Always wanted a Maplelea but didn't want to pay Canadian postage? No, I'm not getting any compensation for this, and I stumbled on it by accident.  If you live in the US, guess where you can now get Maplelea dolls with free shipping?  Amazon!!  I don't know if it will be a permanent thing, but as of…

Overview This challenge is hosted by @sewbiased @thevintageguidebook @thistle.n.stitches with the intention of building community by challenging ourselves to use rationing guidelines and a make-do and mend mindset. The guidelines are based on the UK Rules in 1945. Helpful Links Pinterest B...

Introducing my MakeNine 2022 plans garment by garment; The nine pieces that I'm going to be making this year.

Today we're kicking off the SAMQG Threads of Love Sewing Challenge!  One of our members, Cindy, works with the Threads of Love sewing group and will be taking our sewing NICU blankets to them after the March meeting. From the San Antonio chapter of Threads of Love: "We are a non-profit, non-denominational ministry dedicated to the production and distribution of clothing and care items to the premature babies - living and deceased." So what is the challenge? The Quilt Shop in Castorville has donated a 10-pc Riley Blake Fat Quarter Bundle which will be awarded to a randomly drawn winner. To enter your name into the drawing, simply make a NICU blanket. You may make as many as you like. Each person who turns in a blanket will have their name entered once.  The challenge will run through the March meeting. We will be drawing a winner at the end of the March meeting. Blankets made by SAMQG Member, Emily R. How do you make a NICU blanket? I'm so glad you asked! Blankets are 20" x 20" finished and can be made from two pieces of flannel OR two pieces of quilters cotton with lightweight batting. The flannel blankets do not require batting. Here's a guide: Flannel Front + Flannel Back = no batting Quilter's Cotton Front + Flannel Back = no batting Quilter's Cotton Front + Quilter's Cotton Back = add a thin layer of batting Blankets made by SAMQG member, Emily R. 1. Cut fabric 21" x 21".  Note: Squares do not have to be pieced blocks; they can be solid pieces of fabric. 2. Matching right sides, sew around the square using a 1/2" seam allowance. Leave a 4" opening along one side. 3. Trim excess fabric from the corners. 4. Turn the square right side out through opening. 5. Push corners out and press the seam allowances into the opening. Pin. 6. Edge stitch around square. (Straight stitch or any decorative stitch may be used.) 7. Add some kind of quilting to secure the layers (with or without batting). 8. Use a zigzag stitch to attach the Threads of Love label to blanket. NOTE: These labels will be available at the February meeting. My personal goal is to have the guild donate at least 50 blankets. I know you can do it! If you are a guild member and have questions about the challenge, feel free to ask them on our Facebook page. If you've found this tutorial and have questions, leave a comment or contact your local Threads of Love Chapter. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Updated to add: This event was wonderful! Thank you all for your participation. Through the organized sew-in and member's individual donations, we were able to give 148 blankets to Threads of Love, so far. I anticipate a few more or a few dozen more blankets will come in throughout the year. Thank you!! Blankets pictured below were delivered on 3/5/2016.

Register for the Juliette mini sewing course here: With this sewing pattern, we'll be making this one-of-a-kind, stunning cottage-core-inspired dress with th...

It sounds contradictory, but limitations spark our creativity, and boundaries help us get innovative. By Aims Watts.

The 2022 Nancy Zieman Productions Christmas Stocking Sewing Challenge was so much fun to host! We’ve enjoyed seeing all the entries and the talent showcased

Learn how making women's dance and skate dresses can jumpstart your sewing business. Join our free 3-day Sewing Challenge. Nov 1-5, 2022.

Hi Guys! I hope you’re loving the newly-designed Sew and Tell Project! If you are still following us at The Show and Tell Project, come join us here! We are here to stay awhile. This post will be the first one in our Swimsuit Sewing Challenge 2016. Alisha, Genie, Emily, and I have all challenged each other to sew swimsuits for ourselves and/or our kids and we are hoping to inspire you to join us!     Last week I was selected to test the upcoming women’s swimsuit from Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop. This forced me to take a big step in learning to be comfortable with sewing swimsuits! I have been getting more and more comfortable with knit fabrics over the last 2.5 years, but I still wasn’t feeling the love with sewing with swimsuit fabric. Last year, I bit the bullet and tried to sew a Coco Cay tankini for my middle daughter with gorgeous swim fabric from The Fabric Fairy. The fabric was great, and so was the pattern, but I had not yet gotten good at blending patterns for size and the bottoms ended up too low-rise for her (think Coppertone Baby) and the suit was not her favorite. I thought I would share some of the details of what worked best for me and made me get over my fear of sewing with swimsuit fabric. 1. Matte swim fabric is much easier to work with than the shiny stuff. I found it much easier to make binding out of matte printed swim fabric than out of the basic solids that I picked up at JoAnn’s. The fabric seemed to shift a lot more and I ended up with puckers, so I redid it on my suit which I can’t share until Thursday (3/31). 2. This was pointed out to me in my swimsuit testing group. If you go to a big box  fabric store and can only find the shiny stuff, feel free to use the “wrong” side of it if you want a more matte look to your suit. I was very disappointed in my swim fabric selection at my brick and mortar fabric store, so I chose a solid that coordinated with my print. It looked less like dance wear once I decided to use the matte side instead of the shiny side. 3. I recommend using pattern weights and pins when cutting your suit out. I usually just use weights and maybe pin at points, but I found the weights really helped keep the fabric from sliding around so I could get the best cut. 4. Don’t be afraid to BASTE. If it’s instructed in the tutorial do it – and even if it’s not consider it. Swim fabric likes to move 🙂 I found that basting my bindings on the long edge helped keep them from shifting and puckering and I got a near-perfect finish this way (lining properly enclosed, bindings even, etc.). 5. Extra sharp pins and wonder clips – I am comfortable enough with knits now that I often do not pin my seams and just sew straight on my serger. I could not be that cocky with swimsuit knit. I repeat – I could not be that cocky with swimsuit knit. I found that my sharper yellow head pins went much more smoothly into the swim fabric and didn’t scuff or tug the threads the way some of my duller pins did. I don’t normally use my Wonder Clips, but this is one of the times I’m glad I had some. They were really nice for folding bindings over and keeping them in place for top-stitching. 6. Speaking of sharp – you want to use a quality ball point or stretch needle for the best results. I like to use Schmetz needles on my Brother HC 1850 for best knit handling.  If you are still struggling keeping your layers together and your stitches even, you might also want to put a walking foot on your  machine to help the top and bottom layers feed evenly. 7. Buy swim elastic. You might be tempted to just jump in with any elastic you have, but you will be happy that you used swim elastic because it will have extra longevity. If you’re like me and get most of your swimsuit notions at Jo-Ann’s, I found the 1/4″ and 3/8″ cotton swim elastic hanging on the elastic wall, but there was a 5 yard bulk roll available among the bulk elastics in the baskets below. I’d recommend getting that roll because once you  make your first suit, you will want to make more! Amy at the Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop also carries  3/8″ swim elastic that you can buy by the yard. She also just started stocking UV 50+ swimwear and boardshort fabric, so it can be a one-stop shop. I can’t wait for my PAB swim preorder to arrive to let you know how it compares to the other swimwear I’ve worked with. 8. Try a very simple pattern first like the Sun n’ Fun from PAB. This pattern is easy to lengthen or shorten, and the topstitching is very easy on it (and there are no bindings which I have found to be the most challenging part of swimwear). If you do not have a little girl in your life to sew for, you can whip up a pair of Bahama Mama Boy Shorts. I made an awesome pair last week in about an hour. I will never buy store-bought swim bottoms again. So just to prove that I’m not all talk and have something to share with you, here is my cutie-pie in her Sun n’ Fun size 3T. I picked up the nautical print at a mill end store on a road trip and I am thrilled with how it turned out. This suit is unlined because I ran out of swim lining. I recommend lining your suit because it is essential for some styles to prevent chafing and for women’s suits to prevent overexposure. But for this particular suit (on a baby in a swim diaper), skipping the lining was okay.       Did you like this post? What tips do you have? Favorite swimsuit patterns for girls, boys, or women? We’d love to hear from you! Comment below or find us on Facebook.

The Fall Table Runner Sewing Challenge 2019 hosted by Nancy Zieman Productions starts now! We are proud sponsors of this year’s Fall Table Runner Sewing Challenge. You can join in on the fun by stitching a table runner that showcases your sewing and quilting talents.  Table runner entries may be any color palette, feature any sewing, quilting,…

You are invited to participate in my 2015 Fall Table Runner Sewing Challenge. Sew a fall table runner to showcase your sewing and quilting talents and post an

Welcome to Waffle Flower Weekly Challenges! Check us out every Friday for a new challenge! Winner Winner Jeanne and her team were blown away by all the amazing stitched cards.  April Challenge Week 3 This week’s challenge is hosted by our design team member Jeanne and her co-hosts Bobbi and Nancy! Do you love to sew and papercraft!  This week we’re challenging you to create a stitched accent for your card design! We are using some of the Stitchable Pinking shape dies for our projects.   Jeanne Design Team, Challenge Host (Blog, Instagram) My card starts with a Stitchable Pinking Oval personalized with a pretty cross stitched rose in bold colors that reflect my style.. brights!  I love adding details that bring images to life like the Oval Embroidery Hoops cut from wood veneer and  screw fixture cut from silver foil.  A die cut Floss Bobbin is wrapped with extra floss  and some pearl head pins are tucked inside.  I added even more stitched detail with the A2 Lacy Layers background and a sew cute Stitched Sentiment.  --Supplies-- Stitchable Pinking Oval Die Oval Embroidery Hoops Die Stitched Sentiments Stamp Set A2 Lacy Layers Die (scalloped panel) Floss Bobbins Die   Bobbi Guest Designer, Co-host (Blog, Instagram) This sewing challenge made me try something new on my cards - cross stitching! I wanted to feature my cross stitching designs so I chose a simple, beginner's pattern - a heart - and got busy stitching two sizes. I used the Paint Strokes Stencil for a graphic background and added faux cross stitches on the gray strokes for fun. The Be Her kitty is holding the thread in her hand from the large heart. Her two colors of embroidery floss are wrapped in the lower corner like a cute bow. Machine stitching around the perimeter of the card finishes this 5

Last year I blogged about a friend who didn't want a handmade gift, I had become very disheartened and was going to stop making things for people who were not grateful. However, I received lots of comments that encouraged me to continue but only for people I know will appreciate them. So I made a Rowan tee for…

Hey my creative bunnies. This is to stimulate ur brains. Let me know if u try any. Would love to see ur creations. Tnx #challenge # sewing challenge #30 days sewing challenge

A blog about quilting, color, dreams and family.

The first challenge was to sew a Mondrian Dress within 3 hours 45 minutes!  I have always wished to make a Mondrian Dress like this. ...

Culture Trip's fashion challenge comes up with 30 ways to get out of that style rut without spending a dime.

Hiya there! ✨New to Abi's Den?✨This is a channel where keen creators meet new people, create projects together and set ourselves exciting sewing challenges.W...

Top Stitchers Sewing Challenge