Pillow Covers with Invisible Zippers

I finally conquered my fear of zippers. And made new pillow covers. Two birds with one stone! I used a tutorial from one of my favorite blogs, Craftiness is Not Optional. I only did a couple of things differently...

Jess, from Craftiness is Not Optional, suggests cutting the fabric the same size as the pillows, but I just couldn't do it. My pillows are 16"x16". I cut my fabric 17"x17" because I like having (a lot of) wiggle room. I used a 1/2" seam allowance.

I used my new invisible zipper foot that I bought on Black Friday. I was surprised at how easy it is to use and how close it stitches along the side of the zipper teeth.

I did run into one problem. Using the invisible zipper foot, I could not sew around the zipper pull. 

I decided just to sew up the rest by hand.

After completing these pillows, I read a post on another of my favorite blogs, See Kate Sew, about installing invisible zippers. Kate suggest using a regular zipper foot before sewing with the invisible zipper foot. Although I have not tried it yet, I believe this should fix the problem. I guess this is another sewing tip that I learned the hard way. Sewing Tip Learned the Hard Way #4: Use a regular zipper foot to sew around the zipper pull of an invisible zipper.

Even with the zipper issue, the zippers are quite invisible. And I think that the pillows look nice sitting on the couch.

Babies

I have reached the point in life where many of my friends are having babies. One friend had a little girl a couple of months ago. It was impossible to resist making something cute for her to wear. I found a pattern for adorable tiny baby booties.  (Why do we use extra adjectives when talking about baby stuff?) Get the pattern here.

I wanted to make sure that the baby had something to wear her shoes with, so I made her an appliqued onesie, as well.

Another friend has a Christmas due date. I made booties and matching onesies for her baby shower that I attended earlier today. I had to make a University of South Florida onesie; both of the parents-to-be are alums. Go Bulls!

The colors look different in the three photos, but it is the same fabrics. Promise. I got the idea for the tie from another blog, Crap I've Made. You can get the tutorial here.

In addition to a baby shower today, I also attended the first birthday party for my best friend's son. Using leftover fabric from the baby stuff, I made the birthday boy a shirt to wear for his party. Which do you think he loves more: the shirt or his cake?

I learned something new while making the birthday shirt. Sewing Tip Learned the Hard Way #3: Fabric stabilizer makes an applique on a knit fabric look so much cleaner and nicer. I used Sulky Totally Stable. (Well, I used it on the second half of the last project...better late than never!)

Fold-Over Clutch

I ordered a pattern for a fold-over clutch that I found on Etsy from a pattern maker named Ali Foster.  You can find her shop here. The pattern is great! The instructions are clear and there are pictures to show each step. I highly recommend Ali Foster’s patterns.

This clutch took me about four hours to make- a perfect Saturday afternoon project for me. The hardest part was the top stitching. Sewing Tip Learned the Hard Way #2: Top stitching turns out much better if you use the straight stitching presser foot.  The straight stitching presser foot looks like this:

Photo from Here...

The button the on the front is just decorative. The clutch has a magnetic closure which was very easy to attach. (I am still a little bit afraid of zippers... More on that later. )

In addition to being super cute, it is the perfect size for the daily essentials.

What sewing tasks you are afraid to tackle?

Welcome!

Life is stressful. I have recently discovered that sewing is a great way to relax. There are many reasons why I love to sew: Sewing requires me to focus on a task so that I cannot worry about everything else. I can sew in the comfort of my home at my own pace. Sewing makes me feel productive and I create beautiful things that I can share with others.

This last point brings to me this blog. I love to show off my creations! I am also really grateful for all of the skills and ideas that I pick up from browsing other crafting/sewing blogs. Hopefully this record of my sewing adventures will be helpful to others as well. 

Allow me to share with you one of my first projects:

This my first sewing creation of which I am proud. I found the pattern on the Chronicle Book Blog. I love free patterns! The featured book, 1,2,3, Sew, by Ellen Luckett Baker has been added to my wish list. 

I made the black and cream version of this reversible tote first. Being my initial attempt, there are many imperfections. The black flowered side (the inside in this photo) turned out a little bit bigger than the houndstooth side. Rather than fixing it, I tried attaching the two sides as is. It caused some bubbles where the sides are sewn together. I also had trouble with the part where the strap meets the bag. I think that both issues were caused by not cutting out the pattern very carefully. Sewing Tip Learned the Hard Way #1: Always take your time and cut your patterns carefully. 

 

The second attempt is much more polished. I am also in love with the flowered fabric. When I saw it, I could not resist even though finding a complimentary fabric for the other side of the bag was quite a chore. I am still not convinced that the stripes are the best choice, but it is too late to change my mind now. 

What was your first sewing project?

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you will visit again.