This past week I received the brand new Brother Bellissimo cutting machine. I hadn’t heard much about it before trying it out, but I knew there were a couple very fun features on this machine. I decided to try it out and give you my honest feedback so you can decide if this machine is a needed addition to your crafting and making space.

Brother Bellissimo review

The new Brother Bellissimo cutting machine is an app based cutting machine. It runs exclusively through the Brother Artspira App. If you already use and enjoy this app, you are going to LOVE how easy it is to use this cutting machine. It seems pretty fool proof as the app guides you through every step!

I’ll show you how it guides your cutting in the photos below. You can also check out the full video review embedded here, it’s my recorded first use of the machine to show you how simple it is to you. If a setting isn’t correct, the app will tell you to change it before cutting, no guessing.

This machine has a lot of similarities to the ScanNCut, so if you are familiar with those, this will be even easier. The Belissimo has matless cutting for vinyl, can cut perfect stickers, and uses the SAME MATS as the ScanNCut so you don’t have to buy new ones!

Below I will show you the three main features of the Brother Bellissimo, Cutting Vinyl {all kinds}, Cutting Paper, Creating and Cutting Stickers!!

Video first cuts!

Here is my real life experience of using the machine for the firs time… enjoy!

Other cutting machine projects to try

• What can you cut on the ScanNCut?
• Cutting fabric on the ScanNCut
• How to use the fabric rotary blade

What can the Brother Bellissimo Cut?

Ready to check out cutting cardstock, vinyl and stickers? You can buy the Bellissimo where ever Brother products are sold or on Amazon here.

Let’s start by cutting some card stock. I just some plain white {sorry its hard to see} and some shinny blue. The machine comes with a standard tack mat, but I also used a low tack mat that I already had. {any SDX mats seem to work with this machine}I used the Artspira design space to create a curved LOVE cut file.

When moving to cut on the app, the default settings are below. Mat off, and a half cut. If you push this arrow, it will take you to the cut settings. Turn the mat ON to have a full cut for the paper/cardstock.

When the settings are to your liking, hit the transfer button. From there it will walk you through all the settings you will need for the type of cut you are making. After you load the mat, it will put up with another button.

I had to change one setting for this cut, and the app walked me through changing that and told me exactly what to do. The mat loads SO easy, no issues at all. The cut is smooth and all auto-settings.

The cut was great! You can see the letters I cut here!

Cutting vinyl is also easy. I LOVE the matless feature. For curled material it is recommended to use the feeder accessory. I used the cutting design editor again and set this pre-made design from Artspira. Transfer the design when prompted.

The rolled material attachment just clicks on to the roller, it helps to guide rolled material under the sensors.

After the vinyl is in place, remove the guide before pushing the start button. The start button will only work/start flashing when everything is set correctly to cut. This time we are using the default settings of half cut, no mat.

Another perfect cut that peels away easily.

The final main cutting feature is to create stickers. Buy any sticker paper compatible with your type of home printer. A color printer is if course more fun. I have a laser color printer, so that’s what I used.

Once you have connected the Bellissimo to your Artspira App the sticker maker feature will appear with the design editors.

Open a new creation space and open an Artspira design or a photo from you gallery. I used AI to remove the background from these girls on my phone, saved it as a new picture, then imported to the sticker maker. It will convert upon import to work for the sticker.

Once it was open in the design space, I resized it much smaller.

Duplicated it a few times.

You can use auto layout, or drag and drop. I manually placed the stickers and the app said they were too close, but it ended up cutting fine. Play around with layout for your designs to maximize space.

First step is to print, the app found my printer automatically. My phone is connected via wifi to this printer for other things, so it was right there when I hit print. I’m assuming any wifi printer that will connect to your phone for other printing will connect for this, but this is just my working theory.

Print and let dry according to the sticker paper instructions.

Next step is to load into the machine. The app will guide this and then transfer the cut lines when prompted.

When everything is set the start button will flash green. It will cut the close line half cut first.

Do not remove the sticker sheet from the machine. Continue to follow the app prompts to cut the second full cut to make the sticker individual from the sheet.

After the second cut you can remove from the machine and punch out the stickers.

The punch out so you can hand out or use, and then the half peel of just the print is ready to peel and use as desired.

I tried a mix of photos, Artspira designs and graphics for my sticker trial. They turned out so cute and being able to make custom stickers is a fun addition to my crafting game.

Ok! That’s my full trial and review. Let me know if you have questions. Also check out the attached YouTube video for more tips.

The post Brother Bellissimo unboxing and review appeared first on Life Sew Savory.

Its finally feeling the fall around here. Today is warm, but windy and the leaves are blowing all around. I love it! Fall weather means we need a few things to fill in the fall wardrobe and shirts that pair with leggings were on my list. Today I’m sharing a tutorial on how to sew an easy curved hem, which you will see on the two shirts I recently sewed. The base for these two curved hem shirts is a free sewing pattern you will find below.

Curved hem shirts

I was originally only going to sew a shirt for Rose, but then I decided to sew myself one as well. The base for these shirts is the womens raglan sweatshirt, lengthened, with a curved hem. I also added a button placket to each.

The womens raglan sweatshirt has a larger neckline, so I did make these with a bit smaller neck due to adding the placket. You can see the tuck I took on the back of Rose’s shirt to make the neck a bit smaller.

Rose is wearing the raglan sweatshirt in size XS and I made a M for myself. You can lengthen the shirt to your desired length, and then I will show you in the tutorial below how to curve the hem for a fun, loose look.

Rose’s shirt is made of a loose waffle from my stash, and my shirt is a tighter waffle that I picked up at Hobby Lobby last week.

Other shirt sewing hacks

• Split hem sewing tutorial
• Placket tutorial
• Add a neck cowl
• Add a zipper collar
• Add a side pocket
• Short sleeve to long

How to sew a curved hem tutorial

Supplies needed to sew a shirt with a curved hem:

• Free Raglan Sweatshirt pattern
  • tutorial to sew up the raglan sweatshirt
• 2/3 yards of knit fabric
• placket tutorial if desired
• Serger {preferred} and/or sewing machine

Ok… so you will first cut out the sleeves for the shirt sleeves. When you cut the the front and back of the shirt you will lengthen it. Roses shirt is extended about 10″ for a longer curved hem shirt. My cream version was lengthened about 7″. Measure yourself from your collar bone, or a shirt you like to get final length.

After you cut the shirt longer as a rectangle, Curve the outside corner of the front and back as seen here. The curve should be start about 4″ up on the side, then curve towards the center fold of the shirt.

When you open up the shirt fold you will have a curved bottom edge of the shirt. Sew up the shirt until all you have left is the open side seams and a raw hem. If you need help sewing up the sweatshirt, see the linked tutorial in the supply list above. Pin or clip the under arm seam to keep this matched up.

Mark up the side of the curve 7-8″ depending on how high you want the slit. Measure up from the flat bottom of the curve to mark the side. At the side marking, fold over a 1/4″ hem, then ease into a wider hem until you have a 1/2″ to 3/4″ hem easing around the bottom curve. When you get to the other side of the curve, ease back out.

Use thread that closely matches your fabric color and sew on the back side of the shirt so you can sew right on the raw edge. I used the triple zig-zag stitch to sew the hem. It blends in perfectly with the shirt. You will need to press the hem.

Repeat with the other side of the shirt. Pin or clip the side seam from the sleeve cuff to 1″ above where the hem starts. I sewed up this side seam with my serger, stopping at the mark. When looking at the right side of the shirt, you should have a bit of raw fabric edge between the side seam and the curved hem.

Fold under a bit of the back side of shirt and then bring that folded edge over the front raw edge of the shirt. Pin about 2″ of overlap.

Sew this bottom of the side seam with the same zig-zag triple stitch to join the side seam to the curve. It looks great when finished and is a great finish to this top. Enjoy you new shirt with a curved hem.

The post How to sew a curved shirt hem appeared first on Life Sew Savory.

**updated 4/2022 – MORE sizes and a few patterns tweaks**

**Updated 10/2026 – Example of sewing dress in Stretch Corduroy fabric and add long sleeves**

Hi Friends! If you are checking out this post you love free sewing pattern like I do… If this is your first time here you should check out my whole page of free pdf sewing patterns. But in this post you can find the cutest School’s Out free dress pattern for woven fabrics. It turned out SO cute and I’m thrilled to share it with you all here. I recently experimented with sewing it in a stretch woven and it’s also delightful! I’m sharing that version here, plus adding long sleeves.

free dress sewing pattern for girls –

I usually sew with knit fabric, but I decided I needed a good A-line dress for woven fabric. This cute dress is the result. Since school is out this week I’m calling this the school’s out dress. This pdf sewing pattern is free for download in size 12 months to 5 years. {now the pattern goes to 16Y} Check the size chart for details.

As beautiful as this dress looks in these photos I feel the need to mention that I forgot to grade the pattern for my tall thin daughter. Usually, I make her patterns smaller in the width and a larger size in height. This version here is a straight up 5 and it should be a 3 width graded to the 5 height.

You can see the shoulders are a bit wide, and although I still love the look this is a great reminder that I love making clothes for Rose because I can create a perfect fit for her.

The fun thing about this free dress pattern is that you can also make into a shirt. I made this cute tank for Rose because I didn’t have enough of the floral for a dress.

I think the back of this top/dress is the most beautiful part of it. The beautiful keyhole and button closure is easy to sew and looks gorgeous.

Also, with the eyelet fabric I made Rose an under-layer with the summer shorties and girls tank pattern instead of lining the dress. I didn’t want it to be stiff with a lining in the dress, so I’m pretty excited the tank and shorts work under.

The sewing tutorial below gives instructions for leaving the sleeves off and making a cute tank. I don’t have instructions for shortening, but it is easy to shorten the pattern to a shirt/tunic length.

Here is the new version… Now that Rose is older I’m adding more sizes to some of my patterns.. this version is a 6 width and 8 length {Although I could have gone longer!} and I added the simple sleeve flounce – tutorial here.

And for my latest version I sewed a size 12 width and the longest length PLUS 4 inches. I wanted it close to knee length instead of mid-thigh. This is a cooler weather version so a bit longer is good. I also added length to the sleeves to make it long sleeves. The neckline is just a neck band and the sleeves have cuffs. Here’s my tutorial for making a short sleeve a long sleeve. AND the tutorial for neck bands if you need help with that.

Again, the changes I made to the original pattern:

• Remove the back keyhole (just make neckline continuous)
• Lengthen the sleeves
• Add neck band and sleeve cuffs with rib fabric
• Add 4″ of length to the bottom to make the dress longer.

Here are some other girls dress patterns you may also enjoy –

• Raglan Dress Tutorial
• Dress and Doll Circle Skirt Dress
• Sweet Rose Dress
• Girls Dress from Daddy Shirt
• T-Shirt Maxi Dress

How to sew a dress with woven fabric –

Alright, let’s get into the details of this dress sewing pattern. You can DOWNLOAD and PRINT the pattern by clicking the button below.

Pattern hacks and additions as seen above will be mentioned below in the tutorial.

Use this size chart to determine the size you should sew. I would recommend blending sizes if the waist/height measurements are off. 

This free printable dress pattern should be made with a light woven {not stretchy} fabric. Fabric that has good flow and drape are ideal. Both floral versions are Rayon Challis.

You will need 1-3 yards of fabric. I don’t have the exact break down, but I do know that the size 8 needs 1.5 yards, the smaller sizes can be made from 1 yard. I used almost 2 yards for the latest, and largest size of this dress {plus long sleeves}

The fabric from the new version of the dress can be found on Amazon here. You can also find beautiful Rayon Challis from Raspberry Creek Fabric or Fabric{dot}com, Stretch Corduroy from Hobby Lobby, or Amazon.

How to sew a Free PDF Pattern –

Trim the edges and tape the pieces together. It should look like this. **UPDATE: the pattern now has FIVE larger sizes and finally has a marking for the back keyhole.**

Whew.. this sewing tutorial has a lot of photos, but hopefully that will make this dress an easy sew. There is a 3/8″ seam allowance included and it should be used unless otherwise noted {like on the neckline}

Once you print out the pdf sewing pattern, trim the edges and tape together as shown below. It should look like this. Use the size chart to determine the size you need and cut as directed on the pattern piece.  You can leave the sleeves off for a tank and/or shorten to a shirt if you want.

WOW – please excuse the super wrinkly fabric in this tutorial. I have a love/hate {mostly hate} relationship with irons that I’m trying to work on in my personal life.

You should now have 1 front and 1 back. 2 sleeves, binding strips cut on the bias {if you didn’t see this in the pattern – you need at least 30″ of 1.25″ binding cut on the bias of thin fabric. Can be the same fabric or coordinating} You will also need a button for the back closure. If you are adding the neck band and cuffs, you will need those pieces as well.

If you haven’t already, use the line on the back pattern piece to cut the back keyhole.

Use the prepared binding to sew the keyhole. Fold binding with wrong sides together, then line up raw edges and pin or clip to right side of fabric.

Pin as if the keyhole is a straight line as shown below. Open up the cut and pin straight along.

Sew binding to dress with 1/4″ seam allowance then clip the bottom V part of the  keyhole.

Finish the edge by holding the fabric with the wrong side of the dress facing you. Fold the seam allowance back towards the dress.

Then fold the binding over to the back side of the dress, covering the seam allowance.

On the right side of the main dress fabric topsitch to secure the binding and finish the keyhole edge.

Fold the back keyhole with main dress fabric together and binding facing you. Pinch the bottom V and stitch a single line as shown here. This will give the keyhole V a better shape on the right side of the fabric.

Create a button hole loop with elastic or fabric. If making it from fabric create a double fold piece about 1/4″ wide like this. It should be able 2″ long.

Trim the binding fabric on the top edges of the keyhole to about 1/4″.

With Right sides together sew the shoulder seams.

Finish the neckline in the same way as the keyhole . Fold the binding in half with wrong sides together and then place on the right side of the neckline fabric. Pin or clip to the edge with the raw edges lined up. Sew with 1/4″ seam allowance.

Sew on neckband if using stretch fabric.

Clip the entire neckline seam allowance.

On the ends of the neckline trim the binding to 1/2″ tab.

Fold that tab back

Then over to enclose the end and the seam allowance.

Measure the button loop against the size of your chosen button and the stick the button loop inside the folded over edge of the binding.

Fold the binding to enclose the seam allowance and pin or clip along the whole neckline.

Stitch on right side of dress to finish neckline.

If you are making a tank you will finish the the arm openings at this point with bias binding just like the neckline.

To add the sleeves match the front of sleeve with front of dress, right sides together and then pin or clip from front to middle, then the back to middle. Sew sleeve. Repeat with the other side. If adding long sleeves and cuffs, extend the sleeves when cutting and sew on cuffs before side seams.

Sew up the side seams.

Add the button to the back of the dress/shirt for closure.

To hem the sleeves and bottom you can use your serger to finish all the raw edges, then turn up a 1/3″ hem and stitch. You can also press up 1/4″, then turn up another 1/3″ for a narrow hem with finished edge. Here is my 1/4″ first press up.

For the stretch Corduroy I just turned up a 3/4″ hem. Sew with coverstitch, double needle or sewing machine.

Then turn up again to stitch.

I finished both the sleeves and bottom hem this way. On the shirt I serged, then turned up the hem.

and one more link to download the free dress pattern if you haven’t already –

And you did it!! A cute girls free dress sewing pattern or top for summer. Rose loved her dress and wore it to school after our photo shoot the other day. It’s going to be a great summer dress and top for sure.

The post free dress sewing pattern for Girls appeared first on Life Sew Savory.

Basketball season is just around the corner and I love making fun shirts/sweatshirts to wear to my sons games. Today I’m sharing a basketball sweatshirt sewing hack that is fun to sew and fun to wear. It turned out so soft and cozy and is a perfect mash up of a sweatshirt and a blanket.

DIY basketball sweatshirt

A few weeks ago I shared a sweatshirt/blanket mash up that I made for my son. Today its my turn! Check out this adorable basketball sweatshirt that I was able to sew up in an afternoon. It’s a combination of a black sweatshirt and a super soft basketball print blanket.

I used the reverse applique technique to sew the basketballs to the backside of the sweatshirt, then cut out the front. The basketballs are the perfect peekaboo through the sweatshirt fabric. You can use various size basketballs and arrange the placement in any way you desire. Below I will walk you through how I prepped the sweatshirt and then a few different ways to add the basketballs.

Other fun sweatshirt hacks to try

• Blanket and hoodie mashup tutorial
• Sweatshirt to dress tutorial
• Rainbow back sweatshirt
• How to embroider on a sweatshirt
• Loose fit raglan sweatshirt tutorial and free pdf pattern
• How to sew a sweatshirt without a pattern

How to sew a Basketball Sweatshirt

I ended up using two different methods to attach the basketballs to the shirt. I using my sewing machine and a zig-zag stitch to sew the balls to the shirt, and then I also used my embroidery machine and hoop to sew the basketballs to the shirt. Both work great, and you can choose which works best for you. I’ll demonstrate both methods below.

Supplies need to create this fun sweatshirt-

• Black sweatshirt. I bought this one here.
• Soft basketball blanket. I bought this one here.
  • There is also a light color basketball blanket if you want to use a lighter color sweatshirt
• My favorite magnetic hoop SO handy for things like this…
• Embroidery stabilizer if using embroidery.

Gather your supplies and open the sweatshirt at the side seams. Not all sweatshirts have side seams, but the one linked above does have a side seam. I opened the shirt from the sleeve cuff to bottom band. Remove the wristbands and waistband and set aside.

Cut several ball out from the blanket. Make sure to leave around1/2″ seam allowance on all sides of the balls. I cut a variety of sizes and shapes out and set them to the side. Start with one basketball to figure out the process. I wanted to place this one against the bottom edge of the shirt. I first lined it up on the front of the shirt to see the layout, then flipped the shirt to the backside and flipped the basketball fabric over face down too. Pin all along the edge of the ball fabric.

Sew with a 3/8″ seam allowance and a zig-zag stitch all around the edge of the ball. Flip the shirt back over to the front.

Cut the fabric to reveal the basketball behind. Leave a bit of fabric when you cut {don’t trim too close to the stitches.}

Another way to sew the basketballs to the shirt is to use your embroidery machine. Place a piece of stabilizer under the sweatshirt, then hoop the shirt. A magnetic hoop makes this really easy. The backside of the shirt should be face up in the hoop. Place a basketball face down, pin the ball securely down. Measure the size of the basketball, also mark the center of the ball.

Use a built in circle design from your machine, resize it to the size of the ball. The second photo shows the ball pinned down and the center marked.

Use the placement feature on your machine to move the center of the design {the needle}to line up with the center marking of the ball. Stitch out the circle and trim any extra fabric. I used pinking shears to trim any extra fabric.

Remove the hoop and flip the shirt over. Cut the fabric as before to reveal the basketball.

Now that you have the hang of sewing, decide which method you like best, and then sew multiple basketballs to each sleeve, and the front and back of the sweatshirt. The first photo is the shirt front and the second photo is the sleeve. Layout and pin to arrange the design, then sew or hoop to attach.

When you have all the basketballs placed on the sweatshirt, place the right side of the shirt together and line up the side seams. Pin or clip the side of the shirt and the under arm. Sew with a serger or stretch stitch to resew the shirt together. Add the waistband back on the bottom and the wrist bands on the sleeves. Once the shirt is back together you can

The post Basketball Sweatshirt Hack appeared first on Life Sew Savory.

Many years ago I put this saying on my daughters wall with sticky vinyl. Over the years it has had a bit of wear and tear so it was time for an upgrade. I love this scalloped square bunting because you can move it or take it somewhere else if needed. Today I’m going to show you the step by step tutorial for creating these squares {one at a time or several} and you can create any saying you want.

Scallop Square letter bunting-

Each square has a foam center and is reversible, with the back being blank fabric. The letter is stitched on the front and the back is plain fabric. Each word is on it’s own ribbon, but depending on your words, you could string it all on one long ribbon.

I bought a fat quarter pack of these fabrics and they are so cute! My only small issue is that I don’t love how the green check fabric all seems to line up in my final hanging position. It seems to stand out and now I can’t un-see it. Not sure if adding one more fabric would have fixed my issue, but it would be something I would look at more closely next time.

Other bunting tutorials to try:

• Birthday banner sign
• Thankful bunting
• Happy Birthday Felt letters
• Burlap Bunting
• Fall Bunting
• Snowflake garland

How to embroider a scalloped square letter bunting-

Grab your embroidery machine and lets get making! Here’s what you will need to create this bunting. How much of each you will need depends on the number of letters you are creating.

• Cotton Fabric {my fat quarter bundle here}
• Stabilizer
• Embroidery Thread
• Organza Ribbon
• Curved Embroidery Scissors
• Foam
• Embroidery Files
  • Font
  • Scalloped Square {Here is the one I bought, but it wouldn’t upload straight to my machine. I had to upload to Artspira, then send to the machine to get it to work.

Start with a bit of planning. I wrote out my words, then counted how many of each letter needed. Then I remembered that I was going to be using a variety of colors, so I planned out the colors {as seen in the second photo}.

If you are making the bunting in all one color you can upload and duplicate the scalloped square, then add the letters. Make as many as you need of each letter. If you are using a variety of fabrics you will want to make all the letters of each fabric. Depending on your hoop size you may be able to make 2, 4, or 6 squares at a time.

Because I was embroidering multiple squares at a time I used the color sort to group the steps and make the embroidery easier. In the embroidery screen got to layout>color sort.

Now you can see in the photo how the colors {embroidery steps} are all grouped. The second photo shows a mix letter batch. I was able to keep my screen set up like this and just swap out the letters for each new fabric color.

Prepare your hoop with stabilizer first, then a layer of foam. I had to use these three small pieces as that was the foam size I was smaller. You can use whatever size and thickness you have. This is 2mm thick.

Next place the fabric over the foam and place the hoop firmly on top. The fabric should be pulled tight, but not distorted.

Here are the steps you should follow on your embroidery machine for each fabric.

1. Stitch out the placement stitch for all squares.

2. Skip ahead in the stitch order to the letters. Stitch out all the letters.

3. Remove the hoop from the machine and trim the fabric around the squares. The satin boarder is pretty wide, so you don’t need to clip right on the stitches.

4. Flip the hoop over and use a glue stick to temporarily keep the fabric on the back of the hoop. You can cut the fabric in to strips or a square for the back.

5. Make sure all the placement squares are completely covered. Slide the hoop back onto the machine.

6. Navigate to the next placement square. This one should have the circles for the ribbons as well. Stitch this for all squares.

7. Remove the hoop one more time and trim the fabric again.

8. Replace the hoop and navigate to the satin edge stitch. This step will take awhile {and a lot of thread!} I had to change the bobbin at least once during these five squares.

Here’s another fabric color being stitched out.

9. Remove the hoop from the machine and from the fabric. Tear the stabilizer off the back and then pull the foam away from the scallops.

10. To punch the holes in the square I used a small punch from my KAM snap set. Once There is a small hole, use a knitting needle or something similar to make the hole larger .

11. Lay out all the letters for one word and then cut a length of ribbon about double the letters.

12. I used a large darning needle to thread the ribbon through the letters. Try to keep the ribbon straight while going in and out.

I made each word a different strand, but you can string however it works for you and your space. Hang and enjoy!! Can’t wait to see what bunting you will make!

The post Scalloped Square embroidered bunting tutorial appeared first on Life Sew Savory.

I love sewing myself new bags. This is something I do a few times a year when I get bored with my current bag/purse. When I sew a new purse for myself, I usually create a share a pattern with all of you at the same time. Todays tutorial is an add-on to nearly any bag pattern and I used it in my zippered cross body bag for this project.

Card holder to add to a bag

Here’s a little peak at the finished bag and the card slots inside the bag. I wanted a new bag that would hold everything and that I wouldn’t need a wallet as well. My new phone case holds a few cards as well, so with this bag, I no long have to carry a wallet. This may change in the future, but for now, this is working great.

Here are a few photos of what the inside of my bag looks like. Lots of space inside and the two zipper pockets on the outside as well. I love the size of this cross body and now I have even more room that my wallet used to take up. Today I’ll show you how easy it is to add this card holder.

Other tutorials and patterns for bag making

• Zipper pocket for bag making
• Small purse free pattern
• Zipper cross body pdf pattern
• Hip bag free pdf pattern
• Small Pouch bag
• Convertible backpack tote bag free pattern

How to sew a card holder

There isn’t much to prep for this project outside of what you need for your bag. I used my cross body zipper pattern. You can buy this pattern for $4.00 here. It’s one of my favorite bag patterns and a pretty easy sewing pattern. Cut out all the pieces as directed in the bag pattern you are making and then another piece of the lining for this card slots. You can make a four card holder {cut fabric 8″ x 12″} or a six card holder {cut fabric 8″ x 15″}. Finish all the raw edges with a serger or zig-zag.

Grab a couple of cards to used for sizing. Place two cards 1/2″ down from one short end. Fold up the bottom, up and over the cards, fold back down so you can see about another 1/2″ of the cards.

Pin or clip the sides to hold this fold. Take the cards out and place them on top of the fold, just down from the fold edge.

Bring the bottom up and over the cards. Pin or clip the sides to hold the fold.

Remove the cards and then press the two folds. Remove the clips. Fold under the top of the fabric. Press again.

Fold under the bottom of the fabric and press this. Now sew down both sides. Sew with a straight stitch right at the edge of the side.

Fold the sides you just sewed to the back side {the wrong side of the fabric}. Press the sides back.

Pin the card holder to one side of the bag lining. I just centered it on the lining side. Pin down all four sides and then mark the center line as well. You can use the cards to help mark the center line. Sew the card slots to the lining. Stitch with a straight stitch very close to the edge {around 1/8″} Also sew down the middle. You want the cards to fit, but snugly. This helps them stay in place. If the fit is too loose, the cards will slip out.

Continue assembling the bag pattern as directed {What ever bag you are adding this too}. When you finish the bag, load it up with all your things and get going! No matter what bag you add this to you are going to love it.

The post How to sew a card holder for bagmaking appeared first on Life Sew Savory.

**Post updated with new embroidery machine tutorial 9/2026**

It may not feel like fall, but I just love the colors and flavors of fall. Also, it’s September, so I don’t care what the temperature is, I’m going full fall mode. Today I’m sharing another version of this fall welcome sign. The first version has letters cut on the ScanNCut and then sewn around. The second is using an applique font and my embroidery machine. More options for you depending on what machine you have. This is a pretty basic sewing and applique tutorial for you to create a beautiful door welcome sign.

fall welcome door sign –

ok! let’s take a look at the two versions of my fall welcome sign. Both tutorials are below and the supply list is very similar for both, so I’ll just include supplies for all on the list.

This fall door sign is really easy to put together and today I’m going to show you how. I used my ScanNCut for create perfect letters and my sewing machine to sew it all together. You can create this same look with or without a electronic cutting machine.

And if you don’t have a cutting machine OR just want to use an embroidery machine, you can create this look using an embroidery font and machine. If you have a large hoop machine, you can create this all in one hoop like I did here. If you have a smaller hoop size, you can still make it, just move the hoop after one or two letters to complete.

More fall projects to sew

• Fall Mug Sewing Cozy
• Button Down Skirt free pattern
• Felt Fall Playmat
• Fabric and wood fall sign

Fall welcome sign with applique

Supply list and overview in the card below.

Fall Welcome Sign with Applique

Print

Create this beautiful fall welcome sign with applique. Your favorite fall fabrics create a festival fall sign.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Active Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Difficulty Intermediate

Materials

• Fall Fabric or Fat Quarters
• Iron on applique backing
• Fusible Fleece
• Fusible Foam
• Coordinating thread for applique

Tools

• Brother ScanNCut or other electronic cutting machine
• Sewing Machine

Instructions

1. Create text for welcome sign
2. Send text to cutting machine
3. Press iron on backing on fabric back
4. Use one fabric or multi for each letter
5. Cut each letter from fabric
6. Place letters on sign fabric.
7. Use iron to press letters to sign fabric
8. Iron fusible fleece to back of sign fabric
9. Stitch around each letter to applique to fabric
10. With right sides together sew around sign fabric
11. Turn right sides out and press. Close turning holes
12. Add hanger on the back and enjoy!

How to applique a welcome sign

let’s jump in! The supplies you need for this project are listed in the card above. Here is the full photo tutorial to get you started with this cute sewing and applique project. You can use scraps of fabric for the letters, but you will need a full piece for the back and front of the sign. More of the details of the sizing are below. Read through for all my sizing, but you can make this project in whatever sizes you want.

Some of the steps are the same, and I’ll give directions for both versions where needed.

I laid each of the letter rectangles together and pressed the iron on backing to each of them. You can do the iron on backing all in one piece or in small individual ones.

If using an applique font and embroidery machine you can still add the backing, but it’s not necessary like it is if you are using the cutting machine for your fabric.

Press fabric right side up on cutting mat. You can see my layout below. I then scanned in the mat so I could see the fabric placement in relation to the letters. I really love the color scanner and the ability to see everything right on the screen before cutting. My letters are all around 3 x 5″.

Once the layout is in place, cut the letters. Peel off the extra fabric around the letters. Carefully lift each letter and place on a cutting mat to arrange layout.

I used my cutting mat to layout the letters and decide how big my backing needed to be. I wanted a nice border around the letters. Cut a front and back of the sign material. These pieces should be the same size. Mine are 6.5″ x 18″. Arrange the letters on the front piece of fabric. Fuse the letters to the fabric with an iron. The iron on backing that is linked in the card above is actually double fusible.

Now each of the letters should be fused to the fabric and easy to work with and sew. Place the fusible fleece on the back of the fabric with words. The fleece should be double fusible OR place the fusible side up, so it will fuse to the back later. Flip the fabric over and pin in several places place to hold it in place.

With the fleece pinned to the backing stitch around each of the letters. My settings are seen in the photo here. The zig-zag stitch with is 3.5 and the length is .3. This creates a nice tight stitch around each letter.

If you are doing the applique version you will stitch the placement for each letter, then add the fabric and tack down each letter. If there is overlap, trim before adding the next letter. Do not add the final satin stitch. Remove the hoop and trim each letter closely.

Now go back and add the satin stitch. If your machine has embroidery sort, you can set it to do the steps in this order. If you can’t sort the steps, you can use the up/down thread arrows to navigate through the stitch order to make sure you are stitching all the letters before adding the final outline.

You can see the arrows here to see what you are sewing and what you need to embroider next.

Remove the fabric from the hoop when finished. {You can see I had to change the bobbin thread a few times} Press the top with an iron to smooth the stitches and fuse to the foam.

Trim the foam even on all sides of the lettering. Trim the fabric to 1/2″ seam allowance. Cut a piece for the backing the same size as your front piece.

For the sewing version, trim the fabric even on all sides of the lettering. Cut a backing the same size as your front piece. With right sides together, place the front and back of the sign fabric together. Leave a 3″ hole for turning the fabric. Clip the corners before turning.

For the foam version you will sew the two layers together in the same way. I left on of the small ends open for turning. Add ribbon for hanging along top edge if desired. Clip the corners.

Turn right sides out and turn in the hole seam allowance. Press to secure seam allowance AND to fuse the fleece to the backing. I hand sewed the opening closed. You can close the turning hole however you want.

Turn right side out and press to fuse back side of foam. Fold in and press turning hole seam allowance. Hand stitch to close the hole.

I glued a hanger to the back to easily hang on the door. You can use any hanger or other way to hang that you like. This is just what I had on hand in the moment and this was a quick solution. I love it!!

For the orange sign with ribbon, I used a dowel to hang through the ribbon to hang the sign. The hanger is super easy as well. I used hot glue to attach, simple and useful!

The post Fall Welcome Sign with applique appeared first on Life Sew Savory.

My son has been asking for this sweatshirt blanket hoodie for months now. For his birthday I purchased the hoodie {Amazon} and blanket {Walmart} and was able to gift him the pieces for this project. I did not get the supplies in time to sew it for his birthday, but I was ready. This past week I tackled this mashup and we are both thrilled with the results. Maybe you have seen some short videos of these hoodies on social media, but today I’ve got a full tutorial showing you how I combined this blanket and hoodie.

Hoodie and Blanket mashup up Sweatshirt

How great is this mashup hoodie? I purchased this color sweatshirt specifically since it went well with blanket. I’ve seen this done with thrift items as well, but my son has a specific vision I wanted to execute for him.

You can cut your sweatshirt apart in any way/style you want, this is what we came up with. It took a long time to sew all the small branches, so I may make it simpler if I did it again.

How fun is this? I think a blanket with several smaller designs like this one is perfect as you can see whole parts of the pictures. A blanket with one large image may be harder to use.

Other sweatshirt patterns and tutorials

• Sweatshirt Back Hack with rainbow
• Add a zipper to a sweatshirt tutorial
• Sweatshirt to dress tutorial
• Reverse applique tutorial on a sweatshirt
• Puff Embroidery on a Sweatshirt
• Split Hem Sweatshirt tutorial

Video of hoodie sewing hack tutorial-

How to sew a hoodie/blanket combination sweatshirt

Supplies for a hoodie mashup

• A hoodie in the right size. I purchased this one from Amazon.
• A soft blanket. I bought this one from Walmart.

The first thing after finding a blanket and sweatshirt you want to use, is to do a bit of deconstruction. You will need to remove the bottom band and front pocket to start. You can just cut the bottom band, or use a seam ripper to keep all the fabric and not lose a small bit from cutting.

After the band and pocket are removed, draw your cut line on the front of the hoodie. I used a water soluble marking pen for this. You can make a simple curved line, or a bit more complicated like this. I kept the full right shoulder of sweatshirt fabric to stabilize the top.

Cut both the front and back together.

Cut off the sleeve {I didn’t seam rip this, just cut it} and then cut up the under arm. I did use a seam ripper to remove the cuff. Save this cuff to sew back on.

Here are the pieces I will use as patterns for the blanket cutting.

Cut the sleeve from the blanket, adding seam allowance to the top and sides where you cut it. Open up the sweatshirt and pin very securely to the blanket.

Cut and leave around a 1/2″ seam allowance on the blanket. Then take the hoodie front and pin it to the seam allowance you just cut, match up the sweatshirt cut line. Pin hoodie front securely to the blanket.

Piece by piece, pin the hoodie front to the blanket seam allowance and transfer the pins, until you have the front fully assembled. I sewed the front before pinning and sewing the back.

Sew the front of the hoodie. I used the triple zig-zag stitch right on the edge of the sweatshirt fabric, but you can use any stitch you want. Attach back side, by pinning and sewing.

Turn inside out and trim extra blanket. I’m hoping all this fluff with go away after a few washings. Turn back right side out and pin and sew pocket back on. I could see where I had taken it off, so I used that for placement.

Take the sleeve piece and fold it in half. Sew the underarm with a serger or zig-zag on your sewing machine. You want the seam to remain stretchy. Add the cuff to the bottom, then match the under arm and shoulder seam in the shoulder opening. Pin/clip the sleeve in place then sew/serge.

Stretch and pin/clip the bottom band back in place to finish the hoodie. This project took me an afternoon to prep and an afternoon to sew. If I just cut it all apart {no seam ripping} and made a simpler design, it would be a one afternoon project for sure. Can’t wait to see what you create!

The post Sweatshirt and blanket hoodie hack tutorial appeared first on Life Sew Savory.

I went to grab an apron the other day and realized I didn’t have one handy in my kitchen. I’ve recently ruined a couple shirts with grease splatter, so it was time to sew a new apron for myself. This adjustable apron is perfect for teens and adults, or you can sew up the small child size for those tiny people in your life. Both are adjustable in length and width.

Rose is modeling the child apron here and it is obviously too small {haha} Below you can see how the adjust one adjusts to fit her well.

Adjustable Apron in two sizes

I thought it would look ok for Rose to wear the child apron for a photo, but it sooo small. We took a photo together, then I let her wear the larger one, which really fits fine. So the larger size is for pre teen – adult and the child size is really for smaller children.

The apron is adjustable because the sides have a casing that the strap goes through. The neck strap can be longer or shorter and the sides can cinch up as needed.

Same apron, two different users, it works for both of us just fine. I also love the double gauze for the fabric. It’s SO light, but yet absorbent.

Again, both of us using the same apron, different sizes and height, but it works well. Excited to be able to share because Rose loves to bake and I do most of the cooking at home, so I’m sure we will both be using this.

More kitchen project tutorials to sew –

• Sublimation towels
• Trash bag dispenser
• Fridge handle covers
• Scrappy Potholders
• Dish Scrubby Knitting Project
• Mug Cozie tutorial

How to sew an adjustable apron

Ok! Let’s dive into this project.

Supplies needed for an adjustable apron

• 1 yard main fabric {Double gauze on Amazon here}
• 1/3 yard for pocket
• 120″ of cotton strapping for adult or 80″ for child
  • Amazon links here, but I got all my supplies at Hobby Lobby.
• BONUS, if your fabric is 50″ or wider you can make a adult apron AND a child apron from 1 yard. The fabric linked is wide enough. If your fabric is only 40″ wide you will need 1/2 yard of fabric just for the child’s apron. Child modifications in italics.

Start by cutting your fabric to size. For the adult size fold over 13″, and then cut the length to 32″. You total fabric should be 26″ x 32″, folded in half.

Cut a pocket piece 16″ x 16″, then fold in half.

For the child size your piece will be 20″ x 18″ folded in half to be 10″ x 18″.

Cut a pocket piece 14″ x 14″, then fold in half.

From there you will create the shape. Fold the fabric in half as listed above. I have 13″ along the top here and 32″ in length. Along the short time side, measure in 6.5″ from the fold. Along the long side measure down 10.5″. Mark these two points.

For the child size you will mark 4″ on the short top and 8″ down the side.

All these directions now apply to both sizes. Place a straight edge between the two markings and cut off the corner. If you don’t have a long ruler, just draw a line and cut.

We will now finish the edges. I chose to serge the edge first, then fold over. If you do not have a serger, you can either zig-zag the edge first or fold over 1/4″ tiny hem, then the full hem second. After serging, I folded over 1″ hem on the top edge and bottom hem, press and sew.

Finish the two sides as well. I serged, then folded over 1/4″ inch, press then sewed.

For the angled edges, serge to finish first, then fold over 1.25″. I like to double check with my strapping to make sure the casing is wide enough. Press, then sew.

Here is a view from the front and back of the finished apron top.

Take your folded pocket piece. Make sure the right sides are folded in. Sew around the three open sides of the fabric, leave about a 4″ opening to turn right side out. After sewing, trim the corners.

Turn right side out, then fold in the seam allowance of the turning hole and press.

Fold the pocket and the apron in half. Match the centers. The pocket should be placed about 1″ down from the corner on the side. The top of the pocket is the folded side.

Pin all sides in place. I also pinned down the middle of the pocket to divide it in half. Sew close to the edge to secure to the apron and also down the center to divide.

Take the cotton strapping, cut to size. Finish the ends by folding over about 1/2″ and then zig-zagging the cut end to finish. Thread through the casing, by going up one side, then down the other. Leave a loop at the top for the neck.

Adjust the straps to be even.

Here are the two sizes. You can also adjust to make any size between these two.

The post Adjustable Apron tutorial – child and adult appeared first on Life Sew Savory.

A little interruption in my back to school/fall posting to bring you this adorable mini finger potholder tutorial! We were gifted a set of these in Bronco fabric {we live in CO, but don’t cheer for the Broncos} and have used them quite a bit! My daughter asked the other day if we could get more of this style potholder, so I decided to sew some! In this tutorial you will find everything you need to sew your own set.

Mini Potholders DIY

I love how handy this small potholders are. They take up no space at all and are easy to grab when you need a quick hotpad. These have insulated batting inside to protect your fingers, yet are still light and not too thick.

This is a fun, simple sewing project that will be useful for years to come.

More kitchen project tutorials to sew –

• Sublimation towels
• Trash bag dispenser
• Fridge handle covers
• Scrappy Potholders
• Dish Scrubby Knitting Project
• Mug Cozie tutorial

Mini finger potholder sewing tutorial –

Supplies to make your own mini finger potholders:

• Fabric Scraps {I used two fat quarters}
• Insul-Bright heat resistant batting

That’s it! Very simple for the supplies. Grab these two items and a sewing machine and let’s get sewing. Here’s how to cut your fabric. This will be enough to make two small hotpads.

• Cut 4 large pieces of fabric {4.5″ x 9.5″}
• Cut 2 large batting {4.5″ x 9.5″}
• Cut 8 smaller pieces of fabric. {4.5″ x 4″}
• Cut 4 smaller batting {4.5″ x 4″

Take one larger piece of fabric and one large batting. Place the batting on the wrong side of the fabric. Sew a large X on the fabric to attach these two layers together.

Take two of the smaller fabric pieces and place them right sides together. Sew along one of the longer sides {4.5″}with a 1/4″ seam allowance.

After sewing, open up the the fabric you just sewed to the inside {wrong side} of the fabric. Place one of the small batting pieces inside.

Fold the fabric back over with the batting securely up against the top seam. Sew a large X through all three layers. Repeat these steps with another two small pieces of fabric, so you have two finger sleeve pieces.

Take the large piece that you sewed the batting to and turn it fabric side up. Add the two finger sleeve pieces on top of this. The raw edge of the small pieces should face out to the short ends.

Take a second larger piece of fabric and lay it right side down on top of the other pieces. Pin or clip around three sides of this stack. Leave one short side open. {this will be for turning} Sew around the three sides you pinned. Use a 3/8″ seam allowance, but be careful to sew through ALL layers, so if you need a larger allowance, take it.

Find the open end, then turn the fabric right side out. Flatten the turning hole end and then sew through all layers with a zig-zag stitch and a straight stitch.

Turn the finger sleeves over again to hide the zig-zag stitch. Flip over both sleeves to finish the mini potholders. Repeat every step again to sew the second hotpad.

Fold in half to slide your fingers inside and and use for your next baking or cooking project.

These are just the right size to grab any pan and protect your hands. Enjoy this simple sewing project!

The post Mini Finger Potholder tutorial appeared first on Life Sew Savory.