of the sudden it screams summer.

Materials:
free baby jumper dress pattern pdf (size 3-6 months)
1/2 yard gingham fabric (or any fabric, but this is gingham style after all!)
1/4″ elastic
sunglasses (optional)

1 ruffle rectangle: 9″ by 4″
2 skirt rectangles: 8″ by 23″

First print off the pattern piece and tape it together. This is a totally weird shaped pattern, haha, but trust me!

Now cut 2 bodice pieces, 1 rectangle for a ruffle (9″ by 4″, optional) and 2 skirt rectangles (8″ by 23″). Cut the ruffle and skirt on the bias if you want! (I did!)

To create the ruffle, fold the 9″ by 4″ rectangle in half and sew up the side seams. Trim the seam allowance, clip the corners and turn the rectangle. Press. Use a baste stitch to gather the open edge. The finished ruffle will be about 3.5″ at the top. Pin to the center of the bodice neckline and baste it on. (*Basting means using a wide stitch length so the stitching is easy to gather or pick out later.)

Pin the bodice lining to the bodice front. Sew up the straps, sides and neckline. Use a 1/4″ seam allowance for the straps. Trim seam allowances, turn and press.

The ruffle will likely stick up, so pin it down and topstitch at about 1/4″ to make it lay flat.

Serge or zig zag the bottom edge of the bodice piece.

SKIRT:

Sew the two skirt pieces together at the side seams. Finish seam allowances and serge or zig zag the top and bottom edges of the skirt.

Now fold up and press 3/4″ on the top and 1/2″ on the bottom. Topstitch at 1/4″ at the bottom. (Sorry I didn’t get a good picture of this, but here is the topstitching.) Topstitch the top front with a baste stitch (we’ll be gathering it soon.) Topstitch the top back with a regular stitch, starting and stopping at each side seam, to create a casing.

Insert 8″ of 1/4″ elastic in the back casing. Attach it to each side seam by stitching it in place.

Pull the basting thread in the front of the skirt to gather the fabric creating a soft ruffle. Gather it up to match the length of the bottom of the bodice. Pin the skirt ruffle on top of the bodice.

Stitch it on right over the baste stitch.

Now cross the straps over the back and stitch them on. You can also sew them together where they meet if you want.

And you’re done! 

more gingham style posts:
introduction
bow sunglasses case tutorial

Here’s a little sneak peek of the next gingham style tutorial:fabrics used in this post:
lilac gingham c/o Fashion Fabrics Club
black gingham: upcycled

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I bought a bunch of sunglasses at Forever 21 (pretty much the only place I ever buy them because they cost 5 bucks and they are sure to be broken or lost within the next 3 months). I wanted to find some most like the iconic Gangham Style sunnies, I’m not sure I succeeded in finding them, but I did have lots of sunglasses and a sudden urge to take care of them! So I made some simple and cute little cases, one for each pair.

The cases have 2 layers of interfacing fused inside to make them a little bit more protective and an opening made of elastic to keep them inside! No more lost sunnies! sunglasses case tutorial:
Pattern pieces:

2 rectangles 9″ by 5″ in main fabric
2 rectangles 9″ by 5″ in lining fabric
4 rectangles 9″ by 5″ interfacing
7″ of 1/4″ elastic

1. Cut out all your pieces and press. 2. Fuse the interfacing to the backs of your lining and main pieces with an iron. 3. Sew both main pieces together with right sides together around the two long edges and one short edge. Repeat with lining but leave BOTH short ends open. 4. Turn main right side out.

5. Slip the main into the lining and sew together at one short edge. 6. It will look like this when you pull the lining out. 7. Tuck the lining back in and topstitch the front edge at 1/2″. Leave a 1″ opening. 8. Pull the lining back out and slip the elastic into the lining and inside of the casing.

9. Pin the ends of the lining together and stitch it closed. Push the lining to the inside and 10. Sew on a bow!

And slip your sunglasses inside!

Fabrics used in this post:
Mint 1″ Gingham c/o Fashion Fabrics Club
Brown 1″ Gingham c/o Fashion Fabrics Club
Orange 1/4″ Gingham from Fashion Fabrics Club
Lining material is a basic cotton (purchased at FFC)

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It’s no secret that I love plaid! I always stock up on plaidy prints in the fall and did a few “Mad for Plaid” projects back in October, but my favorite plaid in the spring and summer is gingham! I thought I was pretty clever for thinking up the title Gingham Style (the theme song of this little series will be PSY, obvs!), but it turns out other people had already thought of it, too. (Any fabric junkie will appreciate that last link. Hah!)

(깅엄 스타일 = “Gingham Style!”)

Nevertheless, I put together this little series all about gingham! I have some great summer projects lined up and even a few free patterns! All the fabric for the series was provided by Fashion Fabrics Club. I bought some orange gingham to use in my Vintage Easter look when they had that amazing sale and I remembered how much I love gingham. They have quickly become one of my favorite online retailers for fabric and their gingham selection is great!

The mint fabric shown in this Aztec Hoodie is my favorite one! It’s 1″ check which I think makes a pretty hip hoodie! The Aztec Hooded Vest is my newest pattern (released on Monday if you missed it). I totally love it in gingham! I interfaced all of the gingham with lightweight fusible interfacing to make it a little stiffer for the vest.

(I had to make some slightly tacky photoshopped images to go along with the series. It was as fun as it looks.)

See you tomorrow for the first tutorial!

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I’m really excited to release the Aztec Hooded Vest pattern today, this pattern is SO fun to make(at least I think so!). The Aztec hooded vest is a reversible zip vest with an oversized hood, suitable for boys and girls size 12-18m to 8! (12-18M, 2T, 3T, 4T, 5, 6, 7 and 8!)

This vest was originally part of my Aztec Spring look. I changed it up a little to make it fully lined and reversible. The hood was really the starting point for the vest, it’s really big!

I really love the layered look and this vest is perfect for that, especially in the springtime! But I am excited to make some thicker ones(maybe with a layer of batting in the middle?) when winter comes along again.

So far I have made this vest with wool, sweatshirt fleece(seen above), coating(see below) and also lightweight quilting cotton. Some of my testers used stretchy knits, also. The fun part is pairing two fabrics, one for the lining and one for the outside. If you use a reversible zipper the hoodie is totally reversible!

The aztec hoodie is fully lined and has open welt pockets on the front for a little geometric flair. It is fairly quick to sew and includes instructions for the chevron topstitching.

This pattern is available in my shop!

I have another Aztec hoodie to show you on Wednesday, it’s my new favorite one…and a fun summery series to kick off, too! See you soon!

P.S. This post has a big hint on my fabric from the Fabric Match-Up Giveaway! My fabric was the black and white triangles, I just love it! I thought it was kinda obvious, I used it in the envelope clutch sew-a-long and my recent boy fabric round-up, but some of you were stumped! The first person to match all the fabrics was Teagan and the random pattern pack winner is Mae! Thanks for playing, I thought it was so fun to see all the fabrics, though I didn’t even try to guess!

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Today’s giveaway comes from the adorable pattern shop DIY Fluffies. I have been admiring these stuffed animal patterns for years, especially this cute whale! The shop also has sewing kits complete with fabric and all the parts you need for the plushies. I think the kits would be a great gift for a new seamstress or even a child that you’re teaching to sew!

I was a total stuffed animal junkie when I was growing up which is why I love this shop so much. I am just hoping my kids get into them too. All of my toys had special personalities that I made up. I think these funky toys would have fit right in in my collection:

Bunny Sewing Pattern // Yoki El Dragon //  Love Elephant // Boris the Red Cat

I love this shop because you can find something for anyone in it! There are so many cute plush toys and kits suitable for boys and girls of all ages. I think these toys would be really fun to make for a baby shower or birthday party for a boy:

Alien Baby // Lucky Lion // Big Rocket

This giveaway is for a rhino sewing kit, and 3 pdf patterns, the monkey, whale and penguin!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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The Zig Zag pattern tour finished up on Wednesday and I wanted to share all the adorable dresses that were sewn up!

Justine’s white linen zig zag:

The post zig zag pattern tour round-up appeared first on see kate sew.

I have been wanting to make some of my instagrams into magnets forever, but every time I get on the sticky gram website and start uploading them the price scares me away. $15 for 9 isn’t such a bad deal until you decide to want to print every single instagram you’ve ever taken(because they are all of your stinking cute kids and you want them ALL on your fridge, obviously). It adds up quickly! I knew I would be able to make them myself, but I didn’t realize how EASY it would be!

I whipped these up yesterday and it seriously takes like 15 minutes to make them. The hardest part is formatting your photographs to print in 2″ square, and even that is pretty easy. And then your fridge will be so adorable!

DIY instagram magnets tutorial

Materials:
-photographs
-adhesive magnet paper*
-X-acto knife
-acrylic ruler

*I got my magnet paper at Hobby Lobby. It is $10 but you can use their 40% coupon to save $4. One sheet is 2′ by 1′ which will yield 72 magnets! You can also buy a similar product on Amazon.

I used Photoshop elements to format my instagrams into 2″ squares. I first opened a new document 4″ by 6″ and then created six 2″ squares with the rectangle tool. Then I dragged my instagram files into the 4×6 and created clipping masks for each rectangle. Go to Layer>Create Clipping Mask. Save the file and have it printed as a 4 by 6 photograph.

If you don’t have photoshop, there are probably 1 million ways to print off 2″ squares, so you can do it however you want!

Once you have your photographs, peel off the paper backing of your magnet paper and stick the photograph on. Press it down really well and use a ruler and Xacto knife to cut the squares out. Done! I told you: easy!

Final calculations:

I calculated the 4″ by 6″ photographs as costing .19 each, you might even be able to get them cheaper! Compare that to $1.66 EACH if you have them printed by someone else!

I plan to make some duplicate sets for my mom for Mother’s Day. She’s always begging for more pictures of her grandkids, so I figured this would appease her for a while!

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I asked on the facebook page what your favorite giveaway prize would be and the majority of you answered FABRIC! You’re in luck today!

If so, today is your lucky day! Eighteen sewing bloggers picked out a yard (or two!) of a fabric from their stash and we’re giving them ALL away today to one lucky winner!

To win this awesome stash of fabric goodness, just match the fabric swatch to the blogger (hint- most of us have used the fabric we chose in a recent project, so our recent posts are your fast track to fabric matching success). The first person to correctly match all of the swatches will receive ALL of the fabric shown!

A- 1.5 yards, Mini Dot in Sunspray by Lotta Jansdotter, B- 1 yard, Paradise Garden in Periwinkle by Amy Butler, C- Florescent Pink & Gray Striped Jersey Knit, D- 1/2 yard Heirloom Tile Flourish in Garnet and 1/2 yard Heirloom Opal in Fuchsia both by Joel Dewberry, E- 1 yard, Houndstooth in black by Michael Miller, F- Pink/Orange Stripe knit, G- 1 yard, Orange and Light Heather Gray Stripe Cotton Jersey Knit, H- 1 yard, Light pink linen, I- 1 yard, Mustard and Ivory Stripe by Girl Charlee, J- 1 yard, Rally Cream/Grass by Dan Stiles, K- 1 yard Riley Blake Ombre Dots in Aqua, 1 yard Target Polka Dot Sheet Fabric, 1 yard Lizzy House Pearl Bracelet in Persimmon and Michael Miller Happy Tones Charm Pack, L- 1 yard, Remix Triangles B/W by Ann Kelle, M- 1 Yard, Novella Rain Rayon in Aqua by Valori Wells, 1 yard, Lush Running Stitch in Purple by Patty Young, and 1 yard, Porcelain Tile Garden Wall in Olive, M- 1 yard, Mustard cotton sateen, O- 1 yard, Summer Totem in Grapefruit by Anna Maria Horner, P- 1 yard, Black and white chevron, Q- 1 yard, Parenthetical in Berry by Anna Maria Horner, R- 2 yards (1 yard each), ABC 123 by American Jane for Moda

Here is the list of bloggers (just in case you have a little research to do)-

Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy crafts

The Cottage Mama

crafterhours

Craftiness is not Optional

delia creates

girl. inspired.

icandy handmade

If only they would nap…

imagine gnats

kojodesigns

Melly Sews

Nap Time Crafters

See Kate Sew

Sew Country Chick

The Sewing Rabbit

sewVery

Sumo’s Sweet Stuff

The Train to Crazy

And just to sweeten the pot a little, every reader who submits a guess will be entered in a fabulous pattern bundle giveaway. The prize- The Sugarplum Top + Dress pattern by See Kate Sew, The Surfer Slacks Lounge Pant pattern by See Kate Sew, The Casual Lady Top and Dress pattern by Go To Patterns, Two “Winner’s Choice” patterns by Blank Slate Patterns, Pattern 5 Pack (“Winner’s Choice”) by Peek-a-boo Pattern Shop, Riding Pants pattern by the Sewing Rabbit, the Roly Poly pattern by imagine gnats, and the Ruby Ruffle dress pattern by The Cottage Mama! WOW!

Good luck!

*Giveaway ends at midnight MST on Friday, May 11, US residents only.

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