Many of you have requested advice on sewing chiffon since we released our new Zinnia pattern. To help you out, we made a little list of handy things to keep in mind when sewing with any kind of delicate fabric. Cutting: Treat your fabric with a spray fabric stabilizer. This makes your fabric stiff and …

Two things inspired this post: Some of my handmade dresses were not making it out of the washer/dryer as safely as I would have hoped. I saw some beautiful images of hand washed vintage garments on DearGolden’s instagram feed. I decided I needed to do a bit of research on how to properly care for …

I used to have issues with pleats. I don’t mean sewing them, I mean wearing them. After a brief infatuation with pleated plaid schoolgirl skirts (I was a teen in the 90s, after all), I realized that for the most part, all those folds around my waist and tummy weren’t really doing it for me. …

“Basil and Cooper’s Leisure Suite” by Kristen You know how cat trees are typically really ugly? Kristen decided that her cats, Basil and Cooper, didn’t deserve to miss out on the joys of a cat tree simply because she couldn’t stomach the looks of one in her apartment. So she found a solution: create a …

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you might be aware that I love to travel. Though I can’t afford to do it as much as I like (either money or time wise), I’d rather spend my money on travel than just about anything (except maybe fabric). So… you’d think I’d be great …

I’m so glad you all liked my Hawthorn Wearable Muslin Crop Top! There are many different ways to turn a dress bodice into a top, so I’ll show you the method I used for this variation. Step 1 Construct your bodice according to the Hawthorn instructions, including sleeves, collar and facing. Step 2 Lay out …

First off, may I just say how excited I am to be sewing with you all? What an honor to be on board at CPHQ and chatting with such a lively and happy blog audience! Now that we are all acquainted, I have a confession to make: I am an impulse fabric shopper. If I …

When I was a young sewist, I made a ton of circle skirts which, oddly enough, I learned to make from a Usenet newsgroup (I am old and a nerd). I wore them over brightly colored crinolines like a 90s goth version of Cyndi Lauper. The one thing that always stuck in my craw about …

This is the sad situation that had grown on my sewing table. A teeny little drawer overflowing with needles, needles, needles. I decided to use some leftover scraps of contact paper from last month’s chalkboard project to do something about it. In addition to the black contact paper, I used a white paint pen, some …

When I did my class at Sewing Summit, one of the tips I mentioned is that you can use a serger to sew French seams with non-sheer fabrics. Some people were interested in this variation, so I thought I’d show it here. First, if you’re not familiar with French seams, check out the standard French …

Today I’m sharing one of my favorite tools when cutting and marking patterns: the humble screw punch. What is a screw punch? It’s basically a hole punch. But unlike your regular office hole punch, you can punch holes anywhere on your paper, not just near an edge. It has a removable tip for various hole …

I’ve written before about my love of the Clover bias tape makers for folding bias tape. Here’s another quick and easy way to fold bias tape, using just a pin and you’re ironing board. First, fold and press the beginning of the bias tape to get it started. Lay it flat on your ironing board …

Today’s handy tutorial will show you how to make belt loops that you can easily add to any garment with a waistband from our Ginger skirt to the new Juniper pants. It’s always a nice option to pair a belt with an outfit. items needed extra fashion fabric seam gauge or ruler Determine how many …

Hand sewing seems to be polarizing: you love it or hate it. No matter what camp you’re in, I know you’re bound to bring out the needle and thread at some point! While there are many, many different types of hand stitching, we have just focused on a few basic stitches you’re likely to come …

Fly fronts can be very intimidating. The directions are often hard to follow and the illustrations downright cryptic. Today I’m going to show you step by step, with lots of photos, how to sew a fly front. This type of zipper installation is usually seen on jeans, pants and shorts. Though sometimes you might see …

Today, we have a very special guest post from local sewing legend, Sharon Blair. Sharon runs Portland Sewing, where she and her faculty teach a wide range of classes including industrial techniques. I had the pleasure of meeting Sharon recently and asked her to fill us in on some tips home sewers can take away …

Drawing inspiration from corded insertions I came up with this basket weave tutorial. I love how this detail looks complicated and impressive while being fairly easy to accomplish. A little effort for maximum look is right up my alley. While it is a little time consuming to make the bias tape, you could easily use …

This vintage inspired detail looks so cute on patch pockets! I added pockets to the Ginger skirt with this fun detail. I’m definitely in the pocket-loving camp and if pockets can be added to my garment, then I almost always add them. Patch pockets are really cute, but extra touches like this really make them …

I’m so excited to share this super simple tutorial with you! Making a braided strap is quick and easy and perfect to replace straps on a summer dress like our Hazel dress, shown here. The part that will take the longest is making the cording, but if you want to use store bought, that will …

We recently talked about developing some good habits together. The idea is that we can adopt better sewing habits by focusing on just one good habit every month. Starting this month, I’m going to be posting my “habit of the month.” This is what I’m going to be personally working on. You can join me …

Today we have another real-life example we tried out from Stitching for Style. I love the way this looks, adding a bit of texture to a solid fabric. I think the thread could even be mixed up, maybe use a thicker thread such as silk and even in a different color if you like. I …