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

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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.

**Updated 8/26**

I can’t believe I’m starting to think about back to school prep, but it’s time! Our school starts next week sand the summer has flown by! I’ve been working on fun back to school crafts and projects for weeks now. This fabric notebook cover is one of my first school sewing projects of the year and I just love how it turned out. I can’t wait to sew several more for my daughter (she loves these pretty things as much as I do!)

Fabric notebook cover for school

I’m so excited to sew these covers for my daughter for her back to school supplies. Grab your favorite fabrics, the notebooks you need for school and this tutorial will help you put those two things together.

My next plan is to try and sew fabric book covers for textbooks. Not sure if I can do it without stretchy fabric, but I want to try.

I sewed these covers for notebooks, but you could also sew something like this for your text books, or other books. Our school doesn’t allow for fabric text book covers, so I poured my creative juice in to making notebook covers. If you can have fabric book covers, then use this to make book covers too!

Other fun things to sew for school

• School Supplies Tote
• Cube Zipper Case sewing tutorial
• First day of school cut file – free
• Clothes to sew for back to school
• Sewing patterns that are uniform/dress code friendly
• 3 Ring binder pencil case
• Reusable snack bags

How to cover your notebooks with fabric

Supplies and Tools:

• Fabric {½ yard or scraps of a few prints}
• Sewing Machine
• Composition notebook
• Light/medium fusible interfacing

Ok! Let’s get sewing! After you have gathered your supplies, it’s time to cut the fabric. You will need to cut the following pieces. This tutorial will cover a standard composition notebook. Adjust sizes for other book or notebook.

• Cut four 7” x 10.5” {this should be the dimension of your inside covers + seam allowance}
  • These are the cover sleeves
• Cut two 16” x 10.5 and one of interfacing the same size {this is the size of the entire back of the book/notebook – make sure to include the spine width}
  • Front and back of main cover
• Cut two 5” x 7” {pockets for inside covers}
  • Inside flap pockets

Use a ¼” inch seam allowance for all seams.

How to sew a notebook cover

Ok! Let’s get sewing!! First, fuse the interfacing to the back of one of the large main cover pieces.

Next take the two small inside pocket pieces and finish one of the longer edges. This finished edge will be folded over as a hem at the top of the pockets.

Fold over ¾” to the backside of the finished edge of the pocket. Stitch with a straight stitch to secure the hem.

Place the pockets on the bottom edge of each of the sleeve pieces. Baste the sides and bottom of the pocket to keep it in place. With the right sides together place another same size piece on top of the pocket piece. Sew the outer long edge of each sleeve piece. (see where I’m pointing in the photo) Repeat the same on the other side.

Fold the pieces so that the wrong sides are in and then top-stitch the edge you just sewed. Top-stitch ⅛” from the edge to secure.

Do the same to both pieces and you should have two sides that look like this. Now we are ready to add the main cover piece.

Place the main piece with the interfacing right side up. Then line up the two sleeve pieces to the outer edges.

Again with right sides together place the second main piece on top of the others. Pin or clip all the way around.

Sew all the way around the edge. Leave a 3” opening for turning. I left mine in the middle of one long side so it was where there were just two layers of fabric and not where the sleeve/pocket pieces were.

Clip the four corners. Then close the turning hole.

Slide the two sides of the notebook covers into the fabric sleeves.

What will you put in the pockets? Pens? Notecards? Handouts? Now I need to sew up more so my daughter has color coded notebook covers for all her books this fall! I don’t think the boys will go for these, but maybe if I got cool sports fabric they would. 

The post How to Sew a Notebook Cover – tutorial appeared first on Life Sew Savory.

I’ve sewn many many tote bags over the years, but I wanted to try an unlined version, that also looked neat and clean inside. Of course I had to figure out how to finish the seams and French seams seem like the quickest and easiest option. I’m very pleased with how this canvas tote bag turned out, I even added box corners.

Simple canvas tote bag with French seams

I used a medium weight canvas fabric that I had in my stash. I was wishing it was just plain white/cream canvas, but I think using the print helps you see the seams better. You can sew a simple canvas tote bag with just the side seams, but I added boxy corners for a bit more shape and dimensions.

I’ll give cutting dimensions below for both the boxy corner version and the straight version. You can sew either. I also used pre-made straps, but you can also sew up your straps, I’ll give information for both options in the tutorial below. This canvas tote bag is 15″ wide 16″ tall and about 3″ wide with the boxy bottom corners.

Other free tote bag tutorials and patterns

• Sweatshirt fleece tote
• Simple tote bag with embroiery
• Nylon webbing tote bag
• Simple summer tote bag
• Canvas and cork tote tutorial

Video tutorial-

If you don’t see the video below, check the sidebar, sometimes it flips over there. Or check your ad blocker. Video will not play if you are running one. You can also try a different browser if you are still having trouble.

Sewing tutorial for French seam Canvas tote bag

Supplies for sewing a tote bag:

• Canvas fabric 3/4 yard if sewing straps, 1/2 yard if using pre-made straps
• Cotton Canvas Strapping {optional}

For boxy corner bag, cut fabric 17″ wide and 38″ long.

For straight sides, cut the fabric 17″ side and 35″ long.

Cut strapping 25″ long, to sew straps cut fabric 25″ x 3.5 wide. You will cut two of them, either method.

You will keep the fabric folded over, with the short sides together. The right side of the fabric should be out. Sew the two long sides with a 3/8″ seams. Trim the seam allowance.

Flip the bag inside out and sew again with a 3/8″ seam.

To create the boxy corners, open the corner on the inside of the bag, and fold the seam to one side. Hold it there. Open up the corner on the right side, keeping the seam folded only to one side. Mark 1″ up from the corner with a pin. Sew on this 1″ mark.

Trim close to the seam.

Flip the bag inside out and sew again on this seam.

Now find the top opening of the bag. At the top, on the side seam allowance, cut through the seam allowance at 3/8″ down from the top. Fold the cut seam over to split the seam. This will reduce the fold bulk. Fold over 3/8″ along the whole top edge.

Sew this fold over.

Measure the top of the bag {this should be around 15″ wide.} Mark 3″ from each side with a pin or marking pen.

Fold over a 1″ top hem all the way around the top. At the 3″ mark for the strap you will place the straps to the inside of that mark. Make sure you don’t twist the strap when putting in place. Slide the strap under the 1″ fold. Sew around the bag at the bottom of the fold.

Now, flip the strap up, pin or clip in place, and then sew around the bag again, this top at the top of the fold.

Now your gorgeous canvas bag is finished! It should look amazing on both the inside and out and be ready to carry all your goodies!

The post Canvas tote bag with French seams tutorial appeared first on Life Sew Savory.

As we think about back to school and National Sewing month coming up in September, I wanted to give you some easy sewing projects to try if you haven’t yet jumped into sewing. This easy sewing project is perfect for trying to get some deep sleep during the stress of starting school. I’ve included a sleep mask pdf pattern for you free as well to make this super simple.

Simple Sleep Mask Sewing project

We had a lot of fun modeling this, and even more enjoyment wearing these to help us get better sleep. I will say that we don’t wear these every night. But, when we are sleeping a place that isn’t as dark {camping, at grandma’s house. etc} a sleep mask can be helpful for blocking the light and getting better sleep.

The pdf pattern comes in two sizes {also easy to adjust more if needed} and the tutorial has instructions for the optional eyelash iron on, if you want to add that as well. Below I will also give you links to the supplies needed, but this is a great stash buster, so go through your scraps and get sewing.

Other simple sewing projects to try

• Simple Mug Rug
• Mug Cozy
• Simple Zip Pouch
• Simple Christmas Stocking with free pattern
• Popsicle holder
• Notebook pen holder

Free Sleep Mask pattern and tutorial

ok! Here’s what you will need to sew this easy sleep mask:

• Free pdf template {download and print from my shop click here}
• Scraps of soft cotton or silky fabric
• Cotton batting
• Flat Elastic String
• {optional} heat transfer vinyl and design from Artspira or other design software.

Below you can see the supplies I used for two of the masks. I used sweatshirt fleece for one and flannel for the other. Both so soft. I know some prefer a silky fabric, but I am ok with anything soft. You will cut 2 of the fabric and 1 of the batting for each mask you want to sew.

**All seams sewn with 3/8″ seam allowance**

Here are my two pieces of sweatshirt fleece cut out. I made this one of the larger size. You can also trim down the template and make the smaller size.

Cut one layer of the cotton batting. Now you have all the fabric cut for the project.

This step is optional, but so so cute. Cut the free eyelash pattern on the Artspira app {no subscription required}. Use heat transfer vinyl of any color for the lashes.

Weed the vinyl and check that it works on your cut fabric.

Use an iron or heat press to secure the vinyl to the top piece of fabric for your mask. If you cut different fabrics for the top and bottom, make sure you bond to the piece that will be facing out.

Take the inside piece of main fabric, the one that will touch your face, and lay it right side down. Place the batting on top of this. Sew the two layers together with a narrow seam allowance. Use a small seam allowance for this one, so that when you join it all together, you won’t see this stitching.

Measure your head for the elastic, then pin/clip to either side of the mask. With the outer fabric right sides together, pin, then sew around with the full 3/8″ seam allowance. Leave an opening for turning.

Here is my 2″ opening along the flat top edge. Clip the nose notch fabric {not the stitches}

Turn right side out, then turn in the seam allowance of the turning hole. Top-stitch around the mask, close to the edge. That’s it! Now you can wear or gift for hopefully a better night’s rest!

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